Masauko

Masauko is a Malawian-American singer-songwriter born in Los Angeles to parents in political exile from Malawi. Performing with voice and acoustic guitar, his music blends Southern African traditions with jazz, folk, funk, hip-hop, and reggae. His powerful voice, strong songwriting, and commanding stage presence create performances that connect deeply with audiences.

Raised in a community of African and Caribbean exiles, Masauko was influenced by activist musicians Letta Mbulu, Caiphus Semenya, Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, shaping his belief in music as a vehicle for social change. After studying traditional music in Malawi, he moved to South Africa in the 1990s and co-founded the acclaimed acoustic duo Blk Sonshine with Neo Muyanga. The group became a household name in South Africa, performing internationally and sharing stages with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Hugh Masekela and Queen.

As a solo artist, Masauko has performed at Carnegie Hall and collaborated with Grammy Award–winning artists RZA (WuTang) and Ladybug Mecca (Digable Planets). His work connects African roots with global sounds while carrying forward a tradition of music rooted in purpose.

Central to Masauko’s work is his Permaculture and Music vision, which uses performance to support sustainable development in rural Malawi. In late 2025, he performed in Denver, Colorado in support of RiseUp Malawi, helping secure funds for solar-powered water pumps for villages in Mangochi. He also performed in Los Angeles in support of Water Wells for Africa, an organization that has built over 600 wells across Malawi. In May 2026, Masauko will return to Malawi to support the construction of a borehole and solar pump system in Talia Village, Mangochi. These efforts will follow a tour in South Africa from March-April, as a solo artist, including performances with Snazz D and Blk Sonshine.

Now based between Costa Rica and Southern Africa, Masauko continues to perform and collaborate internationally, building bridges between Africa and the diaspora. His work stands at the intersection of music, cultural exchange, and activism, using song as a tool for connection, awareness, and tangible change.

Building by Masauko with Blk Sonshine

In 2019, Masauko launched Permaculture and Music in Malawi, an initiative using music to support regenerative farming, water access, and long-term food security in rural communities. Working with Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) Malawi, founded by his mother Catherine Ajizinga Chipembere, the project is funded by global donors and supports annual permaculture training for farmers from Mangochi, Malawi.

These farmers study with Malawian permaculture educator Luwayo Biswick at the Permaculture Paradise Institute, the country’s first locally founded permaculture training center. Through this work, farmers have learned climate-resilient growing methods that allow crops to survive cycles of drought and flooding. Masauko also collaborates with Biswick to create educational songs in Chichewa, helping communicate permaculture principles to rural and illiterate communities. His advocacy has been featured across national media in Malawi, expanding awareness of regenerative agriculture.

Since 2025, Masauko has expanded this work internationally, collaborating with organizations that share the same mission of water access and sustainable farming. In late 2025, he performed in Denver, Colorado in support of RiseUp Malawi, helping secure solar-powered water pumps for villages in Mangochi. He also performed in Los Angeles for Water Wells for Africa, contributing to efforts that have built over 600 wells across Malawi.

In May 2026, Masauko will return to Malawi to support the construction of a borehole and solar pump system in Talia Village, Mangochi. Through Permaculture and Music and his growing partnerships, Masauko continues to use his platform to help rural communities build self-reliance through regenerative agriculture, clean water access, and education.

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EPK for Masauko Chipembere 

BIO 

Masauko is a Malawian-American singer/songwriter, born in Los Angeles while  his parents were in political exile from Malawi. His primary instruments are the  acoustic guitar and voice. Masauko’s sound is a unique mixture of Southern  African traditional music with jazz, folk, funk, hip-hop, and reggae. Although  his music spans many genres, the common denominator are strong songs and a  great vocal range. 

Masauko’s first visit to Africa was in 1996. He spent nearly a year studying  traditional music in Malawi. He then moved to South Africa in 1997, and formed  the now-famous acoustic duo, Blk Sonshine with Neo Muyanga from Soweto.  The duo blended the music of Southern Africa with hip-hop and jazz in acoustic  form. 

