At the end of the year, everyone takes stock of how the year was like to them. It is time to reflect on what you got right and what you got wrong. One always hopes that when doing that self-audit, you will accrue higher grades.
When you are starting a new year, the prayer is always to do better than the previous one. It is, therefore, depressing when the scorecard reveals that you have fallen short in some aspects. It is human nature to yearn to win and beat your previous bests.
At this point, we cannot avoid to look at how things panned out in the creative industry in the country. So many things can be said and written about how things were in 2025. We cannot overlook the recent blow suffered by the country’s music industry last Friday.
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The death of five members of the Hive Band in a road accident is one that will linger on our minds and sustain a void in our memory for the longest time possible. There is no death which is less painful than the other. Each human loss stings without familiarity.
But the nature of other deaths are more painful. To see the lives of five artists ending like that has hit hard. The loss created within their family set-ups, professional groups and the music fraternity is unbearable.
It is a shock we will have to carry for long as we try to make peace with the sad reality. That is why it will be hard to paint 2025 with a different brush other than this tragedy. The deaths of Elivacy Myaba, Wilfred Kapengule Jnr, Vincent Mkwinda, MaFarlen Banda and Raphael Chitsonga has robbed the music industry of a whole generation of investment.
The passion and dedication the five displayed speak volumes of how much the trade meant to them. The artistic soldiers juggled their music career alongside other demands. That on its own shows how the game mattered to them.
If it were for others, it would have been easier for them to give it up. On the other hand, there have been milestones achieved in 2025 in the creative industry. Feats that have excited our minds in the most honest way.
It is everyone’s hope that we will continue to build on such strong foundations. Most importantly, to you readers of this column, 2025 was another fulfilling year due to the continuous engagement that you accorded me. Without your feedback and input on various topics raised here, this space be meaningless.
I, therefore, take my hat off to you who spare your precious time every Friday to peruse through my submissions. I am because you are. There is no This and That without your presence.
As we step into the new year, I pray for another fruitful ride as we continue to dissect issues affecting our creative space. I hope we will reach new highs together in the coming 12 months in our continued quest to shape a better creative industry.
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