Zambian rapper wins SADC song competition

The competition was intended for aspiring and established songwriters and musicians to produce a song that is memorable, entertaining, educational and informative.

Katongo’s song, titled ‘SADC - Throw Your Hands Up’, triumphed against 27 entries by artists from nine SADC countries who took part in the competition. The Australia-based artist received $4 000 and flew to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to perform the song at the SADC Summit official opening ceremony in August.

“We'd like to say a big thanks to everyone who participated in the competition,” a post reads on the SADC Facebook page. “It has been a great pleasure receiving your songs, they were all amazing. And now we'd like to congratulate Chisenga Katongo, a Zambian national who emerged the winner."

“Music provides impactful formats of relaying information about an organisation or product, hence the SADC Secretariat decided to launch the public outreach song to educate and inform about SADC.”

Launched last year in October, the competition was open to citizens of the SADC region and the wordings of the song and content were aimed at promoting awareness and visibility of SADC’s Objectives and Common Agenda.

The competition was intended for artists in any of the following categories: reggae, rock, blues, Christian, comedy/novelty, country, dance, folk, comedy, jazz, pop and R&B/hiphop.

Listen to the ‘SADC - Throw Your Hands Up’ song below: