NEWS | MUSIC | ENTERTAINMENT | 

By Patience Lunda

• “Malawi is not poor; it is the people of Malawi who are poor.” Bingu wa Mutharika (deceased)
• “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Allen James)

If there is one element that is perpetuating pornographic poverty levels in Malawi, then it has to be our mindset. Most Malawians do feel their country is so damn poor that they, themselves cannot bail it out of poverty, not to mention change the status quo. To them, poverty is a wrath of some heavenly being (from the believers’ perspective).

Such is a tradition in Malawi, and unfortunately, such a virus is being passed from generations to generations. No wonder, many a Malawian youth think employment as a solution to their impoverished status (mindset so to speak). Very few, literally very very ‘chosen few’ do think outside the box. Very few think of making monies out of themselves.

Gab Grizzy, born Gabriel Munthali is one of a very rare species of Malawian youths who has secured a very unique means of creating wealth by each passing day.

Gab Grizzys bread and butter is being fetched courtesy of the production of song instrumentals (Beats). Out of Grizzy’s curiosity came the satisfaction in form of the revenue he is able to generate by the mere playing around with a software called Fruity Loops.

So, what started as a child’s play with “new things” back in his secondary school days has ended up in making the young Munthali an overnight self-employer.

“After hearing a lot about FL (FRUITY LOOP) studio whilst at secondary school, I decided to practice making beats on an old computer (that was just idle at home) just after I had sat for my form 4 (MSCE) examinations in 2013,” he recalls.

Grizzy is of the type who believes in “perfect practice generates a masterly of an art” mantra, as he kept on perfecting his knowledge in using this music instrumentation making software.

“I used to be practising a lot since I got entangled with this software. It was my dream to perfect my skills, and the only way was through my frequent use,” he reminisces.

The entrepreneurship side of BEAT making

To this energetic entertainer, creating song instrumentation is a paying endeavor and it is through such an entrepreneurial activity that he has rubbed shoulders with the who and who’s of the local music urban scenery from the likes of Mwanache, P Hustle, Charisma, and Kuzmen, among the many notable heavyweights who have ever used his product.

 “Beat making is a really profitable business and has really helped me gain status in my society because I am able to sell my beats to both artists that made a name in the music industry and those that are upcoming,” narrated he.

Another robust Malawian youth who is also swimming in the same pool as Grizzy is a 28 year old, computer engineering student (at Livingstonia University), MBJ Mbanjani Glen Nyangulu.

Unlike Grizzy, MBJ had been married to music for some time, but his polygamous life with song-instrumentation got triggered in 2011.

“I used to listen to Dr. Dre and a certain producer called DJ Premier so I got curious but what made me start making beats was a song done by Lecrae which was produced by Gawvi. The song inspired me so much that I decided to get serious with beat making (I had been making beats since 2009 but it was just for fun),” he recalls.

Just like his comrade in the business, MBJ testifies that there are monies in the industry.

“Beat making has really profited me because I make a lot of money after selling my beats and some of the artists I have sold my beats are the likes of Viceroy, Trap squad, and Kesia, just to mention a few; and the coming in of new artists in the music industry has increased the demand for beats,” MBJ explained.

The challenges in BEAT (song instrumentation) developing

Not all roads are rosy; there are always road blocks enroute to one’s destination, so too is this lucrative enterprise.

According to Grizzy, returded technological advancements, and capacity in the country is slowing down the growth of his business.

He regrets that the lack of a platform to produce mix tapes has made him lose potential customers.

“A certain rapper from the United States of America wanted me to produce all songs for his mix tape in 2015 but I failed because I haven’t (had not) set a platform where I can (could) do that and I hope by the end of this year, this will be operational,” confessed Gab Grizzy.

On his part, MBJ feels apart from lack of modern equipment, unprofessionalism amongst other artists is also another of his everyday hurdles in his enterprise.

“People view me differently because of my beat making business mostly because I work with big artists but the main challenges I have faced include lack of equipment and artists asking for free beats,” he said.

The future

Whatever hurdles these ambitious entrepreneurs are facing, there is one thing they all agree; “a blissful and profitable future”

And cementing that point is that, as long as people listen to music, and as long as artist will be singing, the beat making market shall  always be immortal.

So, do you really agree that Malawi is poor? Search me!

Perhaps, it is high time Malawian beat makers, borrow a leaf from their colleagues elsewhere who are utilizing their natural talents to make money. DJ Khaleed, Dr. Dre, DJ Mustard, Don Corleon, Stephen DI GENIOUS McGregor, et al, are making it big just out of this business, why not with a Malawian youth?

So, perhaps, not all is lost. And perhaps, beat making could be a career worthy venturing so long as one throws their dice carefully.