06/04/2021
Giddes Chalamanda was born in the southern region of 🇲🇼 Malawi, in Chiradzulu. Malawi is known as the warm heart of Africa. Chalamanda is definitely an African legend, garnered with his soft raspy voice-reminds me of an African in America southern drawl. With skin that is perfectly toasted by the sun, peppered with white curls of wool and a pure spirit- it didn’t take me short of two seconds to fall in love with the Malawian crooner.
Namadingo, a young African artist of song, decided to do a reggae mash up with several artists. Choosing our elder, Chalamanda is self evident as the most epic arrangement. With four songs consisting of Napolo, Che Mel, Buffalo Soldier and Linny Hoo, in which speaks of a hardworking daughter who is intelligent and is proactive in cleaning her parents home. I’m sure a lot of us can use this energy on a early Saturday morning!
You are surely to clutch your heart as you feel the pain as he sings of his father leaving to go to South Africa when he was 12. Although he promised that he would return- he never did, causing him to repeatedly have dreams of the day his father left as well as dreaming that his father has died. During the mash up he sings to Namadingo, “I am sure my father has died, because I am now 90 years old”.
In the video, he apparently feels the excitement with the intro of Buffalo Soldier as he began to wail his arms. This would be the part that would make you bend a knee and swirl on the dance floor as if no one mattered! He swoons of dreaming of having enough money to travel to America. He claims that his own Buffalo Soldier was made in the 1960’s and strongly believes the late Bob Marley, may he continue to Rest In Peace, was inspired by his own. Marley’s Buffalo Soldier was recorded in 1978 and released in 1983.
The Malawian Buffalo Soldier :
Timaloze ndi Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo to America
Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo to America
When I was a young boyeee
I dream to there in America
When I was a young boy- ngati ine ka
Young boy
I dreamed to there in America
Oyi oyi oyi ooo
Oyi oyi o oyi oyi oyi oooo
If I had much money
I go to see in America
Oooh yea
If I had much money I go to see in America
Oyi oyi oyi oooo
Oyi oyi ooo
Oyi oyi oyi oooo!!!
And we should all know that Bob Marley’s Buffalo Soldier is in regard of the Africans of America that was formed after the Civil War of the 9th Calvary. Singing of Soldiers in the heart of America, Stolen from Africa, brought to America. Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival. With the infamous cry: woe yoy yoy, woe yoy yoy yoy, woe yoy yoy yo, yoy yoy yoy yo!
While both songs are sung in different perspectives I did notice that the war cry of Marley is vastly similar to the cry of Chalamanda. And at that point in both songs you can’t help but to scream with all of your heart until you feel it in your soul.
We should all know that Chalamanda finally made a trip to America in 2016 and performed at the Library of Congress in the division of African &Middle Eastern music. He as recently retired, as an incentive of Namadingo, the singer, humanitarian, and ambassador of FDH bank, of opening a store in his village.
