Olakwa Ndani? commodity fetishism and resistance in Evison Matafale’s reggae music

This paper examines the relevance of Karl Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism in African postcolonial contexts, using Malawian reggae artist Evison Matafale’s 1999 song, “Olakwa Ndani?” (“Who is to Blame?”) as a case study. Developed initially to critique European industrial capitalism, commodity fetishism explains how social relations and labour become hidden behind a commodity’s perceived intrinsic value. In urban African settings, this shift towards alternative ways of knowing, including religion, spirituality, kinship, and culture, expresses resistance that aligns with Africans’ lived experiences. Matafale’s lyrics challenge the fixation on wealth, status, and foreign goods, asking “who is to blame” when communities suffer poverty and marginalisation despite the circulation of commodities. By depicting social and moral decline as connected to misplaced value on material objects, the song shows how fetishised commodities mask the exploitation of the poor and the corruption of leaders. Therefore, Marx’s concept provides a strong framework for understanding the cultural, political, and economic critique present in Matafale’s reggae resistance. This paper argues that Matafale’s music acts as a counter-hegemonic narrative, revealing the material and spiritual alienation caused by capitalism and colonialism. Drawing on Rastafarian ideology and theoretical contributions from scholars such as James Ferguson, Jean and John L. Comaroff, and Achille Mbembe, the study situates Matafale’s song within broader critiques of Babylon, the Rastafarian allegory for a morally corrupt and exploitative global system. By asking the haunting question “who is to blame?”, Matafale rejects individualised explanations of poverty and marginalisation, instead advocating for systemic analysis of the unseen forces that sustain oppression. The paper concludes that although Marxist theory needs adaptation to local realities, it remains a powerful tool for analysing how commodities mediate suffering, identity, and resistance within African societies.