groove magazine zimbabwe issue 1
DESCRIPTION
The first issue of Groove Magazine Zimbabwe. Lots of entertainment on Zimbabwe's hottest entertainers including our cover story, Ammara Brown as she is setting her own musical path, real talk on fame & fatherhood, take our quiz: Are you celebrity obsessed?, check out the latest summer fashion trends; get your businesses started with 5 Simple ways to start a business and so much more.TRANSCRIPT
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Have you heard…?
…the beat of the nation!
CONTENTS
Features Music & Entertainment: 15 Groove meter…..Who’s hot? 22 Under the Groove: Kapital K 24 The strum! David Hondoyendzomba 29 Star power: Rihanna making it good! Fashion: 35 Fashion designer: RumbiRumbi Clothing Fashion Dos & Don’ts 47 Gadgets 49 Rides 54 TV People that we know: Five’s Tinashe
Rodrick 58 Young business person: Profile: Tommy
Deuschle 65 The Urban Ancient Poet: Madzitatiguru 69 G Scene: Shoko Festival 2013-We Are The
People! 71 Special Feature: Mzungu Kichaa on Shoko 76 The beat makers…..Music producer Evans
Dube 79 On the decks..... Club djs DJ V and DJ Banks
Regulars 5 Letter from the Editor 7 Urban Dictionary….Know your lingo! 8 In The Groove: What’s going on? 27 Groove Theory: Life Advice
36 G Woman: Women’s Fashion Hair Factors: Trending hairstyles 38 Dandruff: Is that flake giving you a
headache? 42 G Body: Fitness, exercise and
health trends 43-45 Health& Wellbeing 46 G Men: Men’s fashion 53 At the movies with Ster Kinekor 60 G Money: Financial advice: How to save up for something you want 63 G Food: 3 easy recipes to tickle your taste buds 67 G Voices: Poetry 74 Music: Album reviews 84 In our next issue…..
Columns 40 MPV…..my point of view! 61 The Shark in the Japanese fisherman 85 Life with Lance
On the cover Cover Story: Girl on fire Ammara Brown
10-14 G Real talk: Fame and fatherhood 17
G Quiz: Are you celebrity obsessed? 32 Summer Fashion Trends 34
G Business: Business Start-ups: 5 simple ways to start business 56
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Letter from the editor…..
It’s been a long time coming and
we are glad that it is finally here;
and right on time. With it being a
new year and we are celebrating,
because life is fundamentally
about enjoying the world and the
things in it. In all anticipation we
are glad to bring you something
new, a magazine we like to call
‘the definition’; yes, Groove
Magazine is the definition of our
urban music and culture.
Having gone through 2013 which
was both exciting and trying, as
the Zimbabwean urban scenery
went through a transition. As
editor in chief of an ‘urban’
magazine, I’ve been very excited
about these changes especially
with the music scene and what
could be more thrilling than
having Zimbabwe’s current ‘it-girl’
Ammara Brown, on the cover of
the first issue of our magazine. She
is defining herself as her own
person and is definitely bringing
the heat on with her fiery persona.
She shared with us what makes
her tick and how she’s bringing
her A-game in taking our urban
music to another level.
With the transition there is also a
rise of entrepreneurs due to the
current socio-economic situation,
and in this first issue we are giving
guidelines on entrepreneurship
including a one-on-one with a
young businessman, CEO of
Emerging Ideas and C Media,
Tommy Deuschle. We get into
the groove with lots of
interviews with musicians in
their respective areas of musical
expertise from acoustic artists to
music producers to club djs, as
they put that groove in your
dancing shoes.
We also look at this season’s
fashions, which is light, bright
and bold!; the latest trends in
gadgets, cars and all things that
influence urban culture. And we
get real with some men who talk
about striking a balance between
their hectic careers and their
responsibilities....as fathers. And
don’t forget to take a look at our
urban dictionary to get with the
lingo.
We hope that you have as much
fun being part of this new
experience as we had in
becoming part of it. We are
looking forward to more exciting
issues of the new sound of the
nation and taking this journey
with you is the extension of the
beat.
Groove Magazine…..the
beat of the Nation!
Elspeth Chimedza
Editor in Chief
GROOVE TEAM
Editor in Chief
Elspeth Chimedza
Desk-top Publisher
Jeffrey Chimedza
Administration
Cybercard (Pvt) Ltd.
Postal address:
Suite 9 Matherhurst
building
Corner 2nd street &
Baines avenue
Harare
Mobile:
+263 772 355 188
+263 733 817 786
Email:
Marketing &
information:
3
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You are what you hear…
…taking radio into the future!
URBAN DICTIONARY
By Bryana Chifunyise
The urban dictionary is
the dictionary that
contains all the,
according to English
teachers, “colloquial”
language which we
youngsters call “slang”.
Used daily in our
different spheres of
society especially in
socialisation on social
media platforms, texts
and even in
conversations.
Constantly evolving
from generation to
generation and now web
based, we at Groove
magazine want to bridge
a few gaps so that no one
is lost in translation.
NB: Please use appropriate
language and registers when
one is in formal surroundings
e.g. school, office, etc. and when
around elders and respectable
members of society.
Word Gwan
Meaning Story
Word Burg
Meaning The central
business district, town
Example “Are you jumping
into burg today?”
Word Rack
Meaning Car
Example “Have you seen the
latest Range Rover rack? It’s
sick man!”
URBAN DICTIONARY
Defining urban lingo
TEXT
Lol laugh out loud
L2M listening to music
TTYL talk to you later
5
Example: “So dude, what’s
the gwan with that daej? She
seems a bit uptight.”
“There’s no gwans, dude.
She’s just lliched.”
Word Twapa
Meaning What’s up?
Example: Lee: “Twapa?”
Nick: ”Thuning man!
Twapa?”
Word Zaps
Meaning Electricity
Example “It’s dark here. The
zaps just went out”
IN THE GROOVE…..
What we’ve been
talking about….
Groove Magazine
Zimbabwe
Turn up the music and bring on
the groove. It’s new. It’s edgy.
Celebrating you, and celebrating
all things young and Zimbabwean.
Groove magazine is the definition
of urban music and culture. It is
more than a magazine, it is a
lifestyle. Groove magazine….the
beat of the nation!
The Rise of Zimbabwean
hip-hop
And everybody assumed that
Zimbabwe could not bring
anything to the game. Hip-hop has
always been in Zimbabwe with
notably Shingi ‘Mau Mau’ Sabeta,
Metarphysics as some of the
pioneering MCs. But there is new
blood, or as said in urban lingo,
‘new cats’ in the business and they
are taking Zim hip-hop to new
levels. Tehn Diamond, Junior
Brown, female MCs DJ Naida,
Trae Yung, SA based Kapital K and
others, are bringing on the Zim
vibe and even better,
they flow in their mother-tongue.
Watch out world, Zim hip-hop
has turned its swag on…
The Rise of
Zimbabwean Comedy
Zimbabweans have always been a
comic lot with endless jokes
about almost everything.
