DELEGATE RELEASES NEW MUSIC VIDEO AT 7PM TONIGHT!!!

Artist: Delegate

Directed by: Jeremiah Chienda and Jeremiah Chikhwaza

Nyali Musik Mix-tape #breakthesilence 2012

“EXTRA EXTRA – READ ALL ABOUT IT” yells the boy who stood by the corner of the street selling newspapers. Earlier that morning before he left for the vending stand he asked the newspaper editor “Sir, do people really want to know?” The newspaper editor looked back at him candidly and replied “Son, people want to know.” That morning the little boy sold all his newspapers in an hour and he wondered why. He couldn’t read so he didn’t know what people were excited about so he asked a passerby what the news read and that’s when he learned that the Berlin wall had fallen! Generally, people want to know something new! That’s what every one chases after: new information; different information; exciting information. This information that Delegate (and every other minister of God) wants to put out is, as Delegate says: “all about Jesus”. People have been sharing the Good news for centuries, others with the best of motives and others with the lack thereof. People have also been excited by this news; it has changed lives and brought peace and fulfillment to hundreds of millions. In addition to this, no one can disclaim the fact that this news is very different. Yet the question remains: “Why are people resistant to it?” and I offer my best explanation about this by using the illustration of “the brick wall” but that explanation is for the second paragraph. However, I am glad that I get to review another music video; it really is a welcome change of pace to our Malawian music scene and my hectic week. The video really pumped me up and got me excited again for Malawian hip-hop gospel. On this occasion its Blantyre based rapper Jeremiah “Delegate” Chikhwaza who puts together every possible resource to dress up his solo effort on the Nyali Music Mix-tape with basic but hard-wrought visuals. Why should you see this video? Because it is new, different, and exciting news.

                The first scene to catch my eye is an effect that tinges everything deep red as the sun passes in the background just a few seconds into the video. Initially, it’s visually fantastic, so much so that I wanted to read something spiritual into it (ha-ha-ha), but I really shouldn’t read anything into it that wasn’t intended by the creative directors who just so happen to be Li-Wu and Delegate himself. The effect is not complex but it is effective to catch your attention if you’re excited for the video like I was. There is, however, another element to the video that I shall read into and I briefly made reference to this in the first paragraph: “the brick wall”. The brick wall features in almost half the scenes in the video that was shot entirely at Sunny-Side (with some scenes featuring blue screen backgrounds); the wall has raw graffiti sprayed across it. A really artistic set prop that will help me support my point that whenever this “news” people should know is preached [sometimes] there is a “wall” which has stood for years with raw lettering and even steel re-enforcing that keeps the receiver from truly understanding the news that he has been given. This wall like the Berlin wall is also capable of falling. 

                Unfortunately, there are very few scenes in this video and when you see 1 screenshot you will feel as though you have seen them all. There was a need to capture different scenes because it provides freshness. People want to see a video that has variety. Also, this video needed to have many cast members involved other than the number that was available so as to nicely solidify the atmosphere of “people” wanting to know. In-fact, the original plan was to have a sizeable cast, but there was a lack of human resourcing. To have put off shooting for a day or two to allow for favorable circumstances would have been better.  A music video is still an exclusive thing in Malawi; therefore, they should still be a product of better planning. Also, there were shots that created a distance between viewer and actor – looking into the camera lens is important because the viewer feels engaged and I felt disengaged at different points of the video because of unnecessary looking ahead or away from the camera. Finally, the concept wasn’t properly communicated hence my long illustrations in the first and second paragraph: I sought to compensate on what they couldn’t communicate. The “telling people news” concept is inexhaustible and very plenty ideas could have been pursued other than the simple concept they gave us. Screenshots of a busy Blantyre city market, or scenes where Delegate walks around Shoprite car-park speaking to different people, for instance, would have been great. I really do appreciate the grind they threw into this video, I encourage more artists to follow in their suit. It had no complicated and expensive equipment to produce it into what it should have been but you can be pleased with what it is anyway. On an international level, it isn’t a standard that best captures what I know Delegate stands for; but nationally, it should go viral and spread. I do believe people will want to see this video: TAKE MY WORD FOR IT: IT IS GREAT IN IT’S SIMPLICITY, IT IS NEWS RIGHT OFF THE PUBLISHERS DESK! Please keep you eyes out for links that will be put out for the "People Wanna Know" music vid TONIGHT @ 7PM!!! (you can see the Nyali Musik Mix-tape review for the songs in this project on this same blogsite dated 27/10/2012)
*p.s afana sax was upset that he wasn't in the music video...