Lady Pace’s first trip to Canada didn’t go as planned.
Mwayi Mphande, 24, who goes by the stage name Lady Pace, was the first Malawian woman to release a hip hop album (2017’s Nkazi Moto). She had come to Vancouver learn about the Music Heals music therapy program, so that she could launch something similar in her home country. But then COVID hit. So the Malawian music star has had to isolate on Bowen Island for the past few months with her friend, local gender rights activist Patti DeSante. Yet, while in isolation, Pace is finding new ways to connect her home and Canada.
Lady Pace loved music from the beginning.
Born and raised the northern part of Malawi, Pace started playing music at 10 years old and a few years later started to get into recording. In the decade since, her star’s risen in the Malawian music scene, but it wasn’t an easy path.
“The northern part of Malawi does not have a lot of musicians so I was literally the first lady to come up as a musician,” said Pace. “[In] Malawi, basically the music scene is not that big because all the people don’t want to invest in music.”
“With our condition of living, they feel like it’s a waste of time. They’d rather see us in school and then just concentrate on the usual…be a lawyer, be nurse, be an engineer.”
While Pace’s father was against music early in her career, he ran out of money to send her to school. (In Malawi, primary school is free but secondary school is not.)
“The only option I had was music,” said Pace. Through music, Pace paid her way through high school and then a business management diploma.
Her father eventually came around, and her two younger brothers have since become a musician and music producer respectively.
“The two are totally into music and they have it the easy way because my dad is into it now,” laughs Pace. “So they have no problem. They get all the support!”
A few years ago, Pace met DeSante and the two became fast friends.
“When I met her and she was like ‘you can actually do something with your music.’ I was like ‘Yes! Finally someone was giving me direction for the first time’,” said Pace.
The two met renowned Malawian Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, of the Dezda District, who has annulled hundreds, if not thousands, of child marriages. (Malawi is thought to have among the highest rates of child marriage in the world.)
“She actually strips [children] off, like from their home like, ‘Okay, no, not we’re not doing this,’” said Pace. “I met her and I was super inspired from that day. I realized…I can actually just talk about how powerful women are.”
“And so all my music has been, ‘okay, don’t mess with me.’
“Like let’s just live life and you should understand that women are really powerful.”
Pace met with several of the children who had been married, who were by then back in school.
“They were super excited to meet me,” said Pace––noting that several of the youth wanted to be musicians.
“You can follow your dreams,” Pace told the former child brides. “No one has to put you in a corner, say you have to go to school and be this and be that and get married.”
Pace’s album Nkazi Moto was about the famous chief and the girls whose marriages Kachindamoto terminated.
This year, as DeSante had been visiting the Southeast African country for years, it was Pace’s turn to come to Canada.
The plan was to scout out the Music Heals program that supports music therapy for “patients in children’s hospitals, seniors centres, palliative care, AIDS & HIV programs, at-risk youth, rehabilitation, and bereavement support.” (According to the Music Heals website).
The idea came after DeSante had to have an operation in Malawi and couldn’t get painkillers––not even topical freezing.
“That’s how we do [it],” said Pace.
To help Malawians with pain relief, Pace and DeSante couldn’t go the direct route.
“We’re not bringing meds because…there’s a lot of corruption and everyone just wants to make their way through,” said Pace. “So even if people donate stuff like medicine and all that, there’s some people that are just gonna take them and go start their own pharmacy.
“But music, no one can steal music.”
The idea was to learn about the program here, and then have therapists go over to Malawi to demonstrate and train musicians. The hope is too to get Lady Pace a scholarship at Capilano University so that she may formally train.
However, soon after Pace’s arrival in Canada, COVID struck, throwing all of her plans into disarray.
But that’s not to say Pace is taking a break.
The life-long musician has been learning the piano, guitar, how to produce music and make beats under the guidance of some local musicians.
“It’s been so great meeting people, new people,” laughs Pace. “I have friends now.”
Earlier this month, Pace released “Mutuvwa Cha,” which in her home language, Tonga, means “you don’t listen, you’re not paying attention,” said Pace. The song acknowledges her roots in northern Malawi, as many assume she’s from elsewhere.
“The song speaks to how people lost in society’s standards, judgements and concept of, “What’s normal,” project their opinions on you based on the way you look, what you do and even where you come from,” says the press release for the song.
The other project that Pace and DeSante have embarked on in the COVID era is the Brighter Days Campaign to connect their two countries.
“It’s almost like trying to see the strength of Malawi and trying to see the strength of Canada and how best they can serve each other in this pandemic time,” said Pace.
In the first phase of the campaign DeSante sewed masks and sold them to make money to send to Malawi (DeSante still has masks for sale). The second phase is issuing creative challenges in Malawi –– seeing what people are doing right now and putting it on Facebook to show Canadians.
“Because in Malawi, it’s super different,” said Pace.
“I know people are on lockdown [here], but in Malawi it cannot happen. “
“As much as you would want to, it can’t happen because you go out to hustle for food for that day, and then you come home. When they tell you, you’re on lock down––it’s totally impossible.
“People would die of starvation before they even die of COVID,” said Pace. “So I think that’s what really prompted the campaign.”
The first challenge is to be called “pitch black COVID.”
The challenge is to be in a room, switch off the light, try to do something creative in the dark and then switch the light back on. For context, Pace explained that in Malawi there are a lot of power outages.
“That’s almost like a metaphor for life in Malawi,” said Pace. “We’re always in dark times…real life is tough there.”
“It’s like you’re just walking blindly but then at the end of the day, just the fact that you were able to walk in that darkness.”
“So the whole challenge is reflecting that part of Malawi but then we just want to make it more fun and see what people can actually do,” said Pace. “Yes, it’s gonna be awesome.”
But ultimately, Pace’s goal is still to bring in a Music Heals Malawi.
“I’m hoping after this COVID, I can still go on and make my dream come true.”