(although at times, a conservative
lot). Then, almost three years ago,
a group of individuals took upon
themselves to be the humour in
social commentating and so far
they are doing well. With the
funniest comedians in Zimbabwe
including Cde Fatso, Carl Joshua
Ncube, Clive Chigubu, Doc
Vikela, Q the Boss, Michael K,
Ntando Van Moyo and Simba the
Comic King, amongst many
others; Zimbabwean comedy is
becoming the “business”. These
guys are definitely contenders
and we cannot wait until they get
their stage on the world comedy
platform. Hmm, wonder which
comedian will be featured on the
Jay Leno show? We’ll just have to
wait and see.....and make sure
that the jokes not on us!
2013 BET Awards
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Live from Los Angeles Nokia
theatre and hosted by comedian,
Chris Tucker, 2013’s BET Music
awards had a spectacular line-up
of performances including the
“electrifying” Janelle Monae, the
king of the south rapper T.I.
proving his reign, there were no
“blurred lines” with Robin
Thicke and not forgetting JT
giving fans a 20/20 experience.
Other performances were from
Snoop Lion, Mariah Carey, the
collabo and debut of “I’m out” by
Ciara and Nicki Minaj, Miguel,
Kendrick Lamar, Chris Brown,
Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder and
Kirk Franklin bringing in some
gospel into the building, amongst
other performers. Winners
included for Best R&B artist
female: Rihanna; Best Group:
Macklemore & Lewis; in the best
hip-hop category was won by
Kendrick Lamar, who also took
away the award for best new
artist. In the female category was
the undisputed Nicki Minaj. The
Best International Act: Africa
was won by Nigeria’s Ice Prince
and for the UK was soulful Emeli
Sande.
MTV Video Music
Awards 2013
2013’s VMAs were not so
exciting, not to mention the
distasteful performance by
former Hannah Montana star,
Miley Cyrus, (although her
“twerk” caused quite a buzz on
social media). The fashion was
also disappointing with most of
the artists making it onto the
“worst dressed” category. Must
admit though, it was intriguing
to see Lady Gaga, as bizarre as
ever, after a prolonged time off
the music circuit. Justin
Timberlake proved why he was
deserving of the Vanguard award
with an outstanding performance
of his hits from the last decade
and drawing fans back to his boy
band days with his reunion
performance with N’Sync band
mates. Bruno Mars gave an
exceptional performance with his
song, “Gorilla” and closing off the
show was Katy Perry with the
debut of her song, “Roar”.
world. 2013’s line-up was exciting
with South African comedians, Big
brother: Hot Room hostess, Tumi
Morake and Kagiso Lediga who hit
the comedy night alongside our very
own Carl Joshua Ncube, Clive
Chigubhu and Simba the Comic. At
the “Breaking Barriers Poetry Slam”
featuring, was Ian Kamau (Canada),
Ewok (S.A.), Afurakan (S.A) with
Madzitatiguru as the slam master.
Other acts included Djs Rax and
Amp, Raydizz, Mzungu Kichaa
(Tanzania), Hope Masike and the
Monkey Nuts, Symbiz Sound
(Germany), Dhadza D, Synik and
SAMA award winning rapper, Khuli
Chana.
Summer Summer is hot and we are not talking about the heat! Summer is a definite favourite for most as people get to enjoy the out doors more with pool parties, braais and of course the great summer music! A time to dress down as less is more, while kicking back and looking forward to nothing but a fun-filled and fantastic season ever….SUMMER!
Channel O African Music
Video Awards 2013 If ever there is an awards show that we love to watch, it has to be Africa’s most prestigious, ‘urban’ music’s awards; the Channel O African Music Video Awards, where not only the best videos are awarded, but the whole continent is united on one stage, on one channel, in song and dance. With hip-hop giants, Nigerian, Naeto C and South Africa’s AKA as the hosts
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Shoko Festival 2013
“We are the people” was the year’s
theme to Shoko Festival, which is
a space for poets, comedians,
rappers, musicians, djs and
activists to share creativity and
ways to develop the arts within
Zimbabwe and the rest of the
and a captivating line-up of performers, the 2013 Channel O AMVAs were one of the most exciting nights on the continent in one of the best years of music!
The Rise of Zim
Dancehall Whether they are singing controversial lyrics, or for some, a catchy hook, the Zimbabwean dancehall artists have caught everybody’s attention and have made a huge contribution in the appreciation of local music. In 2013 in particular, Zim dancehall has set ablaze a number of stages from the ghettos to the upper-class elite clubs. Some of the top acts have been Winky D, Shinsoman, Dhadza D, Soulja Love, Sniper, Guspy Warrior and Killer T; who have topped charts and have been crowd pullers, and we admit that we too, have gotten ‘into the groove’ with Zim dancehall…
2013 Zim Hip Hop
Awards In Zim urban music, these awards are the most prestigious awards to be part of, whether one is a nominee or part of the audience. So what did the 2013 Zim Hip Hop Awards have to offer? A few hiccups here and there however, a night filled with a lot of talented artists and great music which promises to go bigger in 2014; and we will be there to enjoy the music!
MUSIC
COVER STORY: Girl on
fire…..Ammara Brown
She’s hot, and we mean
personality and professionally.
She’s grown up in the eyes of the
media and public as the daughter
of a legend, the late, Andy Brown
and has been mentored by other
great artists. Not a bad start for
this talented young lady. But we
at Groove magazine are honoured
to present to you all, Zimbabwe’s
new It-girl. Beautiful, fiery and
definitely with a great music
career ahead of her, Ammara has
proved why she is our cover story
and with this exclusive, she tells
us why.
GM.: Current ‘It-girl’, daughter
of a legend, Ammara Brown.
Without the titles, who is
Ammara Brown?
Ammara: Ammara is an evolving
young woman and proud mother
with big dreams. (Smiles)I LOVE
MUSIC and the Almighty has
blessed me with talent and a
driven attitude in order to pursue
it as a career.
GM.: You are making waves
on the music scene as your
own person; please share
with us your journey so far?
Ammara: My journey has been
incredibly long; I’m
considering writing a book.
The truth is everything in my
life has led me directly here
“Ammara is an
evolving young
woman and proud
mother with big
dreams….The truth is
everything in my life
has led me directly
here….”
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. I was blessed with seemingly
minor opportunities which later
proved to be my school of music
life. For instance choir gave me
sharper ears towards harmonising,
which is crucial for vocalists’
musicality. School musicals
trained me for my first paying job.
In fact it was an acting job for a TV
advertisement (age 9). Being in the
‘Storm’ gave me a head start on live
band and performance technique
and also studio experience. I
started that at age 14. I also began
my music degree at the age of 18.
GM.: What has been the
highlight of your career so far?
Ammara: I think having a ‘sold
out’ concert at HIFA in 2013. The
Ammartians, (my fan base), were
very supportive. Thousands were
roaring at me as I started singing. I
got to debut my new single
“Mafaro” and perform the newly
recorded “More Sugar Daddy”.
