WHO IS TRIGGA ACE?

TRIIGA ACE is a dance hall, hip hop and Afro-fusion recording artist from Lusaka, Zambia.

BY Stewart Thornicroft

TRIIGA ACE is a young innovative and ambitious artist who began his music career in 2006. TRIIGA started his career as a backing vocalist for famous Zambian artist ‘SISTER D’ however he wasn’t given the opportunity to perform with them on major platforms.

   The young talented artist has thrived in his musical career with a vigorous approach.  TRIIGA dedicated himself to developing his musical style in rap to become a talented artist. He has invested in his time to develop his craft and his music has matured significantly through his innovative approach to produce high quality content for his audience.

   The young artist told ‘CHEZA’ during an interview that he wants his listeners to get the best content from his music that uses an artistic melody to educate, entertain and inform his fans through music. Since 2006 he has been recording in home studios.

   To step up his game in the Zambian Music industry he worked as vocalist for Cactus Agony in 2010. However, he wasn’t given the opportunity to perform with Cactus on major platforms such as backing the artist on stage because they felt it wasn’t the right time for him to actively kick off his music career.

   

   However, 2013 was a game changer for TRIIGA ACE when he was signed by the famous record label owned by SKILLS called ‘PHAT JAM records’ in 2013. The talented artist then worked with SKILLS and MR NYOPOLE on some music productions.

   ‘I never released music until 2014 when I started pushing some other files. I started going to other studios to record with other artists to perfect my music,’ TRIIGA said.

      In 2016 my craft became perfect and I started recording on major songs with artists such as WILLS, DRIFTA TREK and BOBBY EAST.

   Even after recording songs with the well established artists, TRIIGA still felt he had to improve his music. In 2017 he released his first song called ‘PLACES’ that featured SCOTT and JEDI produced by ‘REVERB’ because he felt it was the right time and the right feel for the people.

   In 2018, he realized a song with the famous Zambian recording artist DRIFTA TREK called ‘BOUNCE’ which was produced by ‘STASH ON THE BEAT.’ TRIIGA then used digital platforms and media channels to brand himself and advertise his music.

    In 2019, he realized his third song called ‘BIG BUM’ that featured DRIFTA TREK and CLUSHA which was produced by DRE ZAMBIA and WILLS. The song has received good feedback from his fans after listening to the song.

   ‘I have three songs that I have published that are on major media platforms and I am yet to produce more music,’ TRIIGA disclosed to CHEZA.

   ‘My inspiration came from a friend that I used to produce music with in Grade 10. He thought I would succeed because when I put my voice on the mic it really sounded dope, it was something that people were looking up to but then my friend snapped and stopped concentrating on my music. He imparted me with the motivation to produce because he told me I was talented in music and he is my inspiration to my music career,’ TRIIGA told CHEZA.

   ‘I love music because it has shown me what I never saw in the past because I couldn’t reach certain people and couldn’t make money but music has opened doors for me that are leading to success. With that to say, I am an artist and at the end of the day it is actually productivity and it puts food on the table,’ TRIIGA said.

   ‘What really influences my music is the fact that I listen to different artists, people, content and underground artist to perfect my craft. I get my content from different things that inspire me such as documentaries of LIL WAYNE, SNOOP DOG and TUPAC as well as many others. I absorb that content and make it into a dope sound,’ he said.

   I see myself as a well-established artist who doesn’t have to introduce themselves when it comes to public issues such as media and I feel I will be a big artist one year from now, TRIIGA told CHEZA.

GO GO GO TRIIGA!!!!!

Download Triiga Ace ft Drifta Trek and Clusha-Big Bum by clicking on this link

Contact CHEZA on +260972624270 for more information

CHEZA: SHOULD WE ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY?

CHEZA: SHOULD WE ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY?:    The enduring debate is that if Zambia is a Christian nation then it should eradicate death sentence? Do you think it is right or wr...

OYDC LAUNCHES MEDIA AWARDS

CHIEF Executive Officer, Dr. Fredrick Chitangala, has announced the introduction of the first ever OYDC Zambia Media Awards.

Dr. Chitangala says the inaugural awards will be done on 2^nd November, 2019 during the 2019 Teulings Youth Sports Challenge Grand Finale at which deserving media personnel who have covered stories on OYDC Zambia will be awarded.

