Theo Thomson is a Malawian born singer, songwriter. [1] [2] Thomson is owner of the Blantyre-based Matalala Recording Studio. [2] He lived in the UK, where he gained an interest in music with rapid artists productions performing and moved back to Malawi to expand his music career. [3] His father is a former DJ and owner of Fm 101 Power radio Oscar Thomson. [1] He is also the grandson of former Malawian Minister of Trade and Industry, Harry Thomson. [4]
After years of collaborations on various tracks, he released his own debut album 'Gypsy' in 2010. [5] His latest track ‘So Amazing’ received overwhelming requests and airplay on Malawi's state and private owned radios. [1] It was at number one for a few weeks on the Malawian charts. [5] The song has been popular in Zimbabwe, and he has also performed the song as an opening act on MTV's Big Brother Africa. [6] [7] His songs 'Kuthentha' (On fire)' and 'Stutter' have been featured on popular music stations Channel O and MTV. [2] His music style is described as urban, R&B with a Malawian fusion.
He has collaborated with Malawian artists like Tay Grin, on his track ‘Maybe This May Be Love’ from his new yet-to-be released album ‘Nyau King’ and on the song ‘One Love One Heart’ by Tapps Bandawe that also features Nigerian artist, 2face Idibia and Zambian K’millian. [1]
White Elephant (Album)
Dolo (single)
The music of Malawi has historically been influenced by its triple cultural heritage of British, African, and American music. Malawians, known for their history as travellers and migrant workers, have contributed to the spread of their music across the African continent, blending it with various musical forms. A significant factor in this musical amalgamation was World War II, during which soldiers transported music to distant lands and brought it back, leading to the popularity of guitar and banjo duos as dance bands by the war's end. Both instruments were imported. Additionally, Malawians working in mines in South Africa and Mozambique influenced the fusion of music styles, giving rise to genres such as Kwela.
Felicia Lily Dobson is a Canadian singer. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she began performing as a teenager, during which time she received and refused an offer from Jive Records for a recording contract. Dobson signed with Island/Def Jam soon after and released her self-titled debut album (2003), which saw the success of the singles "Bye Bye Boyfriend" and "Don't Go " on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and for which she received two Juno Award nominations.
Dan Bălan is a Moldovan musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the founder of Moldovan eurodance band O-Zone, and wrote their international hit single "Dragostea Din Tei", which topped the charts in 32 countries and sold 12 million copies worldwide.
Daniel Paul Merriweather is an Australian R&B recording artist. Merriweather's debut solo album, Love & War, was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two singles, "Change" and "Red", which both made the top 10 on the related singles chart. Merriweather has won two ARIA Music Awards, Best Urban Release in 2005 for "She's Got Me" and Best Male Artist in 2009 for Love & War.
"My Love" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). It was released on October 24, 2006, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. The song features American rapper T.I. and background vocals from Timbaland and was co-written by Timberlake, Timbaland, Nate "Danja" Hills, and T.I., and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and Danja.
Dare Art Alade, popularly known as Darey, is a Nigerian multi-platinum Afro R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, humanitarian and entrepreneur. He is also the son of the African jazz musician and entertainer Art Alade and the creative director of Livespot360.
"Somebody to Love" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber featuring American singer Usher. The song served as the second single from Bieber's first studio album My World 2.0. It was written by Heather Bright and The Stereotypes, and produced by the latter. The song was originally recorded as a demo by Usher, who was Bieber's mentor, for his sixth studio album, Raymond v. Raymond (2010). After things went stale with Usher's management, The Stereotypes were encouraged to give the song to Bieber, who recorded it, with Usher performing background vocals. The song is an upbeat pop song, which also derives from R&B genre, while making use of Eurodisco influences. It impacted US mainstream and rhythmic radio on April 20, 2010. The remix of the song featuring Usher was featured on Bieber's first compilation album My Worlds: The Collection and his second remix album Never Say Never: The Remixes.
"Fancy" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, from his debut album, Thank Me Later. The song features vocals from American rapper T.I. and producer Swizz Beatz, the latter of whom also co-produced the track alongside Noah "40" Shebib. The song was released to US radio stations on August 3, 2010, as the album's fourth official single, however promotion of the track ended earlier than expected due to Drake's uncertainty towards the song's planned music video and promotion.
"No Love" is a song by American rapper Eminem, featuring fellow American rapper Lil Wayne, from Eminem's seventh studio album Recovery (2010). It was released as the third official single from the album. It impacted radio on October 5, 2010. "No Love" was produced by American hip hop record producer Just Blaze. The song samples "What Is Love" by Haddaway. It features the chorus of the song as the backing vocals. "No Love" reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has sold more than a million digital downloads in the United States. It was ranked the 8th best song of 2010 by Complex.
The Real Elements is a Malawian hip-hop band that gained notoriety in the 1990s and 2000s in Malawi. The group consisted of Marvel, Plan B, Stix, and Q. The group holds a special place in the Malawian music industry because it propagated Malawian hip-hop and paved the way for the Malawian hip-hop genre at a time when they were a few hip-hop artists in Malawi. Their music was considered the cutting edge in the Malawi music scene. Critics argue that is the best urban group that has come out of Malawi. They performed in Malawi and their music was also featured on Channel O beaming Malawian hip-hop for the first time to a Pan African audience. In their UK tours they opened for UK hip-hop artists like Blak Twang and Terri Walker. It was just as their international career was taking off that the group separated. Stix decided to leave the music industry and follow religious pursuits. The group currently is pursuing personal interests.
