From exile camps to European stages, Jackson Wahengo’s journey is a tale of grit, guitar strings and music inspired by real life.
Wahengo, who was born in exile, took a keen interest in music while growing up in Swapo camps in both Angola and Zambia.
His music is heavily rooted in the African tradition, blended with contemporary urban sounds and strong influences of jazz, zouk and reggae.
His concept is Afropop-folk in a new form.
The celebrated guitarist was born in Zambia’s Kabwe province, where president Kenneth Kaunda gave a piece of land called Nyango to Swapo, .
“I’ve always been singing, since infancy. Growing up in exile we all sang revolutionary songs. I sang a lot before and only stopped for a while to learn to play the guitar.
“Some of us were more curious than others, which led us to imitate the late Jackson Kaujeua senior and Ndilimani. Learning how to play the guitar came later at the age of 14,” Wahengo says.
The musician, who is now based in Copenhagen, Denmark, says he first played and sang traditional songs. By then he was living with his family in Okalongo. He later gravitated to playing songs of Bob Marley, Ras Sheehama and basically anything he could learn at the time.
“Only when I moved to Windhoek and joined the Mighty Dreads did I stop singing, because I wanted to focus more on lead guitar and learning how to play skillfully,” he says.
“I was taught by my cousin Mika Ndeutapo, but he only taught me traditional stuff in a completely different tuning. I later took up guitar classes at the College of the Arts.”
When his elder brother Setson came back from exile in Cuba, he was playing a guitar style that is commonly known as ‘standard tuning’, and so Wahengo relearned to play.
He says he was so intrigued by the guitar that he moved to South Africa to enrol at the University of Cape Town for jazz studies.
LOVE AND POLITICS
“My topics range from love to politics. When growing up, it was a lot of revolutionary songs and popular African-pop stuff. Shambo and reggae came at a later stage,” Wahengo says.
“Although I was born in Zambia, I have no memories of Zambia because I grew up in Cuanza Sul, Angola, where we listened to a lot of kizomba, zouk, sungura and soukous.”
Wahengo, who has released only one album, titled ‘Hakutu Hewa’, and lots of singles to date, played his first big gig with the Mighty Dreads in 1999.
“I would say playing with the Mighty Dreads in the old Warehouse Theatre around 1999 was my first big gig. Back then, not everyone played at the Warehouse,” he says.
“For me, it was big think. I later graduated to playing in Ras Sheehama’s band and also on Willie Mbuende’s project called ‘Sidadi’. Those are memories I will always cherish.”
At the moment, Wahengu is performing around Europe while he is also writing and teaching music to young children around Copenhagen.
He says his biggest regret is the fact that he did not spend a lot of time learning from folk singer Tate Kwela when he was still alive.
The ‘Kalomoh’ hitmaker says music is, however, slow in bringing in revenue.
“Apart from teaching, I sometimes do other odd jobs, like working in restaurants just to make ends meet.”
He mentions Tate Kwela, Ras Sheehama, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh as the people who inspired his career.
Wahengo says Namibia has many talented musicians who can make it beyond our borders.
“It’s only a matter of time before someone breaks out there,” he says.
“Although it seems like an easy thing to do, becoming an internationally acclaimed star requires lots of exposure and marketing. You must really have a reputable team.”
While musicians beyond our borders have the luxury to knock on the doors of music publishing companies, artists in Namibia have to fight for their own survival, he says.
Music publishing companies in South Africa, for instance, manage royalties, protect copyrights and license musical compositions, he says.
Wahengo says he doesn’t understand why Namibia has not attracted international companies like Gallo Music Africa and other labels like Sony Music Publishing yet.
“For now we just have to keep pushing on and on,” he says.
His advice to young, aspiring musicians is: “Believe in your abilities and believe you are in the game to win. Stay focused at all times, and work your socks off.”
