When Chifuniro Steven Magalasi — better known by his stage name Eli Njuchi — received his certificate and dummy cheque at Kamuzu Palace in August 2025, he did so as Malawi’s top-earning artist under COSOMA’s Blank Media Levy for the second year running. His payout of K23.4 million cemented a remarkable streak for one of the country’s most consistently popular musicians.
From Primary School Rapper to National Sensation
Born on 23 July 2001 in Lilongwe, Eli Njuchi began performing as a rapper in primary school under the name “Stevovo,” alongside his close friend Veda. By 2015, he had recorded his first track, and by 2018 — still in his teens — he had won a UMP Award for Best New Act. A year later, he took home the Best Male Artist of the Year award at the same platform.
His breakthrough came with “Yabaya,” a cross-border collaboration with Zambian star Yo Maps, followed by “Gugugu,” “Fumbi” featuring Gwamba, and a string of Afro-pop, dancehall, and contemporary Malawian tracks that dominated radio stations nationwide. It is this heavy rotation that drives his COSOMA royalties — the more a song is played, the more its creator earns.
What Registration with COSOMA Has Meant
Eli Njuchi’s COSOMA earnings have grown in lockstep with his popularity. In the January 2024 distribution, he and Driemo led all musicians with K5 million each. By August 2025, his total had jumped to K23.4 million — a nearly fivefold increase in just eighteen months, reflecting both the growth in the total Blank Media Levy pool and the sustained dominance of his catalogue on Malawian airwaves.
The message for young Malawian artists is clear: register your works with COSOMA. Every time your music plays on radio, in a hotel, at a venue, or gets reproduced on a device, your registration ensures you are compensated. Without it, those plays generate nothing for you.
Looking Beyond Malawi
Eli Njuchi is already looking to the continent. In the spirit of veteran Lucius Banda’s challenge — “We should not be doing music for us only. We need to start exporting our music” — Njuchi’s collaborations with regional artists suggest an artist with ambitions that match his talent. COSOMA’s systems ensure that as his music crosses borders, the rights framework that protects his work travels with him.
To register your works with COSOMA and start earning from every play, visit cosoma.mw.