Great responses all round. Mi Casa
were all such cool guys to work
with. We actually realised that we
worked in the same studio in
Joburg and happened to miss each
other by chance in earlier years. It’s
a small world after all. On top of
that, J Something and I made a
great vocal duo. Awesome stage
moments galore!
GM.: What do you think about
the music industry in
Zimbabwe? What could be done
improve it?
Ammara: The Zimbabwean music
industry is complex. Going on tour
in other countries has certified
that we have more of an industry
in terms of general club venues
and corporate work. However, on
an international scale, if I start to
consider things like
nurturing/development facilities
(for talent), recording,
distribution, publishing,
marketing, production and
management companies, general
endorsements….I could also write a
book on the things I mean, to help
change in the Zimbabwean music
industry.
GM.: What are the challenges
faced by young, female
musicians?
Ammara: I think I have the same
challenges every other artist, but
in addition, I find, being female
and beautiful is almost a curse as
much as it is a blessing. General
industry practice can be so
warped. I on the other hand, have
assembled a team of people who
sift through or intimidate the false
clientele and I am only informed
about and consulted on genuine
business. *One of the joys of
having management*. I also have
an extensive knowledge of music
business, so I’m always either in
the know, learning more, or
creating more. My advice to female
artists is; be the iron fist, but
appear to be the velvet glove.
(Wink)
GM.: You have quite a large fan
base as evidenced by your
social media platforms. You
must have a great marketing
and promotional team.
Ammara: Social media is
“simple” marketing. All of them
have different purposes. I just
follow the general structure and
apply it to my life which
ultimately public in terms of my
profession. On any given day it’s
enough to make people talk or
think about me. That’s the first
step. Secondly, media. I’ve just
learned who is good for what,
hence some are more welcome
than others because they are in
line with what I’m trying to
achieve. I can’t tell you what else
I do to build my brand but I can
tell you this, you can make a lot
of noise about yourself, but when
you get on that stage, it’s you and
the microphone. That’s my
product. I strive to always
deliver.
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GM.: You have been performing a lot of your father’s work and introducing your own songs. When can we expect an album? Ammara: I gave a date earlier this year, but artists go through creative cycles, and I feel like creating more, lately. So it was supposed to be on my birthday, but now I see it more towards 2014. After all, I only get one chance to have a debut album.
GM.: Other than music, you are
quite the fashionista. Who are
your favourite designers and
style icons? Can we expect a
fashion label from you in the
near future?
Ammara: I tend to find I’m
consistently intrigued by
Ghanaian designers. Zambian
fabrics usually ring my alarms,
and Zimbabwean designers are
tickling me pink. Countess K is
definitely someone I love
working with because she’s
learned my style and gives me the
room to design. I just recently
worked with Rejoice Zuva and
loved it. I imagine I will have a
line in the future, but I will have
a number of lines for different
purposes. Social and commercial.
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GM.: Who inspires you? What is your favourite music? Ammara: I don’t have a favourite per se. But I do have the ‘yummies’ from my parents’ music, Andy and Chi, (THEY NEVER LEAVE THE PLAYLIST), Janelle Monae, Asa and Angelique Kidjo. I go through moods. The artists I listen to tend to change, for artistic purposes.
GM.: You have been blessed and
honoured to work with some
great and talented artistes. Who
would you like to work with
locally, regionally and
internationally?
Ammara: At this rate, I’m going to
have an album specifically for
collaborations. Lol! A few weeks
back I got Tehn Diamond on my
follow up single “More Sugar
Daddy”. I just got out of the studio
for collaboration with Botswana’s
Zeus. I’m about to get into the
studio with a Zambian artist. It’s
meant to be a sweet surprise, so
that’s all I can say. Further north I
would like to work with Nekka.
She captured me the first time I
heard her sing which is a lot. Kat
Deluna and I would be amazing on
stage together. She’s definitely as
fierce as I am.
“The Zimbabwean music industry is complex...I think I have the same challenges every other artist...General industry practice can be so warped...”
. I usually like strong colours. Not
much of a ‘pastel gal’. Lol!
2. In another life, I would like to
be…
Ammara: Probably a lawyer. Most
people lose arguments with me. Ha-
ha!
3. My fondest memory of my
childhood is…
Ammara: My mum coming from
Jozi, and doing my hair with tones
of twists and bobbles. She used to
live in SA, so when she came, there
was a suitcase of sweets. Lol!
Eating my mother’s chicken curry;
priceless meal.
Learning to fold a napkin for my
brother Alex #oldschool
#NoDiapers. I realized I loved
taking care of babies. (So I spoilt
them all).
My dad chasing a frog out of
our lodge with a hanger, in
Victoria Falls. Lol!
Singing to my little sister,
Keliah a day after she was
born. I sang, “The
Christmas Song” by Nat
King Cole. We weren’t
sure she was going to live,
(underdeveloped lungs),
but she did.
Chi and my dad giving me my
first mbira as my 9th
birthday present. I
bugged Chi to teach
me, and my dad said,
“Just teach her, she
won’t stop asking.” She
soon saw it was simply
meant. She taught me a
little, and then wrote
with me. So I
performed my first
song with her and my
dad at Alliance
Francaise.
Shooting my first TV ad with
uncle Tuku. Couldn’t
stop giggling after they
said pause. That’s how
the advert ended with
my laugh.
I know it may all sound like
work to you, but it was all
great fun to me growing up as
I was shy and somewhat
introvert.
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Though the truth is when two
artists meet they know. So I
would like to get to know the
artist first.
GM.: The future begins now.
Where does Ammara Brown see
herself in her career in years to
come?
Ammara: If you asked me a few
years back, whether or not I
would be where I am today, I
would have said, “Yes and No!”
Because, man plans and God
laughs. He’s thrown me a hell lot
of curve balls these past few years,
so I know he’s prepping me for a
lot more than I’m planning.
Ammara Brown’s 10 in 10
1. Your favourite colour….
Ammara: Turquoise, fuchsia,
black, red…lol! It depends on my
mood
shows. Supporting my peers is
great fun. We’re all “Proudly
Zimbabwean” products! Lol!
8. Favourite food…
Ammara: That’s a tough one you
can probably win me over with
well-done meat, or fresh fruit.
Can’t say no to either! Guilty
pleasure, chocolate anything, milk
tarts, cheese cakes. I struggle to
say no to those.
9. If I were an instrument, I
would be…
Ammara: Ironically enough I play
the instrument I would be. The
nyunga nyunga. You have to
understand when I say this. It
misses the fourth, even though it’s
in the major scale, but according
to its construction; it’s perfect.
Its versatilities are endless. Genre
and emotion wise. It’s full even
with what’s missing. So I would
be the nyunga nyunga because
it’s perfect even in its
imperfection.
10. The best advice that I ever
got…
Ammara: A week before my
mother passed, she was in
hospital asking me about my
little sisters. I was explaining
how worried they were and how
I assured them she’d be fine.
