Eddie Black is a pseudonym that has grown to be popular among the majority of the Zambian folk who are avid followers of the Hip Hop culture. His name often precedes him because of the admirable qualities such as the formidable energy he exudes on the microphone and his ability to beautifully contort rhymes, punch lines and metaphors effortlessly on tracks which can be attributed to it.
Born Nathaniel Edward Bangira Nchemba on the 29th of April , he began his rap career in 2011 .Over the years he has produced hits such as “Bangumweko” , “Mujulu” ,“Where are you” and most recently “Soundtrack” . In 2014 he released his debut E.P entitled “Letters from Rhodesia”.

On his birthday April 29th 2016, Eddie Black released his 2nd studio EP,’Mr. Helium Prime’. The project was released under Helium Prime Media and has 10 tracks on it all produced by Peezey Cables.

Eddie Black sat down with us to discuss “Mr. Helium Prime”.

KAPA187: On 29^th April you released your E.P “Mr. Helium Prime”. Tell us about the E.P and how you came up with the title.

Eddie Black:  My Producer (Peezey Cables) and I formed a record label in 2013 and we called it Helium Prime Media, hence the title of this project Mr. Helium Prime.

KAPA187: Describe the processes of making this E.P., was it something that came together quickly or have you been working on it for some time?

Eddie Black:  This is an idea that came in March; it’s not something I have been planning for a long time, though the songs were recorded in different years. I’m just warming up to the main event which is my debut album which is set to drop very very soon.

KAPA187: Having been in the music industry for some time now, why did you decide to release an E.P instead of a full length album?

Eddie Black:  Like I said this is a pre-album project, I’ve been off the grid for a while “just though I send out a reminder, here it is” hehehe

KAPA187: From the time “Mr. Helium Prime” was released, what has the response been like from your fans?

Eddie Black:  We have received a very positive response from the fans and I would like to extend gratitude for that. This was very short notice for them but they still came through and the response is overwhelming.

KAPA187: Since your first hit single, “Bangumweko”, which was released some years ago, you have worked with producer Peezy Cables, collaborating with him a number of times. He produced all 10 songs on your current E.P.  What is it about Peezy Cables that makes him your go-to producer?

Eddie Black:  Peezey Cables and I are like Dre and Eminem, like Drake and 40. I am working with a lot of producers for my album, though with this particular project we decided to keep everything in-house. Because of the title Mr. Helium Prime, we decided everything should be from Helium Prime.

KAPA187: Two of my favorite songs on “Mr. Helium Prime” are ‘Papu’, which features Joe Chibangu, and ‘Bad Boy’. Tell us about these two songs.

Eddie Black:  Papu is a song we recorded at RomaSide back in 2014; Joe Chibangu asked if we could do a song together and I and Peezey had this beat and hook, I was honored to have a legend on a song with me. Bad boy is just one of those songs where I describe the life of a playa. I recorded half the song last year and the other half 2 days before the release date hehe

KAPA187: You experimented with some sounds your fans may not be used to hearing you on. Such as the EDM inspired ‘Will get there” and elements of house music on ‘Leka 2’.  Was this a way of showing your diversity?

Eddie Black:  This project is a collection of art from different times in my career, for instance I was heartbroken once upon a time during which I was listening to a lot of James Blunt, so I wrote ‘Let me be your man’ on a pop rock instrumental that’s like 4 years ago. In 2013 I got ‘Nothing but the beat’ by David Guetta and at the time Peezey was working on an ad for some company, the soundtrack was what I asked him to modify into the ‘Will get there’ song. I don’t know about other People but most times my content is influenced by my immediate environment.

KAPA187: The first single off “Mr. Helium Prime” is ‘Soundtrack’ which features Badman shapi. It is accompanied by an amazing video. What is the concept of the song? And are there plans on making any more videos soon?

Eddie Black:  Soundtrack is a love song where I’m telling a girl, she’s the beat to my heart and whenever she touches me I do the ‘Skelewu’. All Badman Shapi’s idea, I just wrote my bars after he did the hook. Most definitely I intend to do some more videos for my album.

KAPA187: Zambian music videos have tremendously improved in quality in the recent past. Granted many of them are seen on international channels such us Mtv Base, Channel O, Trace, but why, in your opinion, are they rarely played on said channels. You will have to watch a music channel for the whole day for you to see a Zambian music video. Whereas Nigerian and South African videos are on heavy rotation.

Eddie Black:  To be honest, I don’t know why that is so, because every day Zambian videos are submitted to these channels just like everyone else. Perhaps there is something else these people do to get the heavy rotation; we need to get on that ASAP

KAPA187: For those who have not had the chance to listen to the E.P, where can they get it from?

Eddie Black:  My music is available everywhere online. YouTube, Google me. For CD’s details are on my social media pages. Facebook: Eddie Black : Twitter @eddieblackbaby : Instagram @eddieblackbaby

KAPA187: Any last words…

Eddie Black:  I would like to say thank you to everyone supporting the Eddie Black movement, sometimes I amaze, sometimes I disappoint but thank you for staying with me through the years. Black Supremacy album coming soon. I love y’all

‘MR. Helium Prime’ is avaliable on itunes ,Youtube , SoundCloud , and many other online sources . For more info contact Eddie Black on social media 

Facebook: Eddie Black

Twitter: @eddieblackbaby

Instagram: @eddieblackbaby

SoundTrack Ft Badman Shapi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t3Y7hO_1H0

Papu Ft Joe Chibangu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiNgfR7JwxA

BY KAPA187

United Party for National Development (UPND) has described the just dissolved Parliament as Parliament without direction and a Parliament of Government as half the MPs were serving as Ministers.

