DOWNLOAD MP3: ZISD – “10101 Nomaone” (Zambian & Proud) ft. Slap Dee
PRESS RELEASE:
How a group of ordinary Zambians produced Zambia’s biggest music for social change project and got Slap D to produce the Hottest Hip Hop Song called 10101 No Ma One.
We live in Zambia, the greatest nation in the world which is not mere rhetoric but an honest revelation.Unfortunately, most of us are blind to that fact instead opting to idolize other countries ahead of our own. Our greatness lies not in the resources beneath but above the earth; our people. We descend from a lineage of great liberators who died to liberate us and our neighbours. It is this heritage that we should be proud of and which should unify us because regardless of our background we are all Zambians. Therefore though we may have our differences, what binds us together is far greater than that which tries to put us apart. It is time for our society to stop valuing people based on positions and possessions but instead recognize people as equals regardless of their social status. Most importantly we need to leverage the power of our youths by creating an environment that views them as leaders of today as opposed to tomorrow by enabling them to explore, discover and build their self-belief. At the Zambian Institute for Sustainable Development, we strongly believe that poverty is more mental than physical and if we can break the shackles in the mind only then can we be free. It is for this reason that we set out to create the Develop Zambia 10101 (Ten tenone) Music Project to spread a message of “Hope”.
This project is an attestation to the power of an idea and unity of purpose. What started off as an impulsive idea at night to produce a jingle would eventually see the light of day to become Zambia’s biggest music for social change project. We lined up a meeting with an artist but nothing would have prepared us for the outcome. We were bombarded with so many questions such as the project name and soon our enthusiasm would fizzle away. However, instead ofsurrendering we would return with vengeance and a jingle would become songs and an entire project. We began recording a song a month out of our personal coffers and when this became cost prohibitive we setup a studio in our apartment, learning music production on the job much to the dismay of our neighbours and landlord. We were soon up to speed and Apartment 9 would become cloud 9 as stars flocked in, from Exile now Izrael (recording Kano fye), Maureen Lilanda to Slap Dee. The 10101(Ten ten one) music project was derived from Zambia’s postal code said differently to give it a youthful appeal. We settled on “Hope” as the project theme to address the many youths that were in despair, some of whom we had offered financial assistance. These students had grown accustomed to mockery as a result of their circumstances; losing any sense of hope and pride. We were determined to restore this sense of hope and pride to these students and millions across the country through our music. The term Nomaone (No Shame) was born to send a message to Zambians to be proud despite their circumstances. The album title would be 10101 (Ten ten one) Nomaone (No Shame) meaning Zambian and proud. For the 10101 Nomaone title track we wanted a song that would not only linger in the minds but also the hearts of the youth as an anthem. We had a catchy beat but no artist in mind to execute the song not until we put underlying vocals explaining that one zero one zero one (1-0-1-0-1) was pronounced as ten ten one. It became clear that it had tobe no other than the king of hip hop himself Slap D so we contacted him and the rest is history.
A journey that we thought would last six weeks has taken us six years resulting in valuable lessons and two Best Conscience Music Video nominations at the Born and Bred Award for Everybody Needs Hope (performed by KB ,Alpha Romeo ,Jae Cash ,Juvic and Chilu) and Mwana Mwanga (performed by Maureen Lilanda). Even when it was easier to quit we opted not to let the message of “Hope” die because of our love for ourmotherland. We are deeply indebted to the numerous artists, producers, disc jockeys and music presenters that have contributed their time, talent and counsel to positively influence the youth today and for generations to come. Most of all we are forever grateful to everyone that supported our project. To the Zambian people, this one is for you so we hope you enjoy and share the “10101 NoMaOne” song because I’m Zambian and proud. Are you?