“Love them hard”, she said. In
fact she taught me the same thing
after I gave birth. Loving well is
what she meant, and doing it,
makes me so happy. I already
know I wake up in the morning
to do so. It’s the Almighty’s gift
to mankind, and yet it is not even
as certain as death. I love my son,
I love my family, I love my few
true friends, I love my job, I love
my fans and thankfully they all
love me back.
4. If I could change anything
about myself it would be…
Ammara: I’m already changing
what I want to with myself; like
worrying less, eating healthier,
laughing freely and loving
without fear. YOLO!
5. I am not my hair. I would
like to have…..hair
Ammara: To be honest I love the
hair I have. Even my son buried
his face in it the other day and
said,” I love your hair” and he just
turned 2. (Smiles proudly)
6. I am addicted to…
Ammara: I’m addicted to my
work. I love a lot of things like
shoe shopping, art, food and
making love, but nothing outside
of being a mother makes me
obsessive like my work does.
7. When I’m not performing I
am…
Ammara: Dancing with my son
is just bliss! We love each other
more than anyone else, so he
values my presence most, and I
his. If you swing by, I’m also
probably cooking. Last night I
made chicken and spinach
lasagne. Yoga makes me feel like
there is peace on earth. I like to
hang with my besties. We’re
either out for dinner or in a series
marathon, or all-nighter chat
catch up. I hardly get time to
hang so when I do, I go in hard. I
love to watch other artists’
“I’m addicted to
my work.”
“The best advice that
I ever got….. “Love
them hard”…. I love
my son, I love my
family, I love my few
true friends, I love my
job, I love my fans and
thankfully they all
love me back.”
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GROOVE METER…..WHO’S HOT?
From our beautiful
continent of Africa, we
check out who is
rocking the airwaves,
giving us spectacular
videos and definitely
winning awards for
doing what they love to
do. Here’s who is hot
on our meter.
Name: Tiwatope Savage Balogun Age: 33 Country: Nigeria Record Label: Mavin Records Claim to fame: Her fun single, "Kele kele Love" in 2010 Current hit song: "Eminado" featuring Don Jazzy Why she's hot? Tiwa Savage is HOT! She's got a great voice. A great body. She's beautiful and she can really dance. Tiwa is no stranger to the music industry especially on the international
scene as she started off as a backing vocalist to George Micheal, Mary J Blige, Blu Cantrell, Emma Bunton, Chaka Khan, Kelly Clarkson, Andrea Bocelli and has performed on stage with 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Eminem and Destiny's Child, to name but a few. Quite impressive! And she co-wrote the track "Collard Greens & Cornbread" on Fantasia Barrino’s Grammy-nominated album Back to Me. She's also written for Babyface, Kat Deluna, Monica and Mýa. She released her debut album, "Once Upon a Time" on 3 July 2013.She has won many Nigerian awards and is a nominee at the 2013 Channel O African Music Video Awards in the Most Gifted Female Video category for her song "Without My Heart". This sister is one talented and hardworking diva.
Members: Theo Kgosinkwe and
Nhlanhla Nciza
Country: South Africa
Record label: Kalawa Jazmee
Claim to fame: “Lotto” from
their 1999 album ‘Gate Crashers’.
Current hit: “Happiness”
featuring May D which is not
only charting on the hottest TV
music stations but is definitely a
party hit and club banger.
Why they’re hot? Mafikizolo
have stood the test of time
moving from the 90s when they
were all kwaito, then getting
into the 21st century with an
Afro-pop sound ,( which is a
fusion of kwaito, mbaqanga,
afro-jazz and kwela, not
forgetting other African sounds),
that has become their trademark
and definitely winning them
several awards including 2013’s
SAMA awards and they won the
2013 Channel O AMVA for the
song “Khona” in the Most Gifted
Dance Video and were nominees
in the most Gifted Video Of The
Year category.
Tiwa Savage
Mafikizolo
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Nhlanhla Nciza & Theo Kgosinkwe from Mafikizolo
Davido
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Record label: HKN Music Claim to fame: “Back When” featuring Naeto C in 2011 and then in 2012 the popular hit “Dami Duro” from his debut album. Current hit: The danceable hit, “Skelewu” Why he’s hot? This young man is a talented genius who began his musical career at a very young age by learning production. He has a large fan base that spans across Africa, the United Kingdom and the USA which he cemented in a short space of time of his successful career. His resume is impressive as both an artiste and music producer, as he has worked with both Nigerian and international acts. Amongst the artists he has collaborated with are Naeto C, Lynxx, Ice Prince, Tuface, Olamide, Shank and he has
Name: David Adedeji Adeleke Age: 22 Country: Nigeria
shared the stage with D’banj, Cabo Snoop, T-Pain, Keith Sweat, Fabulous and many others. He has also produced tracks for Naeto C, Skales, Tiwa Savage and Sauce Kid. He is also MTN’s brand ambassador and has several awards under his belt including Nigerian Entertainment awards, the Headies awards, the 2012 Kora Awards for the Best Newcomer, the Ghana awards and the Channel O African Music Video Awards. At the 2013 Channel O AMVAs, he was nominated in the Most Gifted Afro Pop for his chart hit, “Gobe”. When it comes to club bangers and chart toppers, Davido is one of Africa’s best and what’s more extraordinary is his age, and the fact that he can write, sing, produce, as well as dance, and when it comes to music videos, his are exceptional.
REAL TALK
FAME AND
FATHERHOOD
From our TV screens to pulpits to
radio, they entertain us, inform and
reform us. They are famous, and they
are dads. RESPONSIBILITY is a very
important quality in a person’s
character, so as we like to discuss real
life, Groove Magazine met up with
these ever busy, high profile dads, and
we got to find out how they balance
their careers and being dads. We
spoke to actor, Ben Mahaka;
businessman and youth pastor at
Celebration Ministries International,
Tommy Deuschle; and radio
personality at ZiFM Stereo, Tony
Friday.
Tony Friday (Radio
Personality
/Programs manager
at ZiFM Stereo)
Back in the day he made our
Fridays, ‘Friday’ and now he’s
working at one of the nation’s
newest privately owned radio
stations, ZiFM Stereo and still
bringing to you the best of radio. He
also has another job that however,
doesn’t require him to speak
through the microphone, but to
speak to a little girl who calls him
‘daddy’.
GM.: How did you react to the
news that you were going to be a
father for the first time?
Tony: I was scared. I was freaked
out because I was not ready. I was
25, you know I was young.
(Smiles)
GM.: What do you remember
about the day your daughter
was born?
Tony: They, (the hospital), were
supposed to call me, but they
didn’t call, so I went to the
hospital. When I got there and
saw the little bundle it was so
cool. Seeing a little me was
overwhelming.
GM.: What have been the
challenges or difficulties of
being a daddy?
Tony: The challenge is being a
good role model. Trying to make
sure that I’m a good role model so
that my child can learn from me
because whether negative or
positive, a kid will be a reflect you.