“It is with great pleasure, that I announce the introduction of the first ever OYDC Zambia Media Awards which will be presented to deserving media personnel on 2^nd November, 2019. The introduction of the awards aims at honouring media practitioners and their media institutions for the unwavering support they have continued to render to OYDC Zambia from the time the facility opened its doors to the public in 2010” Dr. Chitangala says.

And Dr. Chitangala, says media personnel who wish to enter for the awards will be required to submit articles on OYDC Zambia published from January 2019 to date and ensure that they prepare to attend the Awards Gala to be held on 2^nd November, 2019.

The categories for the 2019 awards are:

1. Best Teulings Youth Sport Challenge article (Print & Broadcast)
2. Best OYDC Business article (Print & Broadcast)
3. Best OYDC Media partner (Print & Broadcast)
4. Best OYDC Documentary (Radio & TV)

Meanwhile, Dr. Chitangala has disclosed that entries into the awards has officially opened and receiving of submissions entries will come to a close on the 30^th October, 2019.

He urges reporters to consider entering the awards stating that all entries will be scrutinized by highly experienced media experts and those who will be shortlisted will be awarded accordingly.

Entry Criteria

1. Journalists must submit their newspaper screenshots, links and recordings of published OYDC articles
2. Must belong to a media house and be recommended by news editors for entry
3. Must indicate category of interest
4. Journalists are allowed to submit only two articles (published)
5. Journalists must be ready to attend the awards gala and make announcements prior to their attendance
6. All entries should be submitted electronically to info@oydc.org.zm

STOP DRUG ABUSE

'We are the future leaders of tomorrow and it is up to the youth to consistently fight against bad vices that affect us and create solutions to create a better nation, we are One Zambia One Nation' Stewart Thornicroft.

I am petrified with some of the ways of society.  Critical thinkers of society caged in bars of addictions that can never be satisfied. Yet, they try to look for the keys to open the portholes to success and better their lives. But, finding it is like looking for a rain drop in the sea.  Dreamers discouraged by failures introspection of how they failed to achieve what their hearts desired.

   Furthermore, I recall that the Minister of Local Government Vincent Mwale disclosed that he has to this effect already had meetings with alcohol producers in Zambia.

    Hereafter, he said it has been established that there is illegal production of alcohol in the country whose brands do not have traces to the manufacturers.

    However, think about this! Don’t you think that out of a group of alcoholics exist great philosophers, skills and aptitudes that can change society? What would happen if they changed their infatuations to resilience? How much time do they spend taking drugs? What kind of conversations do they have while abusing drugs? Do they believe they can create opportunities for themselves?

    Nevertheless, from 2009 our society has vividly seen the effects of junta on our youth in society. In 2010, hundreds of people were reported dead from excessively overdosing junta. Majority of the cases reported that most of the junta consumers puked pooped, and slept drunk or plunged dead like a fly sprayed directly with Morten target.

   Tentatively, our youth mostly complain of unemployment in Zambia. But, take a look at the sums of money collected from taverns in a day or hours. You will be amazed at how much cash is made by the bar owners. Imagine if all the amounts of money the youth spend on alcohol was channeled to business ideas and investments. Do you think that the high unemployment rates and our society would be same?

    Junta contains a high percentage of alcohol ranging from forty to forty five percent.  Wow! It’s incredible to see the youth drink junta slowly, smoothly and with a big large smile you can see every tooth in their mouth. They happily consume a substance that is able to take them six feet deep into the core of the ground like sedimentary rocks. Majority of the junta takers consume it because they believe it is a cheap and porthole to getting themselves to feel high to have fun or relieve stress. However, there is a saying that states even though you take alcohol to relieve your problems, they still float on top with life jackets on.

     Furthermore, I would advise the reader to buy a bottle of junta, open it carefully and gently pour it on a chicken’s liver. After the experiment, closely analyze what will happen to that piece of meat. You will be in shock to see how burnt the liver will be after pouring the deadly substance.  Imagine that’s what happens inside our bodies when we take junta. However, with such a reaction, the question is why do people still take this hazardous alcohol?

     Basically, the prices of the different brands of alcohol play a role. They sell from as low as three to ten kwacha in most areas of Lusaka. The impact is more on the poor as they cannot afford to buy expensive liquor. Therefore, they resort to drinking something cheap that can make them tipsy fast.

   Nevertheless, do you think students are able to study after taking large percentages of alcohol? Definitely not! Students tend to drinking Junta because of peer pressure. Most students tend to buy junta because they believe it’s a fast root to reaching cloud nine. How can a student intensively study after taking such a hard substance? After overdosing on junta they will get too intoxicated and sleep like a baby with no worries at all. Instead of waking up to study, the hard substance would have knocked them out like Muhammad Ali’s punch.

