MATHIAS MHERE'S TIME OF FAVOUR

Mathias Mhere's latest offering “Nguva Yenyasha” affirms that he is no passing fad but real value for the gospel fraternity.

The album, which enjoying heavy rotation at social functions, public transport, shops and on air is a well-executed effort with a range of lyrical mastery delivered by Mhere’s rich and effortlessly mellow vocals.

“Nguva Yenyasha” is a notable burst of creative energy which comes at a time when Mhere’s previous offering, “Anoita Minana,” is still doing well.

Keyboard prodigy Lyton Ngolomi retains the trademark soul-searching, jazzy tempo that spiced “Anoita Minana” while experimenting with faster-paced beats on some of the tracks.

Bethen Pasinawako, Ngolomi’s wife, adds value to the project with her mature voice which has flawlessly blended with other artistes including Blessing Shumba, Sabastian Magacha and Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave in previous collaborations.

While the gospel arena has been frequented by one-hit wonders who mesmerise fans with polished debuts but fail to last the distance, the Gutu-born Mhere is set to write an exciting piece of history.

The eight-track album carries songs “Ziya Rangu”, “Idya Tafura”, “Zino Irema”, “Number Busy”, “Mhandu Yedu”, “Peter Peter”, “Pamazuva Angu” and “Mutsvene Mutsvene”.

“Ziya Rangu” is a plea to God to bless the work of believers so that they do not toil in vain. Mhere invokes the promise of God to bless the endeavours of his children.

One may be forgiven to think that “Idya Tafura” is a sequel to “Favour” considering the theme of upliftment in the midst of adversity. Mhere urges the believer to flaunt the blessings of God unapologetically and spite detractors.

“Zino Irema” warns believers against being un- equally yoked with believers. It alludes to Hezekiah’s undue friendship to Babylon as a precursor to invasion by the enemy and warns Christians to be wary of allowing anyone into their lives as some people masquerade as friends with the intention of destroying your destiny.

In “Number Busy,” Mhere decks the mantle of an evangelist and warns against living in sin. Like the previous track, Mhere turns to the book of Isaiah and exhorts that just as Isaiah saw God the year King Uzziah died, worshippers will only see God the day sin dies in their lives.

The track is a sing-along with the catchy chorus which says praying to God with unconfessed sin is as futile as calling a busy number.

“Mhandu Yedu” tells Christians that the devil will always be an enemy so they must never be conciliatory with him.

My personal favourite, “Peter Peter”, shows that salvation does not come through merit or intelligence but revelation of the Lordship of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit to an individual.

The track also urges the church to exercise caution because not all spirits are of God, drawing on the passage of Peter’s Confession where the popular perceptions about Jesus were speculative and erroneous.

“Pamazuva Angu” is a plea to God to shed love abroad in the hearts of believers so that they shun pride to acknowledge and cherish each other as one body.

“Mutsvene Mutsvene” is a laid-back worship song which welcomes the Holy Spirit to immerse His church. It calls for a Pentecostal revival where God will heal the sick and commune directly with His church as of old.

“Nguva Yenyasha” is Mhere’s third album following “Tinoda Nyasha” (2008) and “Anoita Minana” (2012).a

FROM GREEN ARROWS TO GOSPEL ARROWS

 

Zexie Manatsa rose from an infant guitar prodigy in Mhangura to become one of the first local musicians of significant stature. 

In December 2006, the now obsolete Zimbabwe Music Awards paid homage to the grand patriarch of mainstream local music with the inaugural Cheuka Shure/Bheka Emva trophy.

During the presentation ceremony, urban groove duo Rusere and Flash Gordon ushered the crowd back to 1974 with their rendition of Manatsa’s first major hit “Chipo Chiroorwa”.

“Chipo Chiroorwa” has exclusive credit in the country’s music annals as the first song by a black Zimbabwean to win a gold disc, having sold 25 000 copies back in the ‘70s.

Speaking on the same occasion, Oliver Mtukudzi credited the Green Arrows frontman for mentoring him when he was still a showbiz rookie trying to find his feet in the industry.

The musicians’ relationship was to be further cemented by the marriage of their children Tendai Manatsa and Selmor Mtukudzi, whose chemistry blossomed during their mutual stint with Pax Afro.

From a banjo-strumming eight-year old a mining town, Manatsa ganged up Jealousy Siyagwaja, Raphael Mboweni, Maxie Mabhena and his brothers Stanley and Keddies to form Green Arrows.

The group proved to be a quiver of incisive arrows, when they scored a first with then Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation deejay Webster Shamu, who recorded their first studio jams.

