By Chisomo Phiri

In this article, we bring you one of Malawi’s fastest rising Afro Pop stars Pop Young real name Vitumbiko Chisoni who shares his “Collect” music video project experience in Tanzania.

In an interview with 247 Malawi News the Mesa hitmaker said shooting a video in Tanzania has taught him many things about serious industries that Malawi can learn from.

The young afro pop star said he has never attended more meetings than he did while shooting Collect video in Tanzania.

He explained that almost everyone involved in his music project was given their own space and a time to talk to his management team about the shoot.

“There were no shortcuts. We had to do everything in order, with contracts being signed and money paid to everyone involved,” recalls the artist.

Pop Young said, Tanzania music industry is a bit advanced in terms of quality and service delivery than that of Malawi.

He said “What we take for granted in our country, our friends do not.

“For starters, I only got to meet the models in the video a night before the shoot at a hotel where we all got booked into and had a team dinner just to familiarize ourselves with each other before the actual work.

“Alcohol was only allowed to be taken by other crew members doing less stressful work.”

He added “The negotiations were done between management and those involved. I did not at any moment get involved in service provision discussions apart from when I would meet them and discuss the project, with them asking how I was visualizing the whole concept and the things I would be comfortable with, especially on dressing and activities within the video.”

Pop Young said, every relationship was kept very professional, and every service provider was paid in advance and in full.

He said they had, among others, a stylist, models, supporting crew, location specialist, catering agent, transporter, and a health expert who monitored their energy and all health related aspects.

” It was a whole different experience, and a lot of money was put into the project. I am glad God has given me this opportunity to work with people who are very serious and passionate about what they do, and I know we will go far because everything is treated with seriousness and preparedness.

“I believe in treating every aspect of my music journey with the seriousness that I have learned in Tanzania,” said Pop Young.

Pop Young went on to urge Malawi to start embracing and supporting art, stressing that most of the time, when it comes to music talent, many artists do not benefit that much compared to what they put in. He also appealed to corporate to support more artists in the industry.

To his fans, the artist said, they should expect more good music and live performances this year as he has a lot of music projects to be done.

“My management has put me through training before I come out. There are a lot of things I am learning about live performances and it’s a bit more than I expected. The work and seriousness is something else. I hope to impress on my first performance after all this work,” he said.

Pop Young, who is currently under Akometsi Creative Media recorded his first song, ‘Ndakusowa’ in 2016 and that’s when the interest developed for him to actually make more music.

With several role models in the entertainment industry, Pop Young inspires to thrive in the music business and be recognized beyond the borders.

His “Collect” music video has already received over 45K views in 5 days while his previous release, Mesa already has over 100K views in 3 weeks.