People can tell the person you are
through your child, (referring to
GM); I can tell who you are just by
talking to your child. Adults
always seem to have it together
and that is challenging. But kids
are innocent; they are little
individuals with minds of their
own.
GM.: How has the journey of
fatherhood been so far-what
have been the high and low
points?
“I’m a good role model so that my child can learn
from me…..”
15
Tony: The low points are when
a child is sick. As a parent you
also feel your child’s pain and
wish you could take it away.
The high points are disciplining
your child. My child needs to be
taught, if you do what daddy
doesn’t like, there will be
consequences; otherwise she’s a
good child. Another high point
is spending time with your
child and seeing the good
values being passed on. It’s fun
to watch them play and grow.
GM.: How do you balance
your career and fatherhood?
Tony: It is hard to balance. I
have got a busy job at the
station. I work from 7 a.m. up
till 7 p.m. I’m also a single dad
you know, so that’s challenging
too. My daughter waits for me
to come home and do
homework with her but I make
time. But I see a lot of God in
kids. They are so innocent. My
daughter enjoys giving,
whenever I get her something,
she wants the same for her
friends. It is very encouraging. I
learn a lot from my child. You
know kids have simple
perceptions; they are so loving
and so forgiving unlike adults.
Life is simple for them.
GM.: What impact has your
‘famous’ status had on your
child/children?
Tony: She isn’t affected much.
She doesn’t understand fame.
She just knows that daddy
works for a radio station and
that he’s on radio.
GM.: How do you rate yourself
as a dad? (On a scale of 1 to 10).
Tony: 8/10.I still need to learn
consistency in discipline and
keeping promises. Because of
work at times I’m not able to
fulfil promises that I would have
made like if I say that we are
going somewhere and I’m unable
to take her. But I’m working on
it; it’s a matter of time.
GM.: What wishes and hopes
do you have for your children?
Tony: I hope that my daughter
finds purpose, that she can be
someone purposeful in the
community. I hope that she
meets Christ, that she
understands God. And that she
gets married to the right guy, one
who knows God. A guy like me,
I’m a nice guy.
GM.: What advice would you
give other dads out there?
Tony: I would advise fathers to
fill their children’s minds with
beautiful things, because if they
don’t, someone else will, and it
might be negative. I tell my
daughter every morning that she
is a beautiful, child of God and
that she can do anything. Fathers
must also take time with their
children.
Ben Mahaka
(Actor/Director of
Mahaka Media)
We have seen him act in
different productions including
famous local soap opera, Studio
263 and movie ‘Tanyaradzwa’,
amongst other productions. Not
only is acting his passion, but
making great productions and
that is why he is the director of a
media production company, but
he is also a father and to him that
cannot be scripted.
GM.: How did you react to the
news that you were going to be a
father for the first time?
Ben: Well, I was not married so it
was a bit frightening (laughs), when
the news first came out. But then
when my first born was born, I was
there in the delivery room and I was
pushing just as hard as the mum;
and I almost fainted. (Laughs again)
GM.: What do you remember
about the day your child was
born? Son or daughter?
Ben: Son. Yeah. It was, you know, it
is like one of those movie scenes
where everybody is running around
and it was sort of in the middle of
the night going to Belvedere
Maternity Clinic. And my mum was
there, her mum was there, I was
there and she was panicking. So, it
was a lot of activity and a lot of
waiting. (Laughs) It was stressful
but fulfilling in the end.
GM.: What have been the
challenges or difficulties of being
a dad?
Ben: Phew, I think my challenges
are a bit more than others, you
know I have children by different
mothers and I think when it’s like
that, it’s difficult to be present, to be
equal you know what I mean, so
that’s the difficult part.
16
GM.: How has the journey of fatherhood
been so far-what have been the high and
low points?
Ben: There are lots of highs and very few lows. I think the high is seeing, when your children’s characters develop and you can sort of identify that this one is going to be an entrepreneur, because they just go out there and you know what I mean; and so you can sort of gently guide them towards that direction. I think that part of the biggest highs is when you have your first proper conversation with your kids. When they start asking their first ‘why’ questions, because usually it’s, “what is this?” Or “what is that?” When a kid reaches the “why is this happening?” Or “why is that happening?”, then it’s like a proper human being. The lows for me have to do with my daughter. I’ve got to be honest I have a daughter called Michaela. She is eight years old now, and for a long time I just wasn’t there for her. I saw her sporadically as she was growing up but it just wasn’t right. You know when you start
to engage a child; I met her when
she was six years old; and you see
that you’re not being there
affected them. That was a low for
me because I could not go back
and readdress it but I had to say
move. Another high is that I grew
up loving dance and one of my
boys, Tamuda, loves dancing. He
loves breakdancing and what
not. He does ballroom and what
not and he loves drama. I see a lot
of myself in my son. He loves to
dance like me, so when a kid gets
colours and loves things you
enjoy, and you say that’s me right
there. (Laughs) Sounds
narcissistic hey? But it’s good to
see yourself in your children.
(Laughs again)
GM.: How do you balance your
career and fatherhood?
Ben: Very precariously (laughs).I’m self-employed as you
can see, so it is one of those things where you have to put
in the work. I don’t walk in, give instructions and walk
out. My work is hands on and I’m usually busy. I go
through periods when I’m so busy that I don’t have just
time to phone the boys to say “what sup!”. The way that
I’ve worked it out, is to find small things that we can do,
that we can all enjoy. There are times I say that we are
going to the movies, so we get 3D glasses and do that. I
have to make time to hang out with the boys. I have two
girls, one is eight years old, and the other is three years
old. They both know what they want so it’s easy. With
the three year-old, that’s Jazzy, Jasmine, we are like
buddies, really, she knew the word “daddy” before she
knew “mummy”. We built up this relationship that
worked for both of us. At that time my business didn’t
warrant me to have an office, so I could work from home.
She grew up in my arms the first three years of her life.
The long-short of it, it’s a tough balancing act, I think
that fathers have to realise that we can provide all the
material things but if we are not there spending time
with kids it doesn’t work.
I remember growing up, and the one
thing I wanted from my father more
than anything else, was to sit down
and talk to him and we didn’t have
that sort of relationship; so if
anything can balance it should lean
more towards spending time with the
children than spending time at work.
A lot of time at work can be due to
inefficiency.
GM.: What impact has your famous
status had on your children?
Ben: Well I think being famous, or being in the entertainment industry, your children meet other celebrities. You will get you know Munya coming over and the kids are like, “yeah!” Or someone like Tuku comes over, and they have no clue. (Laughs) So they get to meet some interesting people face to face. They find it weird, when
“If we are not there spending time with kids
it doesn’t work, be there for them…..”
17
I meet somebody and they say,
“Hey Tom what, what…” they are
bemused by the whole thing. Even
my daughter in South Africa, when
we go to a restaurant and you
know that South Africa is full of
Zimbabweans; they say, “Hello
Tom!”, that kind of thing, they find
it amusing but unfortunately it
hasn’t led them to really taking
acting seriously. (Laughs)
Hopefully that will change with
time.