They released their debut seven single featuring song “Shamwari Yangu Unonyeperei” and “Hama”.
Green Arrows caught the attention of South Africa’s Gallo Records scout West Nkosi.

Following the success of “Chipo Chiroorwa,” Manatsa insisted that he was not a passing fad as his subsequent hits, “Mwana Waenda” and “Musoro Wanzomba” went on to bag more gold discs for the bearded songster.

Humour and controversy was characteristic of Manatsa. He notoriously singled out white-garment sects for biting satire in tracks like “Vakaita Musangano” and “Tii Hobvu.” Another controversial track “Antonyo” impersonated an expatriate struggling to speak Shona.

Music critics of the time observed that Manatsa combined the humour of Safirio Madzikatire and the good music of Oliver Mtukudzi.

However, the most enduring parallel was his high-profile conversion both spiritually and musically to Christianity — the transition from Green Arrows to Gospel Arrows!

Leonard Zhakata, Culture T, Mr Bulk and Rutendo Muchirahondo, the original female third of 2BG, are some of the Zimbabwean crooners to experience similar theophanies.

Sadly, Manatsa’s subsequent offerings had a rather lukewarm reception. The Gospel Arrows’ last notable offering was “Mutungamiri Akanaka.” Charles Charamba has expressed his desire to do a duet with Manatsa but nothing has come out of the proposal so far.

The “Chivaraidze” hitmaker has hinted that he will still sing songs which do not offend God from his secular discography.

However, he has shelved erstwhile popular hits such as “Tipeiwo Ndege” and “Musango Mune Hangaiwa” because of their insinuations of ancestral worship are now incompatible with his beliefs.

Fate struck in September 1987 as Manatsa was driving from a show in Chitungwiza. The minibus which was carrying his instruments and band members rammed into the car he was travelling in.

Manatsa lapsed into a coma for six weeks while his uninsured instruments were all written off.
Manatsa later blamed his problems on his ancestors for saying he had brewed beer for them to invoke their blessing for his newly opened bottle store just a week before the accident.

When he regained fitness and stage composure, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe donated him instruments which were promptly seized by his creditors.

Manatsa became obsessive with the bottle and was at one time fined for stealing hair-dye worth a paltry $11. Bankrupt and destitute after the repossession of his house, Manatsa finally relocated to Bulawayo where he met the Lord.

“I was in the company of my wife, coming from a beer party, when we heard about a group of people singing about Mwari waEzekiel,” Manatsa recounted in an interview with Wonder Guchu.

“Jokingly, I said to my wife ‘Isu ndisu vana vaMwari waEzekiel vacho. Handei tinotora vasikana vari kuimba tivafundise kutamba chipisi dzemunyika.’

“But when we got to the congregation, I was surprised to hear the pastor say something about drowning and crying for help. And I remembered a day when I almost drowned while on holiday in Kariba.

“The sermon touched me and when he asked whether there were people who were ready to follow Jesus, my wife and I stood up,” Manatsa said. The 70-year-old Manatsa is still a pastor with ZAOGA and some of his children are now part of his Gospel Arrows.

Manatsa lamented seeing his brothers die with sorrow on their faces and believes accepting Jesus is the best decision he could ever make.

He is married to his first love, Pastor Stella Manatsa. Their marriage is not only distinguished by its longevity but also their legendary wedding before a capacity crowd at Rufaro Stadium which raised the couple $19 000 in 1979.

CULTURE T'S REGGAE GOSPEL CRUSADE

Zimbabwe’s reggae thoroughbred Tendai Gamure Munengami, better known as Culture T, was among the first local artistes to streamline gospel music into predominantly secular genres. 

Although Christian reggae has made headway in countries such as the United States and Jamaica, with exponents such as Christafari, Ken Boothe and Papa San, Zimbabwe had its first major taste of the fusion with Culture T’s 2004 album Chiedza.

Recorded in the United Kingdom, Gamure’s workstation of 15 years, and launched in Zimbabwe at the New Life Covenant Church, the album featured beautiful jams such as Satani Wabvepi, Tendai, Makuwerere, Chiedza and Jesu Ndimambo.

Telly viewers will remember a younger, gangly Culture T, then Transit Crew’s lead vocalist, strutting his stuff ZTV’s Mvengemvenge programme during the late 80s. His chart-topping single Reggae Malaitis was the ghetto anthem of the time.

However, the two jams which sealed Culture T’s claim to posterity were Satani Wabvepi and Tendai. The tracks rode on the coat-tails of the urban groove phenomenon which was all the rage at the turn of the millennium.

