The Ramukhuba Afro-Pop musician Chester "Vha Chess" Lubengo says that in terms of producing good music, he never compromises. In April of this year, he released his latest album, My Blessed Journey, and from the fans' reaction he has clearly hit the right mark yet again.
This great musician became a household name with the release of his second album, Mvelephanda, in 2018. Since then, he has never looked back. Although he admits that a lot of pressure had been exerted on him to release this third album, he says he is passionate about his latest offering, as he feels he has delivered yet another album that his fans can truly enjoy. My Blessed Journey comprises 14 tracks, in Venda as well as in English, and they are all worth listening to. Some of the songs on the album include Thanks Mummy, The Real Me, Rishumela Venda, and Life Behind Bars.
Lubengo has experimented intensively with his craft and takes his work quite seriously. Just like with his previous albums, he strove for quality with his latest project, and he says that quality projects come with hard work. He never releases an album until he is completely satisfied with the quality of his product. "I would rather postpone the project's release date than dish up shoddy work for my fans," he says.
Speaking of fans, he says that they might find a more mature sound in his latest music, which makes it even more extraordinary.
Lubengo is fearless in tackling issues that many people might consider taboo. "I don't just sing for the sake of singing. I am a composer whose mind is always poised to pen songs with amazing lyrics that leave each listener asking a lot of questions. However, the answers are within all of us. As African people, we surely know that there are things we should not do and things that should be done if we wish to have peace in our land," he says.
Lubengo plans on nurturing and grooming young talent. "They are the future of this industry, so they should be groomed to produce quality music."
My Blessed Journey is available online and from different record stores.