OOPS! JJC IN “FAKA-FAKA”: A REVIEW OF JJC’S SONG
BY JOSEPH LOGA
The sense of the
use of language in such a manner as to impress the hearers and influence them
for or against a certain course of action is what bands music industry in
Malawi. Music plays a more important
role in our life than just being a source of entertainment. While that being
the case:
In Faka, a song by renowned Malawian artist who was born James Juma Chitsonga (Jay Jay Cee), to booklovers, this song is more like the following novels: Caged by Them: Descent Into Darkness by Kelli Callahan, Why Men Love Bitches by Sherry Argov, My Best Friend’s Husband by Londi Sutic, Rich But Always Broke by Chike David and others alike!
Every profession comes with a set of questions about how one should conduct them in a professional setting. Workers who only work to achieve wealth, fame, and status do not achieve success as a person. If one cares about the kind of person that they are, has good characteristics, abides by moral principles, works to achieve good and prevent harm, and promotes fairness, then being an ethical person is equally as important as being successful and music industry in Malawi is not an exception.
In Faka, the song starts with a persona acknowledging that he has received his salary and expounds-making plans on how he will spend it forgetting that he is on-duty at work: “Mwauze abwana lero sindibwera, ntchito yandikwana, lero ndilomwera”. De-connotatively, one by listening to this verse will know that the only reason why people go for, and to work is because they want money. Money has been placed as the heart of success in this song. However, the same verse brings scenes in “Stop Acting Rich and Start Living As a millionaire,” a book by Thomas Stanley; the same verse also ends with another topic, lustiness: “Tona gwedegwede ine mtima kugunda, mbina yako gwedegwede eti kulephera kutunda”. The whole song is just Faka-faka.
Generally, from the surface, the title of this song (Faka) and its cover picture raises a lot of moral questions to the artist, Jay Jay Cee. But listening to it deeply, this song is covering issues which are very crucial for you to survive in this world, things such as money management, relationship management and time management.