GM.: So I see that you would
want your children to take up
acting?
Ben: Yes I would. I think that it’s a
good profession that requires
dedication, high levels of creativity;
it’s not easy to be someone else. So
I would like Tamuda to be an actor
because he’s the one that enjoys
that sort of thing. He loves the
drama.
GM.: How do you rate yourself
as a dad?
Ben: Phew! On a scale of 1 to 10, I
would put myself at 6 because I’m
still a work in progress. I would
like to spend my time with all of
my children. Yeah, that’s the key
thing to be there for them.
GM.: What wishes/hopes do you
have for your children?
Ben: You know I hope that they achieve their full potential and that as parents we help them achieve their full potential. I want them to find true love because that’s important. And I want them to be…, I want their lives to be meaningful to society.
They shouldn’t just pass through
like a breeze; they should be able
to leave something. They should
leave a legacy; you know Jasmine
Mahaka when she is ninety, young
people should still find her
relevant.
GM.: What advice would you
give to other dads out there?
Ben: I would say make time for
your children. If we are not there
spending time with kids it doesn’t
work, be there for them. That’s
very important.
Tommy Deuschle
(CEO Emerging Ideas&
C Media and Youth
Pastor at Celebration
Ministries
International)
He comes from one of the most
influential families in ministry in
Zimbabwe. With a father who is a
great teacher of kingdom dynamics;
a mother who sings and leads one
of Africa’s best choirs and of
course, a young pastor himself, it’s
easy to see that the apple did not
fall far from the tree as the ministry
is moving onto the next generation.
GM.: How did you react to the
news that you were going to be a
father for the first time?
Tommy: For the first time. I don’t think that I felt ready of course. know when you are just a husband and
wife, you could be a little bit more
careless, do a little bit more travelling, the
house could be falling apart and you’re
okay. But when you know that you are
bringing in another life into the world,
you want to make sure that the life that
you are bringing them into is a secure one.
So it got me thinking responsibly.
GM.: What do you remember about the
day your son was born?
Tommy: The day he was born, I remember
my respect levels for my wife were times
by a 100 because of what she had to go
through, I was in the delivery room. And I
remember that first initial bond between
mother and son; when Levi Kingston, our
first born, was put into Rachel’s arms for
the first time, still covered in blood, and
just the look on my wife’s face, I was like,
wow! This is our gift from God.
GM.: And by the way, congratulations,
you are a daddy for a second time. And
a baby girl? What have been the
challenges or difficulties of being a dad?
Tommy: A girl this time. Thank you. The difficulties of being a dad? I don’t know if it’s difficult as much as it is, I wouldn’t call it difficult.
18
I would call it demanding more than
difficult because it is demanding but
you enjoy the demands. You know that
your son and now my daughter need
father time and the biggest demand is
making sure that you give them time
and not burying yourself in work or
ministry to the detriment of personal
time with dad. So that’s the challenge I
guess, because I love what I do.
GM.: How has the journey of
fatherhood been so far-what have
been the high and low points?
Tommy: The low points at the
beginning-lack of sleep. People used to
tell me all the time; enjoy your sleep
before your kids come. I didn’t know
what they meant but now I do.
(Laughs) The high points really are
looking around in the lounge in the
evening and seeing the two youngsters;
one is sucking on a dummy and the
other playing with a pet lion or his
stuffed lion and just knowing that this
is what God has entrusted you with.
And the smiles on their faces, and the
way they say dad, it’s priceless.
GM.: How do you balance your
career and fatherhood?
Tommy: An interesting question, the
way I see it, my career is blended in
with my family. And I see it as more of
a legacy than just my career. It’s for my
family. What we build I see as we are
doing it together and we play it in
roles. My wife is there and she’s taking
care of a lot of things at home, my son
makes sure that I at least laugh once a
day and I’m out there being part of a
vision and building something that we
can all be a part of.
So I see it as one in the same. But the
balance is there. You need to balance
because sometimes when you have a
vision you can become so focused on it
that your family takes the back seat.
But the way that we have accomplished
that is clear communication between
me and my wife and I guess, now my
family. Everything is clear. If there is a
deadline or time to be home, we take
holidays together. We make sure that
we schedule family time, which is
important.
GM.: What impact has your ‘famous’
status had on your child/children?
Tommy: Again, I wouldn’t call myself
famous, for the record. (Laughs) but,
(thinking), good question. I don’t think
that they understand who they are in
the church, who their dad is
necessarily, or who their grandfather is.
I don’t think that they understand. But
one thing they do know is confidence.
They are not shy at all. My youngsters
are completely bold and very social.
They are around people all the time.
“What we build I see as
we are doing it together
and we play it in roles
…..We make sure that
we schedule family time,
which is important.”
GM.: How do you rate yourself as a
dad? (On a scale of 1 to 10).
Tommy: On a scale of 1 to 10, I would
say 7+ and work in progress. There are
always things you could do better.
GM.: What wishes and hopes
do you have for your children?
Tommy: My hope is that they
understand who they are in
Christ. .Actually that’s why we
named them what we named
them. Levi means “united”,” joint
together”, “so united in God’s
kingdom”, that’s my son’s first
name, and the second a name
Kingston means “kingdom”. And
my daughter, Madison Leal,
Madison means “sincerity”, and
her middle name is Leal, which
means, “belonging to God”. So
we named them specifically so
that we are constantly telling
them who they are in God. And
so that our desire is that they
completely walk in the word of
God and hear his voice on a daily
basis.
GM.: What advice would you give other dads out there? Tommy: I think you know, a father, a dad, and a man in general wants to have an impact on his kids, wants to be able to make a difference. I think often people overlook their kids because the biggest way you can change the world, is by having a good impact on your kids. One of the strongest institutions in the world is the family and as a dad, it’s the ultimate privilege to raise-up young rock stars and young people. People who aren’t dads don’t have that opportunity. I think that’s a huge focal point. And people who are dads, the huge focus should be on taking fatherhood seriously. It’s a privilege to be a father!
19
UNDER THE GROOVE…..
Hailing from Cape Town,
South Africa, is a young man
who seems to have a good
head over his shoulders and
definitely knows how to
express himself….lyrically.
Born Keith Itai Guzah but he
goes by the name Kapital K in
the music circles, and we have
been getting a feel of his
music for a while, making
noise on both the South
African and Zimbabwean
hip-hop scene. He is
definitely going somewhere,
and K for us, stands for ‘Klass
act’.
Kapital K
GM.: Your music has
managed to get airplay on our
local radio stations. Tell us a
little bit about yourself. Who
is Kapital K?
Kapital K: I am a passionate,
humble yet highly confident
kid, straight out of H-town, in a
unique and different sound as
well as a story through which I
use my music to share to my
fans, family and friends. I’m
very outgoing and generally
cool to kick with.
