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.

“Bwalya” is a significant track by Zambian rapper Bombshell Grenade, serving as the lead single for her debut album, Mfumu Kadzi.

Key Details About the Song
Personal Tribute: The song is named after her late grandmother and also references her own birth name, Bwalya Sophie Chibesakunda.

Cultural Meaning: The name “Bwalya” is described as a derivative used by the Bemba tribe for the word “Warrior”.

Collaborations: The track features Sebastien Dutch and Jazzy Jess.

Album Context: It serves as an intro to the 20-track album Mfumu Kadzi, which was released in early January 2022 through Nexus Music Entertainment.

Latest from Bombshell Grenade
While “Bwalya” was a milestone release, her most recent activity includes the single “Young Man,” released in October 2024, marking her return to the music scene.
The Bemba meaning of the name “Bwalya”—which Bombshell Grenade explains is a derivative used to mean “Warrior”—influences the video in the following ways:
Theme of Independence and Resilience: The definition of “Warrior” underpins the video’s focus on the life lessons Bombshell received from her late grandmother, Bwalya Sophie Chibesakunda. The video celebrates how these teachings prepared her to “make it in life alone”.

Tribute to Lineage: The video serves as a tribute to her grandmother, the original bearer of the name and the warrior spirit, crediting her and the “family village” for raising the child who became the successful “MFUMU KADZI” (Queen) she is today.

Visual Heritage: This warrior identity is grounded visually in the rich Bemba heritage and the “simple life of a village girl” depicted in the video, illustrating the environment that forged her character.

Based on the sources, the album Mfumu Kadzi promotes the idea of community unity by using the analogy of a “village” to advocate for collective responsibility.

Bombshell Grenade interprets the saying “it takes a village to raise a child” to mean that a community must be “united and genuinely concerned about the next persons well-being”. She uses the album to urge people to “be that village that raises a child together”, emphasizing that this unity is necessary to make the “village” a better place for everyone.

Follow Bombslell Grenade