The Changemakers series of African Voices, CNN’s 30-minute magazine programme sponsored by Globacom, will this weekend go musical with the profiling of two Zambians who have positively used the arts of music and dance to impact others.
The first of the duo is Mwila Musonda, known by his stage name as Slapdee.
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Musonda, who was born in 1987, became an orphan when his parents and only sibling died while he was in his formative years and had to move in with his an itinerant aunt.
The ambulant nature of his guardian necessitated him schooling in Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa, and finally, he went back to Zambia, where he began and developed his flourishing career in hip-hop and rap as a high school student.
Slapdee, in the entertainment circles, is often regarded as one of the pioneers of hip-hop in Zambia, the genre in which he has won multiple awards since his debut in 2006 with “Asembe Isebenza.”
His first success in the music industry prompted him to release four other studio albums, So Che, Black na White, True Story and The Business.
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He is signed to the Zambian record label XYZ Entertainments, which he founded as a platform for supporting the growth of local music in his country.
In recognition of his achievements in the industry, he has received nominations and awards, including the 2009 Ngoma Music Award for best hip hop artist and the AFRIMM Award nomination(s) for Best Male (artiste) Southern Africa. He has also clinched nine Zambian Music awards for best male and hip-hop artist and six Sun FM Kwacha Music Awards.
Musonda’s counterpart on the programme, Taonga Tembo, a choreographer, has made a lot of impact with her dance steps.
Her dance studio teaches kids exceptional dance procedures to widen their horizon and exhibit their creative talents with the flexibility of their bodies.
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During the programme, Tembo will be telling her audience how she founded Barefeet Theatre which coaches kids at the Lubuto Library in Lusaka, Zambia, and how she intends to reach more Zambian kids through her chosen passion. She is also a cinematographer, director and producer.
CNN African Voices Changemakers will be aired on DSTV on Friday at 8:30 am and on Saturday at 11:30 pm, 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Other repeat broadcasts come up on Sunday at 4:00 am, 8:30 am and 7:30 pm, with more repeats on Monday and Tuesday at 4:30 am and 5:30 pm respectively.