Blk Sonshine went on to share stages with artists from every genre, including  Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Gil Scott Heron, Bonnie Raitt, Mary J. Blige, Dead  Prez, Susana Baca, Ernest Ranglin, Hugh Masekela, Ismael Lo, Queen, and India  Arie in the USA and Africa. By 2005, Blk Sonshine was a household name in  South Africa. That year, they performed at the Nelson Mandela’s annual 46664  concert in front of thousands of fans. Blk Sonshine was featured on the  Putumayo, South Africa album release in 2010 and performed for the FIFA  World Cup in South Africa. Masauko was nominated for a South African Music  Award (SAMA) in 2010 as part of the group Blk Sonshine. 

As a solo artist, Masauko has performed acoustically at New York´s Carnegie  Hall. He has recorded with Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artists, RZA from  The WuTang Clan and Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets. 

Masauko’s first solo album, self-titled, MASAUKO, was recorded in Cape  Town, with musicians from Malawi and South Africa. It is available for purchase  at bandcamp.com. It can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon. In  2021, Masauko is part of a collective called Ngoma Zethu featuring Mongezi  Ntaka, Vusi Mahlasela, Lorraine Klaasen with artists from Algeria, Nigeria, and  the USA. Their new album release is called Ngoma Zethu-7 Chapters of Mystery. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Masauko performs in a virtual concert to support of frontline Covid-19  workers in Malawi. The event was put together by the Malawi Diaspora  Network to purchase PPE and other supplies for medics working on the  frontlines against Covid-19, March 2021. 

• MASAUKO album included in Avotcja’s top 21 ALBUMS KPOO-FM  San Francisco, CA & KPFA-FM Berkeley, CALIFORNIA INTER &  OUTER-NATIONAL 2020. 

• The song “Birds Will Sing” by Masauko wins third place in the World  Citizen Artists songwriting competition, SOLIDARITY FOR ALL.  Masauko is a featured performer and panelist in a discussion on the impact  of Covid on artists hosted by the World Citizen Artists website in October  of 2020. (virtual) 

• Winner of the U.S. Artists International, Mid Atlantic Arts Grant, 2020. MASAUKO, CA: Bassline Fest (Igoda Circuit), South Africa; Bushfire  (Igoda Festival Circuit), Swaziland; and Zafiko Festival (Igoda Festival  Circuit), South Africa. 

• Banana Peel (Cáscara de plátano) Featuring Masauko by Jneiro Jarel,  released 17 April 2020. A Brazilian jazz song put out by Farout  Recordings. 

• MASAUKO album featured by World Music Central.org, article by Angel  Romero. Feb, 2020. 

• Live performance Apollo Cafe, Harlem, NY with South African singer,  Yolanda Zama. Performer as well as musician director for the show,  January 8th, 2020. 

• Live performance/Album release party for MASAUKO at The World  Stage Performance Gallery, Leimert Park, Los Angeles, October 2019. • Live performance/Album release party for MASAUKO at Untitled  Basement, Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2019. 

• Live performance/Album release for MASAUKO at Sounds of Malawi in  Blantyre, Jacaranda Cultural Center, July 2019. 

• MASAUKO self-titled album released with the support of the Guayaki  Yerba Mate Company. June 2019. 

• Live performance Edison Ballroom, NY, March 2018 in support of Shared Interest’s Annual Gala. In attendance were Mayor Bill Be Blasio, Danny  Glover and John Kani (Black Panther). 

• Masauko performs with a live band in support of his acoustic duo Roque  y Masauko and Costa Rican hip-hop artist Huba Watson, in Mexico for  Ollin Kan Festival in July of 2018. Ollin Kan is Mexico’s largest  international festival focusing on the music of Africa and the diaspora.

This short music documentary about Masauko Chipembere was made during a two-week journey to Southern Africa sponsored by Come To Life Music/Guayaki in the summer of 2017. Even though Masauko was born in exile in Los Angeles, his ancestral homeland is Malawi. For years, he had been traveling there to work with Ernest Ikwanga and Sam Mkandawire, two of the most respected young musicians in the country. Sadly, Malawi had no real studio spaces. The country has never had a chance to  fully invest in the arts, because Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. However, there are other types of wealth in this world and it is apparent that Malawi is culturally rich. Masauko believes this documentary attests to this. Malawians are a people who have ancient traditions that connect humans to the earth, the sky, the wind, the trees and the ancestors. This album is the product of all these elements coming together. 

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 UPCOMING LIVE PERFORMANCES AND LECTURES: