Masauko

Masauko is a Malawian-American singer/songwriter, born in Los Angeles while his  parents were in political exile from Malawi. His primary instruments are the acoustic guitar  and the voice. Masauko’s sound is a unique mixture of Southern African traditional music  with jazz, folk, funk, hip hop and reggae. Although his music spans many genres, the  common denominator are strong songs and a great vocal range. His audiences usually find  themselves singing along from the beginning to the end of his live sets. 

As a child growing up in Los Angeles, Masauko was part of a large exile community from  Southern Africa and the Caribbean. His first musical influences were the legendary South  African husband and wife duo, Caephus Semenya and Letta Mbulu, who lived nearby. The  Semenyas used their music as a form of activism in the anti-Apartheid struggle in South  Africa. From the very beginning of Masauko’s musical journey, he understood songwriting  was the medium to give voice to people struggling against inequality. He is the son of Henry Masauko Chipembere who is considered one of the primary architects of the revolution that broke British rule in 1964, allowing for Nyasaland to become Malawi. Henry Chipembere was the first Minister of Education after Independence. The largest highway in Malawi is called Masauko Chipembere Highway in honor of his father. Masauko’s mother, Catherine Chipembere has received the National Woman of Distinction award twice in Malawi. She has served as both Deputy Minister of Health and  Education in the country.

Masauko’s first visit to Africa was in 1996. He spent nearly a year studying traditional  music in Malawi. He then moved to South Africa in 1997, hoping to re-connect with the  Semenyas, who had returned to South Africa post-Apartheid, and ended up forming the  now-famous acoustic duo, Blk Sonshine with Neo Muyanga from Soweto. The duo  blended the music of Southern Africa with hip-hop and jazz in acoustic form. 

Blk Sonshine went on to share stages with artists from every genre, including Stevie  Wonder, Joan Baez, Gil Scott Heron, Bonnie Rait, Mary J. Blige, Dead Prez, Susana Baca,  Ernest Ranglin, Hugh Masekela, Ismael Lo, Queen, and India Arie in the USA, and Africa.  By 2005, Blk Sonshine was a household name in South Africa. That year, they performed at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in front of thousands of fans. Blk Sonshine was  featured on the Putumayo South Africa album release in 2010 and performed for the FIFA  World Cup. Masauko was nominated for a South African music award (SAMA) in 2010  as part of the group, Blk Sonshine. 

As a solo artist, Masauko has performed acoustically at New York´s Carnegie Hall. He has  recorded with Grammy Award-winning hip hop artists, RZA from The WuTang Clan and  Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets. Masauko completed his first solo  album, Masauko, for the Come to Life Record label. The label was started by the Guayaki Yerba Mate company. The album was recorded in Cape Town, South Africa in May 2017  with some of Malawi’s top young musicians. The album was released on June 16th, 2019.  This was the anniversary of the Soweto Uprising in South Africa in 1976. It is now known as Youth  Day in South Africa out of respect for the many children who died protesting for the right to have a real education in their own African languages. 

Masauko´s ongoing collaborations in Costa Rica include musicians from all over Latin America. He’s been working with artists from Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba and the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. He is particularly interested in connecting the rhythms of Africa with the rhythms of Latin America. His years in Africa give him a unique understanding of the trajectory of these grooves from Africa to the diaspora. This knowledge earned him a spot as a DJ on primetime radio February 2019 to March 2020.  Masauko worked as a DJ for 95.5 Jazz in Costa Rica. It was the premiere station for jazz music in the country. He curated a show called Connections, which introduced jazz-inspired music from around the globe at 5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The show was educational in that Masauko provided information about the connections between music from the continent and music from Latin America.

In the spring of 2019, he performed in New York for the Shared Interest Gala hosted at the  Edison Ballroom for their 25th anniversary. Awards were given to Dr. John Kani (known  from the movie Black Panther), and Thuli Madonsela. Masauko has been performing in  support of Shared Interest for several years now. They are an organization that gives loans to small businesses in South Africa and Malawi to heal the economic inequalities of the  Apartheid Era. 

With the release of his new solo album on June 16th, 2019, Masauko has taken his  commitment to activism in Malawi and South Africa to a new level. He is at the front of a  movement to introduce Permaculture to people in rural areas through music in Malawi. In  early August 2019, he partnered with Luwayo Biswick who runs Permaculture Paradise in  Malawi. It is the first permaculture training space run by a Malawian in the country.  Masauko led a very successful project called Permaculture and Music which took ten farmers from remote villages to learn the basics of permaculture at Permaculture Paradise.  The project gained media attention from Times Malawi, The Nation and Zodiac TV, three  of the biggest media outlets in the country. He used his recent concerts in Malawi and  South Africa to draw attention to this permaculture movement and the plight of those  struggling for survival in the villages.  

In 2020, Masauko kept busy during the Covid-19 lockdown by collaborating with quality artists from around the globe. His guitar playing was featured on a track by MF DOOM producer Jnerio Jarel called “Banana Peel,” which is hip hop mixed with Brazilian jazz. Masauko’s voice can be heard on a track called “Delightful,” that he co-wrote with LA funk band Orgone. In 2021, he also featured on the debut album by Ngoma Zethu, an international collective of musicians and storytellers from South Africa, Nigeria, Malawi, Algeria and the USA. Ngoma Zethu is the brainchild of Mongezi Ntaka who is Masauko’s longtime songwriting partner and was the original guitarist of the Lucky Dube band.

Masauko has been recording in 2022, with plans for various releases in 2023. The big news is that he has been in the studio with Neo Muyanga and there are plans for a new Blk Sonshine album release next year. In early October, Masauko met up with Neo in Brooklyn, New York for recording sessions. As a producer, in 2022 Masauko also began working with South African hip hop legend Snazz D. Snazz. In late 2022 Masauko also produced songs for South African singer-songwriter Yolanda Zama, whose style continues in the tradition of Miriam Makeba.

Masauko was recently given a certificate of recognition for his unique contributions to culture in LA and the world by the mayor of Pasadena,Victor Gordo and the Pasadena UNA. Masauko is continuing his art and activism in 2023 by working with Epsy Campbell, who was the first Black woman to be Vice President of Costa Rica (and in Latin America) and is now serving as the President of the UN Permanent Forum of People of African Descent. Masauko performed at the First International Concert Against Racism in Cahuita, Costa Rica at the request of Vice-President Campbell on March 8th, 2023. There are plans for future concerts against racism in other parts of Latin America in the works.

(Music links below)