Angela Mizinga is a Malawian singer/rapper from Ntcheu, Malawi.
"Right Here" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Bieber featuring Canadian rapper Drake, released on February 5, 2013 as the fourth single from the former's third studio album Believe (2012). It was written by the artists alongside Eric Bellinger, and producer Hit-Boy. A lyric video was posted onto Bieber's YouTube channel in February 2013, and he performed the song live as part of his worldwide Believe Tour in 2012-13.
Alex Jacke was born and raised in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. The singer and songwriter realized his passion for music as a child when he fell in love with 1990s R&B and Hip Hop. Jacke's music influences also include soul, funk, gospel, rock, and pop music. Self-taught on the piano, he began composing songs by middle school. By the time he started his freshman year at Morehouse College, he knew music was his future and he focused his energy on songwriting, & performing at school events and venues around Atlanta. During his sophomore year, he appeared on the highly popular MTV series "My Super Sweet 16," as the special guest performer for DJ Spinderella and former NBA player, Kenny Anderson's daughter, Christy. His performance caught the attention of music executive and producer, Laney Stewart, who invited Jacke to work with him over the summer. Jacke jumped at the opportunity to pursue his dream, and left Morehouse College at the end of his junior year to return to Los Angeles. Like others before him, most notably Tricky Stewart and The-Dream. Laney Stewart took Alex Jacke under his wing which led Jacke to land a worldwide publishing deal with Music Gallery/Universal Music Publishing Group in 2011. Along with Stewart and his production team The Sharpshootaz, Alex Jacke spent most of the first half of 2012 perfecting his debut EP, D.F.M. released on July 9, 2012. On Valentine's Day 2013, Alex released a "Deluxe" version of his D.F.M. release, simply titled "D.F.M. Deluxe".
Francis Kaphuka known professionally as Hyphen and formerly as Young Kay is a popular Malawian hip-hop artist that is known for fusing local Malawian folk songs with international genres. He is known for his vibrant sound and ability to mix Chichewa and English lyrics eloquently in his rhymes. This has earned him recognition as one of Malawi's best lyricists. He has been voted as Malawi’s best rapper twice Joy FM fans and in 2021 was crowned King of Malawian Hiphop by the audience of one of Malawi's biggest online platforms, Mikozi Networks. He was introduced to Malawian audiences under Rush records with the single “I’m Home” and his popularity grew to solidify his place as one of Malawi's greatest hip-hop artists. He has had subsequent hits since then. His song “zipepese” number 2 on FM 101 Power’s urban music chart. In 2010 he collaborated with Malawian born rising act Onesimus Muzik on a track titled "Beautiful" He also collaborated with Lucius Banda, Tigris, and Maskal on track "Malawi Goodlife" in 2011.
"Gypsy" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga, for her third studio album Artpop (2013). It was written and produced by Gaga with French DJ Madeon, with additional writing credits from RedOne and Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair. The song was developed with Madeon after Gaga's Born This Way Ball tour performance in France. "Gypsy" was described by Gaga as Artpop's most personal song; she elaborated that it was about travelling the world and the loneliness associated with it. A Europop and electropop song, "Gypsy" is a 1980s style "anthemic" track with piano and guitar instrumentation, and lyrically talks about Gaga's fans as being the people she feels closest to. The track was mistakenly assumed to be the third single from the album when Interscope Records listed it on their SoundCloud page reserved for future releases.
Thomson Andrews is an Indian contemporary R&B, Pop, Funk & Soul singer-songwriter, performer, recording artist, actor, TV host and a contemporary Indian Bollywood Playback singers. Thomson began his career with Grammy and Academy Award-winning Music Composer A R Rahman in 2010 and to date has sung in numerous Bollywood and South Indian films. He is known for his involvement in music projects such as Coke Studio (India), MTV Unplugged (India) and has been featured on MTV India alongside composers such as Amit Trivedi, Clinton Cerejo, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Pritam, Ranjit Barot as well as singers Neha Kakkar, Arijit Singh, Sonu Nigam, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Agnee and Indian Ocean.
"No Limit" is a song by American singer Usher featuring fellow American rapper Young Thug. It was written by the artists alongside producers Rock City, Brandon "B.A.M." Hodge, and Christopher "Talent" Perry. The track gives reference to Master P's song, "Make 'Em Say Uhh", from his 1997 No Limit Records release Ghetto D singing, "Make you say uh, no limit / Got that Master P, no limit baby"
Leo Siwale, known professionally by his stage name Tsar Leo, is a Malawian rapper, singer and songwriter. He was nominated as Malawi's Best New Artist of the Year for 2015.
Hip-hop culture in Malawi is relatively young. The genre is a marriage between local and western sounds. Prior to 1994, Malawi was living under a single party regime where censorship of media was heavily employed. Upon gaining freedom in 1994 the country began getting exposed to more western media and hip-hop which was gaining a global audience permeated its way into Malawian society.
Dan Lufani, best known as Dan Lu, and sometimes written as Dan Lufan, is a Malawian Afro-pop singer and songwriter. In 2011, he was awarded as best Afro pop artist of the year in Malawi Music Awards. In 2016, he was nominated in best R&B/Afro-pop Act along with other artists such as Theo Thomson and Kell Kay.