Tag Archives: Bemba

12Feb/26

Salma Sky: The Multilingual Pioneer Who Redefined Zambian R&B

More Than a Melody: How Salma Sky Redefined the Zambian Sound

 

Feb 11, 2026 /Mpelembe media/ — Salma Sky (born Salma Dodia) is a leading figure in the Zambian music scene who has played a pivotal role in popularizing and shaping the local R&B genre. Born in Lusaka to a Zambian father and a Lebanese mother, she transitioned from a modeling career to music, eventually becoming half of a noticeable “power couple” alongside her husband and producer, Tivo Shikapwashya. Continue reading

10Feb/26

Kenneth Kaunda: The Legacy of a Pan-African Patriarch

10 Feb. 2026 /Mpelembe Media  — Based on the provided sources, there is no evidence that Kenneth Kaunda explicitly envisioned mpelembe.net as a network for the Pan-African movement. Instead, the sources describe Mpelembe Secondary School and the Mpelembe Network (mpelembe.net) in the following ways: Continue reading

10Feb/26

Bombshell Grenade Honors Grandmother and Bemba Heritage in New Video ‘Bwalya’

10 Feb. 2026 /Mpelembe Media  — Zambian artist Bombshell Grenade has released the music video for ‘Bwalya’, the opening track of her album Mfumu Kadzi, featuring Jazzy Jess and Sebastien Dutch. The release is a tribute to her late grandmother, Bwalya Sophie Chibesakunda, whose name the artist explains is derived from a word meaning “Warrior”. Visually, the video celebrates Bemba culture and the “simple life of a village girl,” acknowledging that her success is the result of her community’s collective effort. Through this release, she promotes themes of women’s empowerment and unity, urging people to embody the spirit of the “village” by genuinely caring for one another.

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13Jul/23

Kenneth Kaunda’s wife was a Tumbuka

July 13, 2023 /Human Interest/ —Kenneth Kaunda was a Bemba, which is one of the largest ethnic groups in Zambia. His father, David Kaunda, was born in Nyasaland, which is now Malawi. The Tumbuka are a Bantu ethnic group that is also found in Malawi. Mama Betty, Kaunda’s wife, was a Tumbuka from Malawi.

So, when it is said that Kaunda was a Bemba who married a Tumbuka lady, it means that he was born into a Bemba family, but his wife was from a Tumbuka family. Mama Betty came from the Tumbuka family in Malawi, which is why she is referred to as a Tumbuka lady. Continue reading

20Jun/23

How Salma Sky influenced R&B music in Zambia.

June 20, 2023 /Entertainment/ — Salma Sky was born in Lusaka, Zambia, to a Zambian father and a Lebanese mother. She began her music career at a young age, singing in church and at school events. In her early twenties, she took a hiatus from music to pursue a modeling career, but she eventually returned to music and began writing and recording her own songs. Continue reading