Malawi: Onesimus announces release date for Son of Grace album

According to the artist, the album is named after his late mother, Grace Kalua. The project, however, focuses largely on themes of African identity, romance and interpersonal relationships through Afrobeats-influenced music.

The album follows a successful 2024 awards season for Onesimus and includes tracks such as ‘Melanin’, featuring Danya Devs and JZyNO, ‘Phone Sex’, ‘Sheba’, featuring Wave Rhyder, and “Amalobolo”, featuring Kwanda.

Speaking about the project, Onesimus said: “This album is about showing the full picture of modern Africa. It’s music about love, intimacy, and relationships, but it’s also about where I come from. By bringing in artists from across the region and singing in our different languages, we are celebrating a borderless culture.”

The project also includes collaborations with artists from several African countries, including Nutty O, Saint Realest, Chile One Mr Zambia, Wave Rhyder, Liema Phantsi and Danya Devs.

The album incorporates a range of musical styles, including Afrobeats, Afropop, amapiano and 3-step, and features lyrics in Chichewa, Chinyanja, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Nigerian Pidgin and Sesotho.

One of the tracks, ‘Why So Soon’, reflects on the deaths of musicians Malome Vector, Lizwi Wokuqala and Da Mos, who died in 2024.