His spiritually adventurous career spanning over two decades, took him to several countries including the United States, Switzerland, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Despite churning out polished music, Culture T’s legacy has been gradually washing away since he died of kidney failure in the U.K in August 2006 less than a week before his 38th birthday.

His legacy has elicited shortlived acclaim, indifference and, in some cases, hostility. Shortly after his death, reggae rookies including Three Wise Men” evoked fond memories of the lanky musician by playing renditions of his popular compositions at tribute concerts. 

A few artists have assumed Culture T's mantle as gospel reggae chanters, notably Trinta and Munetsi. However, their alternation between positive gospel messages and secular "slackness and badness" have rendered them compromised and, in the case of the former, at times self-contradictory, exponents of the genre.

Culture T was born in Mbare on August 8, 1968 and went to Chitsere Primary School and Mount Pleasant High before venturing into music as a teenager.

The ghetto-wise chanter cut his teeth in the music industry as a disc jockey before joining Transit Crew in 1985 as a leade vocalist.

Culture T was part of the group’s original line-up which featured Munya Brown, Samaita Zindi, Emmanuel Frank, Tony Liba and Munyaradzi Nyemba.

Zimbabwe had warmed up to reggae especially following Bob Marley’s impassioned performance at the country’s inaugural Independence Day celebrations.

Culture T was only 12 when the Prince of Wailers stole the show from the Prince of Wales with his tribute jams Africa Unite and Zimbabwe on that historic concert. However, he was to claim a stake among the likes of Trevor Hall as one of the foremost local exponents of the genre.

Transit Crew rode on the reggae craze with its early albums such as The Message and Sounds Playing. In 1989, they performed alongside renowned international acts, Culture, Ijahman Levi and Eric Donaldson who were all backed by Rough Cuts Band.

In 1991, Culture T broke ranks with Transit Crew as the group left for Japan to honour a six-month contract in a Tokyo nightclub. It is not clear whether the move was triggered by religious scruples as in the case of Bunny Wailer who left The Wailers citing “slackness” or a different taste for green pastures.

Whatever wind behind the storm, Culture T found himself rocking with Jamaican chanters in London, concurrently with his former crew’s stint in Tokyo. Not to be doused by his adopted clime, Culture T released “Exceedingly, Abundantly” which had touches of religious fervour in the U.K.

Although he did not exactly have a prolific career, Culture T jammed on with the benefit of an effortlessly rich voice and deeply conscious lyrics, in-between several jobs to fend for his wife Agnes  and his two kids Vimbainashe and Simbarashe.

The crowning achievement was the album Chiedza a coming-of-age Christian offering which did well on local charts. The video Satani Wabvepi shot in the U.K was an instant hit.

Culture T said his quest for God started since he was a “yut maan” and he dabbled with Rastafarianism at one point before discovering that Haille Selassie was a Christian himself.

“I have read so many books on many religions and when I heard about the Gospel, I knew it was the right thing for me,” Culture T said on Terrence Mapurisana’s live reggae programme on Spot FM.

There has been debate on what genre is acceptable for the worship of God. Brian Sibalo and Charles Charamba were among the local ground-breakers with their infusion of jazz and sungura into gospel music respectively, with Zhakata recently extending the experiment to his Zora brand.

“The reggae I am dealing with is now more Christian-based. The background which is reggae will help me reach out for people who do not go to church,” Culture T said on Terrence Mapurisana's SFM reggae slot.

CATCH AN ADDICTION

If Worship Addicts got away with the first three counts for singing under the influence, then their latest offering Devotional Volume 4 must land them a day in the court of popular acclaim.

The gospel group fronted by Takesure Zamar Ncube is best known for the track “A Prayer for Zimbabwe”, a major nationalist, Christian hit in the mould of Henry Olonga’s “Our Zimbabwe” and Culture T’s “Zimbabwe.”

The album which was released in September last year carries 11 tracks which retain the Worship Addicts’ signature —  laid-back, jazzy tempo — with Zamar’s husky and imposing baritone, supported by mellow vocals.

“Our devotional series can be classified as contemporary worship but it is packaged in a fusion of genres, mostly katekwe, afro jazz and blues,” Zamar said.

“Most of the tracks in the series are my original compositions but of late we have done renditions of hymns in the public domain. Naturally, our songs speak to God, about God and on behalf of God,” said the 32-year-old Zimbabwe College of Music graduate.

In “Song from Hell” the persona laments from hell that his born again friend never took the initiative to share the good news of salvation with him.

“You told me about money and soccer but you never told me about Jesus! You told me about business and taught me politics, but why did you forget to witness Christ to me? Are you happy now that I, your, friend am groaning in hell? ” the persona cries.

