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)

  In 2019, Masauko began a project called Permaculture and Music in Malawi. He was inspired by the work of other artists in the Come to Life Music collective, of which he is a member. He learned from watching Rising Appalachia, who have been working with the Permaculture Action Network to create concert experiences that expose audiences to the healing and regenerative power of permaculture design. In many ways, these concerts are about making sure people have access to their own means of food production in order to avoid the onslaught of GMO foods being pushed into the mainstream.

In Malawi, Masauko has learned that permaculture has other potentials. Since, the country has been fighting irregular weather patterns due to climate change in recent years, there have been back-to-back seasons of droughts and floods, leaving farmers with unpredictable yields each harvest. This means that many people in the rural areas, far from the cities, are starving. One such area is Mangochi, which is the ancestral home of Masauko’s father’s people, the Chipembere clan.

One of the strongest activists working in the Mangochi region of Malawi is Masauko’s mother Catherine Ajizinga Chipembere. She started an NGO called W.I.N.(Women’s Initiative Network) Malawi in 1998. Catherine says:

WIN’s main objective is to uplift women by teaching them survival skills.They must be able to do certain things like farming and business, things that can produce money or food for their livelihoods. They must always have money and be able to send their children to school. They must be self-sufficient. 

Masauko has been working with his mother towards this end since 2005.

The Permaculture and Music project is a part of a new direction for WIN Malawi. It is a move towards more modern approaches to survival in Mangochi. Since 2005, Masauko has brought soccer balls, soccer uniforms, treadle pumps, shoes, school supplies and many other things to the community. In recent years, his approach has changed. He now works to promote an awareness of sustainability. So, recent projects have included the building of a school, the solarizing of a house and the latest project, Permaculture and Music.

The Permaculture and Music project is supported through monetary donations from globally concerned individuals to support annual permaculture training courses for rural farmers from the villages where WIN Malawi works. These farmers study with Malawi’s permaculture expert, Luwayo Biswick at his Permaculture Paradise Institute. This is the first training facility ever created by a Malawian with the idea of teaching rural farmers how to change their lives through permaculture design. These courses have allowed WIN farmers to use new farming methods in order to grow crops right through seasons of flood and drought. This new knowledge is saving lives in the remote villages of Malawi.

This work is inspiring other because the popularity of Masauko’s music gives him a platform to be heard through national media in Malawi. He has been featured on Zodiac TV, The Times Malawi, Nation Online and Capital Radio . He is attempting to use music as a tool to educate and inspire other artists to join the permaculture movement. Masauko is also working with Luwayo Biswick, who is also a musician in addition to being a farmer, on creating songs about permaculture in Chichewa (the language of Malawi), that can be used to educate illiterate villagers about permaculture concepts that can help them become self-reliant. The next Permaculture and Music event is being planned for May 2020 in Malawi. It will consist of more farmers being trained and a concert to popularize permaculture in Malawi, where it is still a concept on the fringe. 

EPK for Masauko Chipembere 

BIO 

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 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. 

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, and formed  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 Raitt, 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’s annual 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 in South Africa. 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’s first solo album, self-titled, MASAUKO, was recorded in Cape  Town, with musicians from Malawi and South Africa. It is available for purchase  at bandcamp.com. It can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon. In  2021, Masauko is part of a collective called Ngoma Zethu featuring Mongezi  Ntaka, Vusi Mahlasela, Lorraine Klaasen with artists from Algeria, Nigeria, and  the USA. Their new album release is called Ngoma Zethu-7 Chapters of Mystery. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Masauko performs in a virtual concert to support of frontline Covid-19  workers in Malawi. The event was put together by the Malawi Diaspora  Network to purchase PPE and other supplies for medics working on the  frontlines against Covid-19, March 2021. 

• MASAUKO album included in Avotcja’s top 21 ALBUMS KPOO-FM  San Francisco, CA & KPFA-FM Berkeley, CALIFORNIA INTER &  OUTER-NATIONAL 2020. 

• The song “Birds Will Sing” by Masauko wins third place in the World  Citizen Artists songwriting competition, SOLIDARITY FOR ALL.  Masauko is a featured performer and panelist in a discussion on the impact  of Covid on artists hosted by the World Citizen Artists website in October  of 2020. (virtual) 

• Winner of the U.S. Artists International, Mid Atlantic Arts Grant, 2020. MASAUKO, CA: Bassline Fest (Igoda Circuit), South Africa; Bushfire  (Igoda Festival Circuit), Swaziland; and Zafiko Festival (Igoda Festival  Circuit), South Africa. 

• Banana Peel (Cáscara de plátano) Featuring Masauko by Jneiro Jarel,  released 17 April 2020. A Brazilian jazz song put out by Farout  Recordings. 

• MASAUKO album featured by World Music Central.org, article by Angel  Romero. Feb, 2020. 

• Live performance Apollo Cafe, Harlem, NY with South African singer,  Yolanda Zama. Performer as well as musician director for the show,  January 8th, 2020. 

• Live performance/Album release party for MASAUKO at The World  Stage Performance Gallery, Leimert Park, Los Angeles, October 2019. • Live performance/Album release party for MASAUKO at Untitled  Basement, Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2019. 

• Live performance/Album release for MASAUKO at Sounds of Malawi in  Blantyre, Jacaranda Cultural Center, July 2019. 

• MASAUKO self-titled album released with the support of the Guayaki  Yerba Mate Company. June 2019. 

• Live performance Edison Ballroom, NY, March 2018 in support of Shared Interest’s Annual Gala. In attendance were Mayor Bill Be Blasio, Danny  Glover and John Kani (Black Panther). 

• Masauko performs with a live band in support of his acoustic duo Roque  y Masauko and Costa Rican hip-hop artist Huba Watson, in Mexico for  Ollin Kan Festival in July of 2018. Ollin Kan is Mexico’s largest  international festival focusing on the music of Africa and the diaspora.

This short music documentary about Masauko Chipembere was made during a two-week journey to Southern Africa sponsored by Come To Life Music/Guayaki in the summer of 2017. Even though Masauko was born in exile in Los Angeles, his ancestral homeland is Malawi. For years, he had been traveling there to work with Ernest Ikwanga and Sam Mkandawire, two of the most respected young musicians in the country. Sadly, Malawi had no real studio spaces. The country has never had a chance to  fully invest in the arts, because Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. However, there are other types of wealth in this world and it is apparent that Malawi is culturally rich. Masauko believes this documentary attests to this. Malawians are a people who have ancient traditions that connect humans to the earth, the sky, the wind, the trees and the ancestors. This album is the product of all these elements coming together. 

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