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How
did you come up with the name Sharp Shooter Bongo?
After
meeting Norman Cook (dance music producer now known as Fatboy
Slim) in
1991, when he and Beats International toured Africa, I
attended a rap music
workshop they held at ISL in Lusaka. We were encouraged as
artists to identify
with our roots even in music. I started using the name
"King Bongo",
after that. Before joining Radio Phoenix in 1996, I dropped
the
"King"
prefix and replaced it with Sharp Shooter. These days most
people simply
call me Chilu. I'm cool with that.
Keeping
up with Chilu Lemba is a full time job! How are you able to
stand out
in your work as a musician and DJ?
I
treat the persona Chilu Lemba as a brand, and realise that I
am responsible
for managing how the brand is perceived. I use the "ReleVAtion"
theory to keep
in check. It is a word that I coined so it isn't in the
English
dictionary - well not yet that is :). I use it to help me
remember three
words: Relevent, Elevation (inspiration) and Revelation. As a
communicator
Chilu must be relevant, elevate/inspire and his actions must
be a revelation
of his character and of essentially Christ in him. I have a
whole series of
sermons on ReleVAtion.
I
am fortunate
to have a circle of family and friends who keep me in check
too.
Radio
and music are platforms from which the essence of that theory
can be communicated.
God designed me to be a communicator and maybe one day I
shall stand
before him and say, "Lord you gave me a few hours on
radio and I
helped someone to laugh, I played a song that cheered the
person up, I said
a word of encouragement and maybe I even helped create
pictures of a whole
new world in their mind with assurance of how special they
really are."
His response I hope will be "Well done mwaiche wandi".
With
all the hard work that goes into it, where is there time to
find inspiration?
I
mostly bump into inspiration. For instance someone says to me,
"I like your
song, it's nice", or a guy says, "Nothing good can
come out of Zambia/Africa"
then there's inspiration to prove him or her wrong. Great
friends,
family and a my fiancee who bring special inspiration my way
as well.
How
would you describe yourself?
I
am a dreamer who has a foot in the realm reality, and the
other in world of
possibility.
What
is success all about?
I'm
still trying to figure that one out. "Leaving a
legacy" is as far as I've
come to an answer.
What
was your first musical creation?
My
elder brother, Sitwala Lemba and I recorded a rap demo in 1988
to Wally
Baderou's
"Kafindondo - Hi Life". My brothers and I would also
make up a
funtime;
silly songs from when I was about six years old.
Is
it important that your music contains message in the lyrics,
too?
Very
important. I had written so many nasty songs that I couldn't
record today
because of the lyrical content. Most of my songs today are
social commentaries
and with the passing of time my views on issues change.
Sometimes
it takes years for a song to be developed fully in my mind.
Zambia
Moto for instance is relevant today even though I was 17 years
old when
I wrote it. I'm now 26 heading towards 27. The rap lyrics of
Shibuka from
The Rhythm Nation Project was created in my mind between 1996
and 1998.
I picked up the chorus when I was a boy scout aged 12 in
Livingstone; it's
a common tune. We first recorded Shibuka in January 1999.
These songs are
amazingly still getting airplay today. Some songs I write are
completed
within
minutes. I am not the best rapper, singer, composer or
arranger from
Zambia.
I would like to be rather a guy who is seen as one who carries
a message
of relevance through the times. I don't cuss.
Has
your attitude and style toward your own singing changed over
time?
Indeed.
My favorite rappers thirteen years ago were guys like LL Cool
J and crews
like NWA. Most of my rap in my earlier years was based on
fantasy, I imagined
myself hanging out with those guys and eventually dreamt of
getting a record
deal with their labels. These days I rather address issues,
which are real to me and based on my experiences as an urban
African.
Do
you think Afropop is taking African music to another level?
I
don't actually like the phrase Afro-pop anymore, even though
that is the
classification
that my music falls under. I actually generally do not like
the concept of
categorizing, but we can't escape it now can we. Afro pop
today is
igniting curiosity among the world audience particularly in
some corners
of Europe. In the early nineties US hip-hop and peeps such as
Arrested
Development, Afrika Bambaata, The Zulu Nation, Kwame, the
Jungle
Brothers
etc. wanted to identify the culture with the continent.
Nowadays
I am more
pleased with contemporary African music made in Zimbabwe for
instance being
embraced in Zambia, or music from Kenya playing at parties
in Malawi, or
Senegalese artists touring Namibia successfully. Nyanja for
example
sounds as beautiful in song as Spanish when the right words
are
used.
I have attended the Kora All Africa Music Awards for two years
running, and
last year it was broadcast live on BET. We are doing fine.
Your
music has been described as the Zambian Will Smith. Do you
feel as if you
lose something when you are compared to someone else?
I've
heard that comparison from some people who listened to Shibuka.
My take
on the issue, is that Will Smith displays clarity when he raps
- you can
make out each word he is saying. If in that respect someone
draws a parallel
between Will and I then I'm cool with that. Akoni (our
forthcoming music
project) contains some songs in which I experiment with a
couple of unconventional
rap styles and I don't sound that "Will-ish" in
there, as you
will notice. I like Will though: amazingly driven person.
You
have an amazing voice. Have you always wanted to be a DJ?
Thanks.
I actually wanted to be a diplomat or a rap star. I mimicked
Mike Tabor at
high school but didn't imagine myself as a Deejay. I enjoy
being on radio.
What
are you doing in South Africa?
I
am working at Young & Rubicam Gitam Direct as a Project
Manager. I originally
came to Johannesburg on a three-year study program and the
company was my
part sponsor. I graduated from college in February 2002.
What
advise do you have for the youth out there looking
for that special someone?
No
deep advice. I am no expert yet? never take her/his love for
you for
granted.
Oh and women think so differently from guys
so learn to deal with that.
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