GM.: How did you get into the music
business?
Kapital K: I got into music as early as
12 years. I wrote my first verse at 9
under the influences of the likes of
2Pac, Coolio, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and
my Dad. Lol! When I moved to
Zimbabwe from North Carolina, USA,
my dad made it possible for me to enter
a professional recording studio for the
first time with the late, great, Fortune
Muparutsa. From then I’ve been
engaged in the music/entertainment
industry pretty much every aspect.
GM.: How has the journey
been so far?
Kapital K: The journey’s been
long and hard, but Team
K4K’s perseverance, passion
and persistence is what keeps
us going. With a vision and
hard work, everything plays to
be smoother and we’re moving
steady. We’re space at the
moment.
GM.: How is the music
industry in South Africa
different from Zimbabwe?
Kapital K: South African
music has the support of the
locals, something Zimbabwe
doesn’t fully have yet, but
improvements are being made
back home and things are
starting to pick up. That’s
about the only
difference?!Wait! Also the fact
that people in SA use the
internet more and don’t keep
their music locked up in their
laptops or garages. Yea! People
in SA tend to be way more
professional and it’s a level the
Zimbabwean music industry
is yet to accomplish. As
Zimbabweans we need to
understand our value as
artists and brands and treat
like a bar of gold.
20
GM.: You are a hip-hop artist.
Do you do any other music
genre?
Kapital K: Yes! I also deliver well
when it comes to afro-pop, pop
and a bit of R&B. Smoothish you
know (smiles).Hello ladies!
GM.: Do you write your own
music and what inspires you?
Kapital K: Yes I write
everything. Nothing has ever
been for me, ever! I’m inspired by
almost everything, specifically
my daily experiences whether its
school, partying, relationships,
struggles etc. I turn situations
into music which makes it easier
for people to comprehend and
enjoy seeing as though music is
the best universal language apart
from you know..... Lol!
GM.: What do you think about
the hip-hop movement in
Zimbabwe?
Kapital K: The movement is on
the rise and I am very proud of
the guys who are uplifting the
flag. I have no favourites but I
DO respect what Showtime
Africa is doing. Those are my
brothers for life. Jnr Brown is
doing an amazing job. Tehn
Diamond is my brother and has
always contributed greatly to the
movement. FTR is pushing well.
I don’t see anyone else. But on a
broader note, we gotta give it up
to the DJs that rotate our music.
The likes of Dizz, Roxx and all
my brothers and sisters at ZiFM
and Star FM.
GM.: In the next 5 years,
where does Kapital K see
himself?
Kapital K: I see myself in a very
influential position in the music
industry in general and I see
myself giving hope to my fellow
Zimbabwean artists. I want to
pave the way for them and be
able to build my brand further
locally and internationally.
GM.: Last words…..
Kapital K: Capital Invested in
Kapital is more capital.
#TeamK4K #KapCity
Without them it’s very difficult
to be heard. Lastly, the
bloggers. People are beginning
to take blogging more seriously
and this adds value to the
movement. Zim is currently
having.
GM.: Do you have any
favourites? Anyone you would
like to collaborate with
locally and internationally?
Kapital K: Locally there are a
few. I’d spoil it if I told you who
the names were, but it’s
something the people have
wanted (smiles).Internationally
I can name a million. Fabolous,
La Fouine, Mary J Blige, J Cole,
B.O.B and Macklemore hehe.
The list is endless.
“As Zimbabweans we need
to understand our value as
artists and brands and treat
like a bar of gold.”
21
The Strum
David Hondoyendzomba The story of acoustic players is
often that of humble beginnings.
Thanks to the likes of legendary
Oliver Mtukudzi the acoustic
guitar has become an instrument
to be celebrated and the genres
brought about by this beautiful
instrument are changing the
sounds of Zimbabwean music.
One young artist who has taken
inspiration is David
Hondoyendzomba who would
like to be known as “Mr Bindura”
a title taken from his hometown,
Bindura.
Born David Ruzivo
Hondoyendzomba on the 7th of
March 1980, David credits his
musical skills to his family
background. His father was a
teacher and also played the acoustic
guitar, whilst his mother was part of
the church choir at the Salvation
Army. David is also quite the sporty
one as he loves basketball which he
used to play way back in high
school before he put his full time
concentration on his music. He is
also an athlete and is a master in
karate. Like the saying goes,” A way
to a man’s heart is through his
stomach”, and David is no
exception, not only does he love
GM.: Please tell us about your
debut album, ’Uncle Sam’
which is also the title track.
David: “Uncle Sam” is actually
the story of my life. The song is
about a young man who moves
to the city to seek opportunity
and he is being told to go back
home to “Uncle Sam”, who
happens to be his uncle,
’musarapavana’. I have my uncle at
home whom I regard as my
father, as my own father is now
late.
GM.: How did you start
playing the guitar and are there
other instruments that you
play?
David: I don’t know, I love rock because rock music is about guitars. I had a friend, an old friend of mine, Masimba Kangai. We used to listen to rock music. He introduced me to Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams so you know, that’s
cheese, he also cooks. A man
of many of many talents we
must say.
With his debut album “Uncle
Sam” out, David shares with
us the great elements of
playing the guitar.
22
the vision that I had, playing
rock. I used to make my own
guitar shape using k-lite. I
didn’t have the tin can like
Oliver Mtukudzi did. So my
dad played for, actually he was
friends with John Crystal, so
the first album, “Tafara Band”,
which featured the song,
“Handina Mari”, I got hold of it. I
listened to that album; I was
the first one to get it out of the
plastic. So I went to the garage
and started playing the guitar.
We had a band in the garage;
we drew drums on the walls of
the garage like Tafara band and
imitate John Crystal. That was
the first show that I attended. I
can play any instrument but I
don’t have the time for that
because I need to focus on
playing my lead guitar and
vocals as well; and also coach
my band.
GM.: How has your journey
been in music?
David: It’s been difficult but
quite interesting though. I have
been motivated. It has been
challenging and in other
circumstances such as the
Chibuku Road to Fame, it made
things quite easy for me and my
band members. It motivated us
to think that we could make it
because coming out as third
best band in the country in the
Chibuku Road to Fame is
inspiring. But it’s been
challenging financially, like
back home, there is nothing to
hold onto, music wise, there is
nowhere where we can play
because Bindura is a small
town, we couldn’t find a guitar
there because it’s not developed
musically, we couldn’t get
rehearsal studios so I decided to
move to Harare. Things here are
quite busy; I got a lot of
attention from promoters and
sponsors and fans too. So I’m in
a position to, I’m not saying
that I’ve made it, but I have a
good platform where I am on
fair ground, if I don’t make it
from here it’s my fault because I
have the opportunity.
GM.: What has been the
response to your music? Is
your music getting airplay on
our local radio stations?
David: People are very
interested in my music. People
love new artists and new music.
