Summer time is officially in full swing in Malawi and much of Southern Africa. Summer brings with it a myriad of music and arts festivals in the country most notably Lake of Stars which will take place towards the end of September. But apart from LOS there are other major festivals such as the new comer Likoma Music Festival, Sun Festival and Urban Music Party (UMP). UMP in particular focuses on urban music, as the name suggests. To the delight of many Malawians, this year’s edition of the UMP will be headlined by Pop Dogg; a Malawian who has been living in Ireland for quite a number of years. This is great news as such festivals are normally headlined by foreign acts.
UMP will take place in the country’s commercial capital, Blantyre on the 6th of November. Pop Dogg was interviewed by MTV Base and he commented on his excitement to make the journey back home to perform in front of his people after an 8 year absence. “It's been a while since I last visited Malawi. If I am not mistaken that was back in 2008 when I was launching my first album, ‘Spit Real’. I am looking forward to headlining the UMP festival,” the rapper explained. He went on to express his gratitude for being chosen as the headliner, explaining that it’s a privilege to headline the UMP back home after having performed on the festival circuit in various places outside of Malawi. “I have carried the Malawian flag outside of Malawi for so many years and accomplished a lot musically, but my fans in Malawi have never seen me performing live and that's what I am prepared to go and deliver,” he told MTV Base.
The rapper has been doing quite well for himself as he has performed in various places across the globe including South Africa, Germany, the UK, Zambia, USA and the Republic of Ireland. His most popular song is probably How We Do which he sang with Dominant1, Third Eye and Lady Casper several years back. The full list of performers for this year is yet to be released; the first wave is out though. Nepman, Sonye, Martse, Sangie, Theo Thomson, Bucci, DNA and Blaze are all expected to perform. The remaining names are expected to be revealed at the end of September or early October. The UMP festival started in 2009 and has been growing over the years. The festival is normally bundled with the UMP Award ceremony which awards achievement in urban music.