The track reveals Zamar’s genius in that instead of prescribing the evangelical call, podium-style, it dramatises it thereby attracting the listener with even more urgency.

“Healing Song” invokes the biblical promise of healing against disease. Zamar rebukes disease and charges that it cannot co-exist with the Holy Spirit of which the believer is a temple.

The rest of the songs making include “I Believe in Miracles,” Ropa raJesu,” “My Heart Longs,” “Ndiani Pane Zamba,” “Kune Zita,” and an acoustic version of “Song from Hell.”

Zamar said he is inspired by gospel artistes with an Afro-centric feel, chiefly Derrick Ndzimande and Brian Sibalo as well as international psalmists like Jesus Culture and Marvin Sapp.

“I envision major changes in Christian entertainment. I see the church embracing worship in deeper and more conscious ways not just as a curtain raiser for preaching,” Zamar said.

The album is his sixth and the fourth in the Worship series. The first two were entitled Praise Addicts Volume 1 and 2.

MANYAME AND SIBALO RELEASE DUET

Comfort Manyame and Daniel Sibalo have teamed up for a fresh rendition of the late gospel legend Brian Sibalo’s track “Ndiri Mufambi” due for release this week.

The duet retains the original accent while bringing in value enhancement add-ons like vocal diversity and a worked up tempo which gives the jam a trendy feel.

Manyame and Sibalo were best suited for the remix on two accounts. Daniel is Brian’s younger brother and did the lead vocals for the latter’s last album “Busa Nkosi.”

On the other hand, Manyame considers Brian to be his biggest influence and shares his worshiper-at-heart ethic.

The US-based Manyame told Rhemafest that the collaboration was a big deal for him because Brian was his role model while “Ndiri Mufambi” was one of his most loved songs.

“Brian Sibalo is my biggest influence and Ndiri Mufambi is one of my all-time favorite songs. I had always wanted to record the song,” Manyame said.

“I approached Daniel a year ago and asked if I could do it. He agreed to collaborate with me on it. We became very good friends.

“Last December Daniel was visiting Zimbabwe from his home base of SA and I organised for him to record with my producer Tremier Msipa.

“I recorded my lead vocals here in Texas in my home studio and the mixing and everything else was done in Harare,” he said.

Comfort said he started listening to Brian as a young Christian finding his feet in the mission.

“I loved his voice, lyrics and approach to music. He was willing to push the envelope and he did just that. He took gospel music to a new level, and for that I have a lot of respect for him and the work he did just that,” Manyame said.

Family spokesperson Ndabe Sibalo said the collaboration is poised to hit two birds with one stone as it will both propel the career of Daniel while revitalising the legacy of Daniel.

“After the previous report (“Sibalo never sang for money”) in which we discussed about the remix album for Brian’s songs meant to feature several established artists, Comfort was the first artist to approach us.

“We decided to have a rendition of Ndiri Mufambi which is one of Brian’s most popular tracks.

“Due to overwhelming request from Brian’s fans we realised it was time to do something. This is just the beginning. A full-length album is on the way.

“I must give credit to Comfort for his professionalism. He is a true gospel artist.

Manyame said that maintaining Brian’s legacy involved being open to innovation since Brian himself was never stagnant as an artist.

“As far as reviving his legacy, I think he already blazed the trail and laid the groundwork for a lot of us. I think because Brian was not willing to be confined in a box, we are also pushing the envelope

“Brian stepped outside the realm of what was considered gospel music by improving the art beyond what his contemporaries were ready to do. We are also going all-out to create not just music which carries the gospel message but good music.

“I always imagine what type of music Brian would be doing if he was alive. One thing about Brian is that his music was not monotonous; it was not one-dimensional. You were always guaranteed that his next album would different and better but still Brian. He moved with the times and stepped up to the challenge.

“When you listen to our version of Ndiri Mufambi, that's what we were going for – maintaining the original melody but getting something in there that takes it to this generation as far as worship is concerned. I added a bridge at the end of the song where I am just worshiping.

“We did not want to do exactly what Brian did, who can compete with Brian? But we wanted to do it our own way but still maintain elements of the old and hence the original feel of the song.

Sibalo is one of the pioneers of Zimbabwean gospel music and remains one of the finest artists ever to emerge from the country. While most telly viewers are familiar with the video “Tinokutendai Baba,” Sibalo was the genius behind such hit albums including “Revival Time,” “Thula Moya,” “Jerusalem,” “Ndiri Mufambi (I am a Pilgrim)” “Oh Hallelujah” and “Sizofika Ezulwini.”