In a statement made available to the media, the UPND leader said that under the PF Government, the lack of strong and visionary leadership meant that Parliament was often playing catch up and trying to repair the damage of ill-informed policies, rather than proactively driving progressive reforms

Below is the full statement

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

PF Legacy in Parliament

As the 11th National Assembly draws to a close it is a good time to reflect on its legacy.

First and foremost it has been a Parliament of Government, with half of MPs serving as Ministers. At a cost of millions to the taxpayer there have been an unprecedented number of parliamentary by-elections over the past five years, no less than 32. This has all meant that under the PF opposing views and perspectives have been repeatedly sidelined. Meanwhile, chances to pass important pieces of legislation proposed by the opposition, such as reform of the Public Order Act, have been stopped in their tracks, despite widespread support.

Secondly, it has been a Parliament without direction. Government has failed to set out a clear plan of action. Under the PF, the lack of strong and visionary leadership has meant Parliament is often playing catch up and trying to repair the damage of ill-informed policies, rather than proactively driving progressive reforms. Perhaps the most notorious example is the mining tax regime that has been changed repeatedly, firstly in 2012, twice in 2015 and now again in 2016. In other cases it has taken months and even years of pressure from opposition and civil society to make the PF deliver in five years what they promised in 90 days.

Thirdly, it has been a Parliament whose financial standing has been laid to waste due to inaccurate forecasts by the Ministry of Finance, and a failure to heed warnings. As such the PF has pushed increases in the external debt ceiling through Parliament, raising it from K20 billion in 2011 to K160 billion in 2016. Meanwhile, failure to prioritise has seen cuts to areas such as education in the form of meal allowances, while Cabinet grows and enjoys a pay rise despite underperformance.

More broadly the PF’s legacy in Parliament during the period 2011 to 2016 can be seen in a generation of frustrated youths, thousands of redundant miners, struggling businesses, hungry families and a nation in the dark. Their performance is one out of ten.

Hakainde Hichilema
UPND President

Michelo Malambo, the Zambian representative in the first-ever Miss Africa Continent that was held last week in Johannesburg, South Africa, almost won the title after emerging runner-up to the impressive Miss Ghana, Rebecca Asamoah.
It was an admirable performance by the Zambian contestant, who also represented the country at the Miss World beauty pageant in China early this year.
However, it was the Ghanaian who stole the limelight; and all the headlines in the international press, after emerging winner from a field of 12 contestants, drawn from an original list of 40, who took to the catwalk at the Gold Reef City casino in Johannesburg.
The pageant, a brain child of South African film producer Neo Mashishi, was unique in its own way.
The pageant had had contestants barefoot, and wearing traditional costumes including animal hide skirts and elaborately beaded headdresses, strutting the stage as well as contestants wearing black t-shirts and tight shorts while dancing barefoot to music of the likes of Salif Keita instead of the traditional swimwear.
In the end, the Ghanaian, a 24-year-old dental hygienist proved the best of them all with South Africa’s Jemimah Kandimiri coming out third.
The Ghanaian, wearing braids, entered the stage in a traditional Ghanaian Ashanti gold-coloured beaded crown and then returned in an evening dress made from the country’s trademark kente cloth.
“This is the first-ever Miss Africa Continent,” Mashishi, who said the pageant has been five years in the making, was quoted.
“This is about Africa. We are selling Africa to the world, and we are proud to be African. The way everything was done was African; we didn’t emulate anything from Miss Universe or Miss World.”
The inaugural Miss Africa Continent winner, who was also runner-up in the 2015 Miss Ghana, walked away with a grant to study business management at Monash University in Johannesburg.
“There are a lot of things to be fixed in Africa – water, education, and environmental issues,” she told AFP.
“My main concern is the empowerment of youths…so we can work hand-in-hand and put our continent in the best place it should be.”

President Lungu said the constitution is very clear when it states that current ministers have to hand over to the new Ministers that will be appointed after the next elections.

He has wondered how Ministers in the current cabinet will hand over responsibilities to the new cabinet if they get dissolved with Parliament.

President Lungu was speaking this afternoon at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport before departure to Uganda for the inauguration ceremony of President Yoweri Museveni.

President Lungu is however of the view that since this matter is going to the courts for interpretation, the courts should determine the interpretation of the law.

He said before that happens, the current composition of cabinet will remain as it is.
President Lungu stated that inspite of the law being clear on the matter at hand, he will be fine with whatever the courts will determine regarding the status of ministers.

“As for whether cabinet will remain or not, the law is very clear, read it for yourself. You are supposed to hand over the law says when Parliament is dissolved, cabinet remains because those people are supposed to hand over. How do they hand over when they are dissolved?”

“Anyway since the matter will become a court issue, the courts will determine but for now cabinet will remain. If they rule against us fine, if they rule in our favour fine but the writing is there, same as the Grade 12 thing, its democracy,” President Lungu said.