B Flow

Early life

B Flow was born in Kabwe on 12th November, 1986. At the age of 8, he and his friends played a small band by turning pots and buckets into drums and making Banjos(non-electric guitars) using tins, planks and strings. Among that band, B Flow was the only one who pursued music professionally.

Brian started out as a member of the Boys' Scout Club at Kasanda Malombe Primary School in Kabwe during his 2nd Grade. He left the club shortly and became a basketball player.

In his 4th Grade, Brian and his mother moved to Serenje where he joined the poetry club at Serenje Boma School and participated in competitions; reciting poems. The following year Brian learned how to beat the African drum and became a drummer and singer in the school cultural group. He was also one of the only two male dancers in the group for 2 years. He moved back to Kabwe after his mother applied for a transfer.

In 8th and 9th Grades, Brian was a member of the Child Rights club at Broadway Basic School in Kabwe.

During his 10th Grade at Kabwe High School, Brian joined the Anti-AIDS/Drug Club where he actively participated in quiz, research and singing. In 3rd term of Grade 10, Brian was elected vice president of the club because of his dedication to counselling his fellow students who used to smoke Marijuana and drink alcohol. Brian was instrumental in recruiting more members to the club and teaching other students about HIV and drug abuse. He was later identified and trained by the Kabwe Adventist Family Health Institute(KAFHI) as a peer educator. His club won a number of quiz & talent competitions(Music, Drama and Poetry) on AIDS & Drug awareness in central province. Anti-AIDS/Drug Club Patron and teacher Mr James Chikonde quickly spotted Brian's singing and acting potential. The two began to write songs and short plays for the club. It was around the same time that the name B Flow was amplified and the whole school knew it. B Flow became a high school star when he performed his first song 'Osalila' in 11th Grade.

In 12th Grade, B Flow was elected School President (Headboy), a position he held until he graduated from high school.

After his final year in High School, B Flow moved to Lusaka to live with his uncles and enrolled into University. He studied Marketing and Social Science at the National Institute of Public Administration and University of Zambia respectively. While in University, B Flow was selected for a Peer Educators' training, sponsored by the Society For Family Health(SFH) in 2008. The training increased his knowledge in HIV/AIDS prevention and community work.

In 2011, B Flow started to apply his advocacy knowledge in his music. In his 2011 hit song 'Chitemene System', B Flow denounced infidelity among married men.

Music and career

Lawyer Ignatius Chongwe nicknamed as Lawyer Without Boarders [sic] identified B Flow's potential to become the next big star during a talent show at Sacred Heart Parish in Kabwe in 2004. Later that year, Ignatius sponsored B Flow's first professional studio session at Romaside Studio where he recorded his first song called 'Osalila' (Don't Cry). Although the song did not receive the much needed airplay, B Flow used it to audition with various studios in search of a record deal. He was turned away by most of the prominent studios in Zambia between 2005 and 2008. He continued composing and writing songs for his first album and for other artists. In December 2008, Trevor Kalaluka Siyandi, popularly known as TK of Romaside Studio, decided to give B Flow a record deal after listening to two songs where he was featured by other artists. TK produced B Flow's 2008 hit single Mpu Mpu Mpu followed by a string of other local hits like Bubblegum Lover, Energizer, Mosikito and Umoyo Wanga.

B Flow's first album Mpu mpu mpu (meaning heartbeat) was released in 2009. The album earned B Flow a nomination at the 2009 Ngoma Awards in the Best New Artist Category. His second album called 'No More Kawilo' was released in 2011. The album title track topped most radio charts in Zambia and received airplay in Malawi, Botswana and South Africa. B Flow's third album 'Voiceless Woman' was released in 2013 and has been rated as one of the most important albums ever released in Sub-Saharan Africa. The entire album was dedicated to the fight against Gender Based Violence and HIV/AIDS, two vices that have slowed down the development of the African continent. Dear Mama is B Flow's 4th studio album. It is the first commercial album in the world to be launched at a United States embassy, with support from the US government. On the album, B Flow addresses issues such as women empowerment, girl child education, orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), political violence, child marriages, voter apathy and HIV/AIDS.

B Flow has had the privilege of sharing the stage with artists such as Brick & Lace, Oliver Mtukuzi, P-Square and Jah Cure.

