Fair Play is an international movement that uses the power of music to raise awareness about the impact of corruption on our societies.
In the latest concert, which took place as part of the International Anti-Corruption Conference in Washington, DC, last December Alesh, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Faith Mussa, from Malawi, and the band Shanti Powa, from Italy, debuted for the first time as a super group at the city’s 9:30 Club.
Even though they come from different backgrounds, the struggle for a more just world unites them.
Faith Mussa
“I come from Malawi, which is one of the smallest economies in the world. Growing up, we had the feeling that our country was very poor, that’s the narrative, but as young people growing up we started realizing that we’re not poor, we’re very corrupt, we’re actually destroying our own resources, our own people don’t want to work here anymore, how can we develop? Music became a voice for me as an artist, a voice that brought the messaging across borders, across the worlds, into people’s homes where I could not physically go to and preach about anti-corruption and the need for social change.”
Bertrand Risé, singer from Shanti Powa
“I started as a reggae singer and for me injustice was always a problem, and it was always for me a motivation to do something, the motivation to write lyrics for me was to say something, to move people, and bring a message… this just became my main motivation, to keep on doing music, because it gives me that fire, and I can also see that it changes people, it changes the young generations who think differently through the music, the lyrics, the events they attend, and therefore this is my mission for Italy to the world.”
Alesh
“First we need to be conscious that there’s enough place and enough wealth for everyone, but that this wealth needs to be well redistributed, be conscious that all those people confusing their own wealth with the government wealth, are people we should stand against, not violently, but we need to use our numbers… We need to be conscious of the power that we have, and make sure that everyone has the right to the wealth that’s coming. Corruption is the root of every single war that we see in the world, every single violence, ‘cause when there are people getting richer and others getting poor, in the same community that claims to be poor, there’s something not going well. Youth need to be conscious of that and get united and fight against corruption.”
