Afrocentric is louder with music.

By Lweendo Kalonga

The culture and style of entertainment surrounding or influenced by Afrocentrism dates back to the African American intellectuals of the late 19th and 20th centuries. This began as a movement as they believe that their worldview should positively reflect traditional African values. This eventually was translated into music, fashion and entertainment and spread to many different parts of the world with the most influential being in Africa. However, there was a lot of influence of African culture on the rest of the world with many adopting style, speech and mannerisms of African descent. The most popular form of Afrocentric culture is the genre of music known as Afrobeats. This is the upbeat dance hall form of music that speaks to your soul and causes you to dance regardless of your mood. At least that is how I would describe it.

Zambia has had its fair share of influence on the world we know now. Regarding music, it has been observed to have evolved over the few decades. A great example of this is Zamrock, a genre popular in the 1970s and one can see its influence in today’s music with the likes of P.K. Chishala, W.I.T.C.H., Amanaz, Paul Ngozi and his Ngozi Family. The Australia-based artist Sampa the Great expresses this in her album As Above So Below. Our subject in the spotlight is Nelson Malenga Jere, known professionally as Nel Jay. He was born on 5th February 1999 in Lusaka and grew up in Chipata Compound and Kabanana. He recalls his music journey beginning in 2013 whilst in 8th Grade at Yotam Muleya Primary School in Lusaka citing that he was influenced by the likes of Shemmy Mambo Chata also known as Kool Dre. He once belonged to a rap due in 2014 till their split due to different factors. He exclaims showing interest in making beats and learning fast with the help of David Tunes. Between 2018 and 2022, he released two mixtapes and his debut album titled “Malenga 22”.

His music can be described as a breath of fresh air. It takes a lot to produce something to impress the mainstream audience but it takes hard work and talent to make a good product. That is what Nel Jay’s music is in general. It certainly is different from what is made by mainstream artists and arguably underappreciated. He has put his all into his upcoming project as he sings and raps. You best believe this is an album that won’t let go once you are hooked, that is a guaranteed promise. I had an interview with Nel Jay to get his thoughts and some insight into what he has in store, and this is what he had to say.

How do you incorporate African fashion and culture into your music?

Well, something that evolves should give out something with meaning. That being said, as African fashion evolves, it should constantly give its meaning and share our beautiful stories as Africa. Nothing more, nothing less. So, we are here to tell our stories through our culture.

How do you perceive the evolution of African fashion and culture in the foreseeable future and what role would your music play in the evolution?

The role my music would play is to push the African culture forward with my unique African sound. I tell stories so that the people in the diaspora know our culture.

What are some of the things that you would say have shaped you into the man you have become while making this album?

Hard work, consistency, patience and dedication. I challenge myself to learn something new every day, so I wanted to come up with a different sound. So, when you see the album name and listen to the tracks you are going to have a clear picture of what I was trying to talk about.

What would you say are your top 3 tracks from this project?

It’s really hard to choose but I would say “Malenga 24”, “Fade Away” & “The Book of Jay”. I enjoyed making these tracks and they are kind of personal because I was getting things off my chest. In conclusion, I love all the tracks and I will let the music listeners decide. This album has different genres and my singing skills got better so I was trying to showcase what I can do in both areas.

When asked about his upcoming project, he says “The next album I will be dropping is Titled 'VENT' and it took me eleven months to make and I know it’s something special. I was addressing a few issues and real-life situations that people can relate to, I know this album will have a positive impact on the listeners and the world at large”. Nel Jay’s upcoming album is set to be released sometime in the first half of April 2023 and we are excited to hear what he has been working on. Be on the lookout for VENT.

Follow;

Lweendo Kalonga

Nel Jay