Although B Flow was already a household name in Zambia, it was American AIDS activist Michael Weinstein who discovered B Flow's potential to become Zambia's most respected artist. Michael Weinstein is the president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest AIDS organization in the world. As president and co-founder of AHF, Weinstein oversees an $1.3 billion organization whose mission is to provide “cutting-edge medicine and advocacy regardless of ability to pay.” In 2014, Michael Weinstein made a short visit to Zambia to launch a new AHF health centre called Chifundo clinic in Lusaka's Chaisa compound. B Flow performed at the event and impressed Weinstein who took him on an international journey that later earned the artist a special recognition by the White House in 2015. AHF has since appointed B Flow as one of its key Global Goodwill Ambassadors who use music as a tool for raising awareness on HIV/AIDS prevention, testing and treatment. Not only is B Flow the face of the organisation, he is also part of the organization's global 20 by 20 Campaign. The objective of the campaign is to ensure that 20 million HIV+ people can access treatment by the year 2020. B Flow recorded 'Another Brother', a theme song for the campaign in collaboration with Paul Banda (Just Slim) in 2015. The video for the song was shot in Durban, South Africa. In July 2016, during the International AIDS Conference in Durban, AHF partnered with artists and activists namely B Flow, Queen Latifah, Common, MiCasa, Proverb, Ayanda Allie-Payne, Just Slim and Big Nuz in the 2016 Keep The Promise March and Concert at Sahara Stadium. The objective of the concert was to remind world leaders that HIV/AIDS is still a global problem and that there is need to continue funding its prevention, care and treatment. In commemoration of the 2016 world AIDS day, the Keep The Promise campaign moved to Hollywood where legendary artist and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte was honored with the AHF Lifetime Achievement Award. That Wednesday evening, B Flow made history, becoming the first African artist of our generation to grace the Dolby Theatre stage. The Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) is a live-performance auditorium in the Hollywood and Highland Center shopping mall and entertainment complex, on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, United States. Since its opening on November 9, 2001, the theater has hosted the Academy Awards ceremonies (the Oscars), initially held there in March 2002. It is the first permanent home for these annual awards ceremonies. The theatre has also hosted events such as American Idol, BET Awards and Miss USA pageant. AHF is America's largest provider of HIV prevention services, testing, and healthcare for HIV patients and is currently providing medical care and services to more than 600,000 individuals in 15 U.S. states and 36 countries worldwide.

he is also the chairman for the HIV/AIDS and Social Commentary(HASC) team of the Zambia Association of Musicians(ZAM). B Flow is also a part of the Zambia/Norway(ZedWay) project.

Music and elections

Prior to the 2011 Presidential elections, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Electoral Commission of Zambia, trained and appointed B Flow as a champion for peaceful elections. His face appeared on their TV adverts and billboards nationwide as he participated in composing songs and performing against voter apathy and violence before, during and after elections.

In April 2016, during the launch of his fifth album, Dear Mama, B Flow also launched phase II of the "Go Out and Vote" Triple V campaign with his partner, Young Women in Action. To deliver the voter education message to the youth, B Flow ensured that the targeted voters be ready, willing, and able to participate fully in the 2016 presidential and parliamentay election process in Zambia. The Go Out To Vote project aims at addressing voter apathy amongst young people in Zambia by encouraging them to register as voters, verify their details in the voter register and finally go out and vote during the 2016 elections.

Triple V Campaign

Triple V which stands for My Vote, My Voice, My Victory is a voter education project which motivates young and newly registered voters to go out and vote in the August 2016. Triple reaches out to young voters through music and social media.

The project is currently working with B Flow, Kan 2 and Dj 800 in undertaking roadshows. During the roadshows, the artists sensitise young people on the important of participating in elections.

Negative response

The campaign has been a successful program but in 2015 while in Mongu B-Flow and fellow Triple V members got some negative response as some fans eneded up crashing B-Flow's car during the aftermath of the show.

B Flow started an initiative called Music for Change, to promote music about social change. Through the initiative, He has partnered with the US Embassy to launch his Dear Mama album and to host panel discussions on the role of celebrities in the electoral process in 2016. B Flow has earned respect for choosing to preach peace before, during and after elections without publicly endorsing any political party or candidate. He has chosen to let his fans decide for themselves without persuading them to vote for a particular candidate.

Young African leaders initiative

In 2015 the United States Embassy in Zambia, selected B Flow to represent Zambia in President Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative ( Mandela Washington Fellowship ). He participated in the US government sponsored program for 3 months in different US cities.

During the program 44th United States President Barack Obama addressed over 700 young Africans and US government officials and made a speech in which he endorsed B Flow for his excellent work in using his music to advocate against gender based violence and educating youth on HIV/AIDS. President Obama also announced the formation of B Flow's record company. B Flow is first artist in the world to be endorsed by a sitting US president publicly in an official speech. Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), also awarded B Flow a highly competitive Professional Development Experience (PDE) to work in the American music industry with US company, Okayafrica, in New York.

American organisation AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) also appointed B Flow as global ambassador in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He is part of the organization's global 20 by 20 Campaign.

Other Awards

1. 2013 HIV/AIDS Awareness Ambassadors' Certificate - USAID Funded SHARe II Project
2. 2014 Zambian representative at Africa Re-imagination Creative Hub(ARCH) - African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
3. 2015 International Associate Award - Wagner College, Staten Island, New York
4. 2015 Recognition of Excellence - President Barack Obama, United States of America
5. 2015 Rising Star Award - New York Mwape Peer Awards
6. 2016 Gender Based Violence Activist Award - Touching Lives Awards, Zambia

1. 2016 Global Heroes Award - Global Heroes Platform, Canada
2. 2016 UN 16 Gender Activists Recognition - UNFPA 16 Voices campaign to commemorate 16 days of activism