We're a Zambian Band (2014) | Hacker News Reader

We're a Zambian Band (2014)

theappendix.net

58 pointssamclemens9 comments

Nice read, thanks for posting. I grew up in Zambia in the 80s I and live in SF now, and I never heard of Zamrock before.

This comment about young Zambians - "They marvel when they listen to Zamrock. They think Zambians could not have done that." - saddened me. It seems to apply to a lot of areas of life there now. There used to be a time when Zambians were self reliant, growing their own food and making their own goods, but now everything comes from South Africa and most Zambians are just consumers.

That part saddens me as well. I spent 6-7 months in Zambia last year working on private sector economic development and agree they have a long way to go. I'm optimistic on their growth.

OP, thanks for posting. Love Zambia and loved reading this

This is the most interesting thing I've read in a while. The music is great. I implore you to listen to this: https://theappendix.net/audio/issue-2-3/Chifundo.m4a

I wonder what would have happened if the price of copper continued to rise.

I'm so glad you highlighted that music file. I read the article with interest but didn't notice that music file. What a great song!

Glad you liked it (and I agree on both counts). There's also this shorter piece about the process of finding Jagari that you might interesting:

http://theappendix.net/posts/2014/09/searching-for-jagari

Will they be coming to my town? Will they help me party down? Sorry, couldn't help the Grand Funk Railroad playing in my head when I read that headline ("We're a Za-ambian band!")

Good article, but it brought to mind to me that music is such a shite business. Bad enough in places like the U. S., but this guy despite all his fame at one point still ends up digging a hole in the ground hoping to make a living. Granted, the rest of his countrymates are in the same boat, but I guess when hard times come entertainment dollars are the first to get the budget ax.

> still ends up digging a hole in the ground hoping to make a living

That part of the story struck me as well. The fact that there are people out there who's best hope for economic success is digging a hole in the ground.

Lots of blues, folk western artists in the 40s 50s made most of their money in menial of semi skilled jobs. Some became famous, some not. Some occasionally, when people came looking after them due to late discovery, didn't even want to acknowledge that part of their lives.

Very interesting. I've been living in Zambia for a few years but had never heard of Zamrock.

(one tiny correction would be that 'mzungu' is singular for a white person, wazungu/bazungu is plural)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com