We always enjoy turning the tables on local DJ’s and presenters in our regular Sunday night radio show The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild. The show airs from 20.30-21.30 hrs on Zambezi FM, Livingstone’s leading local radio station broadcasting on 107.7 fm and reaching radios within a radius of about 70 kms from downtown Livingstone. This week we had the pleasure of grilling DJ Muja Blaze on air – real name Mujala Malama, pictured above. “Why are you called Muja Blaze”? I asked and before Mujala had time to reply, Milli Jam answered “because he’s blazing hot Richard”! Seems so! Sizzling!

Mujala has only been with 107.7 fm in Livingstone for about 8 months and is holding down the dreaded graveyard shift three mornings per week between 02.00 and 05.00 hrs. He calls that show Flight 205 (for obvious reasons) and breaks it down into 3 sections, R&B, Hip-Hop and Local. He’s got a great voice for radio and loads of charisma! I reminded Milli Jam that when I’d first heard him on Zambezi FM in 2007 he was the one holding down shifts like that, shivering in an icy studio in the middle of the Zambian winter! Milli Jam needed no reminding! Mujala’s also something of a video star in Zambia having featured on a recent MTN advertisement, filmed in Johannesburg and widely shown on TV back home.

Mujala told listeners that apart from his radio spots he’s established his own company – MM Entertainments – a video recording outfit. They film music videos amongst other things and Mujala informed us that currently he has two music videos being featured on national Zambian TV channels. The company started by filming weddings, private parties, functions and such like. “Could you record a video of Chanters Lodge for our website”? I asked him. “Love to!” was the quick reply “when we’ve finished filming Brill’s latest”! Brill is a local musician who also happens to be Deputy Mayor of Livingstone.

The music on the show was almost as hot as Muja Blaze! We opened with ‘Right There’ – Nicole Scherzinger ft 50 Cent back to back with ‘Guilt’ – Nero ft Alana. George’s local selection included ‘Malaika’ – P-Jay and ‘Bye Bye’ – Ken One ft Exile. We liked the latter, good dance beat and nice lyrics – ‘when you said bye bye you left with my happiness and joy’ the meaning of the lyrics. The Chanters Girls were definitely rocking back at the lodge! Sean Kingston’s ‘Rewind’ and Beyonce’s ‘Ego’ made up Milli Jam’s choice, then we moved on to ‘Don’t Wanna Go Home by Jason Derulo. (I like this one, it samples Harry Belafonte’s ‘Banana Boat Song’ and if that doesn’t take you back in time, nothing will!) ‘Sweat’ by Snoop Dogg and Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’ wound up the show – both current top ten hits in UK.

We took the opportunity to wish all the Zambian ladies ‘Happy Mothers Day’ which fell on the day of the show and to congratulate (through clenched teeth) Manchester United on their virtual Premiership title (on a day when 3 out of 4 people in the studio supported the hapless, hopeless Arsenal!) We gave a prize of a dinner for 2 at Chanters Lodge to the first person to text us our guest’s radio name and we got a winner – though the response was poor this week.

Mujala informed us that he had one sister also that he’d done part of his education in South Africa where he’d passed his ‘matric’. Although he was single (and hot) he has a little boy aged 18 months. ‘So you’re spoken for’ Milli Jam said (he loves such topics). Pause. ‘Errrr, not really’ replied the hot one, now feeling a little shy! We wanted to know if ‘Blaze’ had ever been bungee jumping and he admitted he had not. ‘We had a guest this week who said the price was scarier than the jump’ I told listeners.

‘Where would you like to be and what would you like to be doing 10 years from now’? Milli jam asked our guest and DJ Muja Blaze replied that he’d like to see his company MM Entertainments internationally renown and prosperous and that he’d still like to be broadcasting. We wished him well with his goals.