(BBC) It is not often we hear an African giant tell us it is time he stepped down to make way for new talent, let alone that he plans to dedicate himself to promoting the next generation. But that is exactly what Zambia’s Macky 2 told me when I caught up with him for This Is Africa.
Macky 2 is, by his own estimation, Zambia’s biggest artist, and, some claim, he is the country’s richest. (He tells me he doesn’t have access to others’ bank accounts, so has no idea if this is true, but confirms he is comfortable.)
His first big hit was back in 2011, and he won album of the year and song of the year at the Zambian Music Awards in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
In 2014 he caught the attention of the TV viewing public across Africa, when he made it to the last three in the ninth and final series of Big Brother Africa.
Since then he has been trying to capitalise on the fame he gained to push his music internationally, but it has been a challenge.
“Back home I can record a song and I know people on radio and TV, people know me, so it’s on radio and the next week it’s on the charts – but internationally it is much more complicated than that.”
One thing Macky 2 came to realise was that those African countries whose music has a lot of success around the continent, start from a very strong fan base at home.
“I think Nigerian music and South African music and Tanzanian music – all this music is big because the people from where the music was made really support it.”
This hasn’t always been the case in Zambia.
“Zambian music of course has grown in the last 10 to 15 years. People in neighbouring countries like Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe listen to our music quite a lot.
“But I think one of the problems we had in the past was a certain inferiority complex. We appreciated what was foreign more than our own things.
“But now I see this changing. Every show that I go to is sold out. So in terms of the love we have here, it’s great.
“Last year I did a song with Aka. It was my first big international collaboration and I felt like this is the right time – because I have the backing of my people now more than ever and I knew that if the song goes on Trace or Channel O, I already have people who are going to request for the song and support it – and that’s what you need.”
So what’s all this about quitting music?
“I’m working on my last album. I hope one day I’ll be able to come back and look at this and say why was I even thinking of quitting…
“But for now that’s where I’m at. I feel like a great artist needs to know when to leave the stage. I think it’s always great when you leave the stage while people are still clapping, and I feel as artists we should learn to pass the torch to the next person, to be ready to let others lead. I’ll be in the background.
“I’ve always had a label that promotes young, emerging artists and that’s really what I want to focus on now.
“We need more people who understand how the business works, who can help these artists move from zero to a hundred real quick, without having to go through what we went through.”
I wonder if any African presidents are reading this? Hope so!
