Malawian rapper Emm Zibry has collaborated with IKK (Mr. 4pin) on a confident new album, “Zoziwa,” in the Hip-Hop and Afro-Soul genres, produced by Awosh and Soness.
The title “Zoziwa” carries that particular weight Malawian music listeners know, based in the native tongue yet with a worldwide spirit. But the production doesn’t fully commit to the regional sound. Instead, Awosh and Soness meld melodic Afro-Soul textures with hip-hop rhythms. So the record moves readily outside Malawi without losing its originality.
The backbone of the record is Emm Zibry’s relaxed flow. But IKK returns with a sharper, more energetic verse that prevents the tune from settling into one gear. It is the difference between the two approaches that allows “Zoziwa” to function as a cooperation. Both artists sound like themselves all the way through – therefore neither consumes the other’s individuality in an attempt to match styles.
The writing is confident and ambitious from the first page. Though the message is rooted in street culture, it never gets bogged down trying to sound hard. Instead, the album finds a comfortable gap between flex and feeling, and that balance is what propelled the early TikTok and Facebook traction the song picked up before larger blog coverage caught up with it.
Kante directs the visual and the music video rollout, along with the audio release, giving “Zoziwa” a more comprehensive launch than most regional hip-hop collaborations generally get at this stage.
Check out the video and stream “Zoziwa” and tell us if this is Emm Zibry’s best record yet – write your verdict below!
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