Q-Chief’s return hits a brick wall

Q Chief is considered as one of the pioneers of Bongo Flava whose music became among the first to be played at nightclubs such as the defunct Billcanas in the early 2000s.

Bongo Flava as a nascent genre was struggling for airplay on both radio and the club scene, therefore to listen to his song alongside Lady Jaydee playing at an up market club.

His songs such as ‘Si ulinizaa wewe’, ‘Uhali gani’, ‘Kama zamani’, ‘Ninachokipata’ and others would soon become household name as he conquered not only Tanzania but East Africa, at one point he even relocated to Mombasa.

Two months ago Bongo Flava musician Q-Chief announced that he had decided to quit music and instead do something else. He had reached a point of no return and he sounded suicidal in his narrative which included lines of regret and lost years. He felt forsaken and some had actually written him off.

He was deep in debt and his marriage had fallen apart, he was indeed a lonely man in a world that once adored him. He was indeed a pale image of his former self.

His plummeting fortunes affected his career too and above all the confession that he was on drugs on an interview with EATV in 2014 hit harder than he had ever imagined.

It was an announcement that shocked the industry as many of his compatriots reached out to him to ask him to reconsider his decision because they thought he still had something to offer to Bongo Flava.

It took several weeks of convincing for him to return to the studios and the result of that turnaround was a single titled ‘Chuma Kisamvu’.

With that release he seemed ready to reach out to his fans and take over the patch that once belonged to him.

The new single was welcome news but unfortunately it was one that never lasted too long as he hit a brick wall after his YouTube account was blocked early Wednesday.

Speaking to The Beat, Q Chief said, he found so many calls from fans asking why his You Tube account was blocked. He had to try checking on his account and the hard reality hit again.

“I had to inform my Manager Warren who is currently in South Africa. This is a dirty game among artists and it also happened to Ali Kiba and took about a week to get access back into his account. I am working with IT people to see how we can secure my account, however, I suspect one of the music director who was quoted saying if my video will reach up to 100,000 viewers he will buy me a car,” says Q Chief. According to him during the video preparations the same director who was to do the video came up with a copied idea on how to do the ‘Chuma Kisamvu’ video.

His management was not convinced with the intervention and decided to cancel the deal despite the fact he was already paid some good money for that job even before the job started. But even as the comeback seems to be hit with setbacks he says it took a lot of convincing for him to change his heart and one of the most prompting factor was a call from the President and his daughters.

President John Pombe Magufuli is a known admirer of local music and he never shies away from that admission right from the days of his campaigns. “Soon after I made the announcement that I was calling it quits, I received a phone call from one of the President’s aides who said after the president watched the interview he spend about twenty minutes talking about it and he said the President will call me”, says Q Chief.

This to him was a wake-up call that reminded him that he still had something to contribute to the industry.

“I know I cannot erase the mistakes I made in my career but I can use the mistakes to learn and become a new person and use my rather bad experiences to inspire others.”

His daughters too were not very please by his decision and they simply called it a ruch decision which was not from an informed point of view.

“When I started music I asked my fans for support and when I felt like there was no hope I decided to make it official to my fans. The feedback I got from my family members, fans and friends made me feel that I can make it, all I needed was just to have faith, respect my decision to quit all risk behaviors and remain true to myself,” says Q Chief.

Currently he is managed by Warren Bright, who was abroad when he heard that he was about to quit music. “I supported Q Chief because he has a passion for music, he is the most talented artist, his music lives for ages, I work for UN and on the United Nations Population Fund our mandate is to support young people to fulfill their potential so as an individual UN ambassador wherever I am I have to apply this in my daily routine,” says Warren.

According to him Q Chief as an artist can influence millions of youth through a positive change and build the mutual understanding and bridge the gap.

Q Chief says, for so long he has not been able to be a responsible father to his two daughters. And now he is back to his senses he is making sure he creates a very supportive environment for his two daughters to get the kind of education that they desire.

He says, there are so many areas in the Millenium development goals that affects youths lives directly like poverty, issues of lack of opportunities and how people can address different challenges in their lives. Being able to be a good artist can help him become a good ambassador to other youths.