Q sets the standards in poetry at ‘People’ album launch

There has been a growing debate among poetry fans that poetry has become more comic in the country hence it is not taken seriously.

To those that made it to Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) on Saturday where Qabaniso Malewezi popularly known as Q launched his “People” album can seriously disagree with this notion.

As promised by the organisers Qoncept Creative an events company that Q also owns, the show kicked off at exactly 8pm with a minute of silence in honour of Rosebill Satha-Sambo.

The minute of silence was followed by Prelude Poets Julius Banda, Manto Banda, Sabrina Tambala and Phindu Banda.

Among other supporting acts, Menes la Plume and Robert Chiwamba brought their “A” game to the stage.

Menes, a Democratic Republican of Congo refugee based at Dzaleka Refugee Camp wowed fans with his poems in both French and English. As it is said that good art knows no language, Menes did not disappoint with his French poems and he proved his greatness when he performed in English.

The show was heated when the man of the moment, Robert Chiwamba came on stage. Contrary to public expectations, Chiwamba did not perform his popular “Mudzafa infa wowawa” poem but he did won people’s hearts with his “BP wanga wakwela” poem.

What made Chiwamba’s performance more interesting was his English performance. The audience went crazy when he performed in English proving that he is a genius in both languages.

When host Alex Lilly Banda introduced the main act of the night, Q, the show reached its peak and he was nothing but amazing.

He came with all guns blazing as he performed a selection of poems from his latest “People” album which is already on sale online.

Among other pieces, he performed “Wikipedia”, “Heavenly Bodies” alongside Faith Mussa, “Sons of sons” and “Dearest Child/Azania” which was dedicated to his daughter.

Speaking to the media, Q  thanked his team for the hard work and thanked fans for coming in their large numbers to support poetry.

“I had an amazing experience on stage. And looking at the people that came, it is safe to say that all the hard work paid off. I must also thank my amazing team because it was not a one man show, it was a collective effort. Thanks to the sponsors and the media for being supportive,” Q explained.

One of the fans, Joy Nyondo said Q has set the bar so high for other poets in the country and described the show as “International”.

“This show was amazing. I did not expect this from a local poet. Looking at the organisation, the stage and the performances I am not sure if someone went home disappointed. The show was really worth the money. Am sure other poets have also learnt one or two lessons,” he narrated.

Among the notable faces at the launch was Q’s father, former Vice President Justin Malewezi.

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