   Secondly, most junta patrons tend to be junkies. I don’t mean to sound omniscience or irrespective. But, take a drive to town as well as around the city of Lusaka and see how many junkies we have on the streets of Lusaka. They have red eyes like hot brimstone, a blur speech of a camel, a stink so harsh you could smell it centimeters from them and a debauched behavior. Most junkies take a junta to become courageous or active. After two or three bottles they feel like superstars on top of the world. However, our society needs to address these issues because this can cause cultural transmission occurs and bad morals are passed on to the young.

   In conclusion, I would advise NGO’s, Government and society at large to take measures of how to reduce the levels of alcohol in our country. We are a developing country and every single effort of resilience results to something despite how small it is. We should control alcoholism. This is a national issue because this illicit product poses a threat to the health of our citizens. Look at how many people have died from Junta and make your own conclusion!!!

YOUTH IN DEMOCRACY

Youth advocate and Journalist Stewart Thornicroft captured at Government Complex on 07th October, 2019 during a youth advocacy programme.

VOICES are getting louder and louder! The old saying that youths are the leaders of tomorrow is not just a delaying tactic, but an old and worn out adage because it has become clear that the youths should be the leaders of today. Youth participation in the drive to economic recovery for our country cannot be over emphasized.

It is noted from Zambia’s education system that the 15 to 25 years category of population constitutes largely of school dropouts at the levels of grade 7, 9 and 12 and to the extent, college level. In this view of school leavers, among which most of them are unemployed.

According to Zambia Department National Youth Policy a ‘youth’ is defined as male or female person aged between 15 and 35 years. This definition has been ideal to work in targeting support to the most disadvantaged population groups in society.

A youth friendly legal framework is crucial in enabling youth political participation. In most countries a candidate should be 25 years or higher to contest for a political position and this creates a gap between the legal age of the majority and voting age. On the other hand, the age at which an individual can serve in elected office.

Another important aspect that hinders the role of youths in a country is lack of participation in economic decision making. The Government of Zambia must play a critical role in prioritizing youth policy making and development.

Cultural attitudes can be attributed as one of the factors that has led to a mentality whereby elder people make decisions on behalf of the youth. This is one of the major issues that blocks the youths from actively participating in decision making.

To reverse the huge impact of low income, the youth should find other alternatives to fight poverty. To reduce the high levels of unemployment among the youth in Zambia it is necessary to effectively educate the youth on the benefits of entrepreneurship. It is a necessity for the youth to aim at becoming job creators rather than job seekers to stimulate economic growth.

Looking up to the government for employment opportunities has become one of the key features that have led to the increase of unemployment. When government fails to provide jobs for the youth they should be innovative to find other means of engaging in other business ventures.

It is important for the youths to engage themselves in skills and vocational training to equip them with talents that will increase their income. This failure of entrepreneurship can be attributed to a number of social-cultural factors that can be eradicated through sensitizing the youth on the need to be engage in small business development.

Young Africans need access to both decent formal education and opportunities to acquire a range of vocational training. Life skills help the youths to actively participate in all spheres of an increasingly knowledge intensive society. The youths are tomorrow’s leaders.

Unfortunately, the youths in Zambia struggle to acquire an education that provides them with the right set of skills and knowledge. As a result, the transition from school to work is a major challenge such that many young Africans end up either unemployed or underemployed in the informal sector with little protection and prospects.

Another issue affecting the youth is access to credit. Micro-finance can be identified as one the problems youths face in implementing business ideas due to lack of collateral and business experience. On the gender point of view in Zambia few women are engaged in running their own enterprises. This has an impact on national development and programmes should be formulated to engage more women in production to stimulate economic growth. The Zambian government, for example, has set up a Youth Empowerment Fund to provide capital to young people with sound business projects. More public and private schemes are needed to increase opportunities for youth.

Henceforth, established business leaders must also play a role by offering mentorship and internship opportunities to provide the youth with training. This will directly improve the skills of the youth and provide them with knowledge on how to effectively run a business and avoid pitfalls.

If government invests more in the youth this can help reduce poverty. This can be done by a number of ways such as investing in health and education of the youth. This is vital in Zambia because the youth are the majority of the population. We are the leaders of tomorrow therefore the youth must enhance their various skills to ensure that we effectively manage our country in the future.