People feel that my album
should make it, so they ask me
questions like, “Is your cd on
radio?” and stuff like, “I think
that “Uncle Sam” is a good
album”. Star FM is playing my
music but unfortunately, I have
not taken my album to the
other stations. I’m in the
process of distributing my
album to the radio stations.
GM.: What do you think
about the music industry in
Zimbabwe pertaining to
acoustic music?
David: I think it’s doable, there’s potential but if you don’t do
live performances you won’t
make it because airplay,
doesn’t do much except for
marketing. Cd sales don’t
bring much. I think it has
potential, but it is a bit
unprofessional. The way we
do things is like,”Ana
musiyanwa. Tirikuita so….Iribho!”
There is nothing like
contracts. I think that it has to
do with our fathers, the ones
who pioneered music in
Zimbabwe like the engineer at
Gramma Music, Mbirimi, the
way they did things, it really
branched out to everyone it
was contagious. We didn’t
have many professionals
except for David McCarthy,
Tuku’s managers; I do believe
that individually, you can be
professional, as an artist
though it is risky to put
quality on that because you
lose business in trying to be
professional because some
people will not agree with
contracts.
GM.: What inspires your
music? Do you write your
own songs?
David: I think that a little bit
of something from everyone. I
admire a lot of Oliver
Mutukudzi,”music yake
yakarongeka” (his music is
organised); that’s where I get
a lot of ideas from. Not sound,
but I take his music
arrangement. I use it in my
own music.
23
I don’t want to talk about the
Bon Jovis but it’s a bit of
everyone. Any good song inspires
me; I’m inspired by the song
mainly. Even Simon Chimbetu
inspired me. He was called the
“Master of Song” because he
wouldn’t play a song to the end
but he would cut it and sing the
next song and everybody would
sing along to it. That’s what I
want to be like also.
GM.: Which artistes have you
worked with, and/or would
like to work with?
David: My next move is Oliver
Mutukudzi. There is a single that
I want to work with him. I’ve
worked with a lot of artists
except Macheso. I’ve worked
with Victor Kunonga, Sulu, Jah
Prayzah; I’ve rubbed shoulders
with a lot of artists. Regionally
I’m thinking Zahara because
she’s an acoustic guitar player
that’s where I come from, but I
will step up her groove just a
little bit, and I’m willing to learn
from her. Locally, I would also
want to work with Jah Prayzah.
There’s something I want to do
with him because I’m a composer
too, but there’s a certain type of
music that I don’t want to play
because I don’t want to classified
as a certain artist. So when I
write, I want to collaborate with
other artists because the identity
of the other artist comes out in
that song.
GM.: Where do you see
yourself in the next few years?
David: The next Superstar! I see
myself as being an icon in my
hometown in Bindura. I want
people to start calling me “Mr
Bindura”, (although off the
record, the real “Mr Bindura”
passed away.)
GM.: Last word…
David: I think that the guitar has
no limit. You can never say that
you can play the acoustic guitar
or lead guitar. There’s a lot of
room for improvement. It’s a
hard road really because it’s not
just about playing the guitar
only, if you want to be a
musician. It’s not about the
singing only. It’s about playing
the guitar and it’s about the
singing, it’s about being
organised, good song, PR, the
whole thing about being an
entrepreneur, you need good
brains, you need to be intelligent;
focused. I think it’s about the
total package. The problem is
that some people who play the
acoustic guitar can’t sing and
they want to make it out there as
solo artists, it’s difficult. It’s good
to be professional and say that I
am the lead guitarist but not lead
singer. Sometimes you can get a
band grouped up and say you
sing, and I’ll write the songs.
Yeah, you just need to be
professional and know what you
want.
David Hondoyendzomba &
the Blackways
Discography
Debut album “Uncle Sam”
Major appearances
World wetlands day
Ambassador Hotel
Opening of Parliament
World Environment day
Book Café
Chibuku Road To Fame
Price Waterhouse Coopers
Beer Engine (Jameson Hotel)
Moses Chunga Farewell
Zimbabwe Fertilizer
Company
Mokador Restaurant gig
Lion king Sundays
City Sports bar with
Sulumani Chimbetu
Mazowe Trust Dinner dance
Competitions
2nd place Crossroads National finds
electric bands category 1999
(Bulawayo)
3rd place Chibuku Road to Fame
2003 Provincial finals (Bindura)
2nd place Music Crossroads
Provincial finals Mushandirapamwe
Hotel
2nd place 2007 Chibuku Road to
Fame Provincial finals (Harare)
3rd place 2007 Chibuku Road to
Fame National finals (Glamis
Stadium, Harare)
1st place 2010 Chibuku Music road
to Fame Provincial finals (Harare)
“Uncle Sam” by David
Hondoyedzomba and the Blackways
is out now, so go and get your copy.
Until the next strum…..
24
GROOVE THEORY
It’s just like an elephant stuck in
the middle of a road, on the island
that marks a roundabout. This
very elephant, being the same that
escaped from a game park having
felt suffocated and limited by the
fence, and having grown tired of
being the entertainment of rich
tourists instead of exercising his
full capabilities as a young bull.
Now that he has broken out and is
“free”, he starts off in the jungle
where he moves freely
, crushing every obstacle in his
way. Almost all the animals do
not cross his path, literally, for
fear of being crushed. By the
time this young bull reaches
the highway, he is at his peak.
His tusks are sharp and full
grown; his hide is thick, fresh
and rough. He has full
confidence in himself.
He hesitates to cross the road
as there is too much unfamiliar
traffic, then comes night time,
Deep Confrontation – The young elephant
© Pauline S. Chimedza 2014
The young elephant….
just a bit of traffic.
The young bull feels safe to step on
this seemingly never-ending carpet
of smooth tar. For the first time
ever, he sets foot on smooth
ground. It feels good. He is the
king at this time.
The little traffic that’s there
swerves out of his way at the sight
of him. He finally decides to rest
on this patch of comfortable green
grass in the middle of the carpet.
25
He opens his eyes only to see a
whole lot of machines like the
few he had seen occasionally at
the game park. He never
thought they’d be so many! He
stands up and he realizes he’s
surrounded by them. Some are
speeding past him; some are
going round the little round
patch he is standing on. He
doesn’t know if he should move,
lest he tramples on what could
be his ticket to stardom, but
these same machines seem like
competition, as they trumpet
almost like him and they seem
like they never get tired. Maybe
if he follows them, he will learn
more, at the same time they
might limit him, they might
block him from rising, and
maybe he can do better than
them? Then he is stuck on the
island in the middle of the road,
watching others make decisions
and move on. And he wonders
how they do it, and if he can do
it too. Then he realizes it’s not
all about the trumpet, how loud
it sounds the tempo or the style.
It’s also about decisions,
responsibility, learning your
surroundings and knowing
which way to walk.
Word to the young artist, who
in this case, is the elephant,
humility is hard to maintain for
all of us, especially where there
is talent and also finance, but
there are a lot of bitter pills to
swallow before you get to the
top.
“…..humility is
hard to maintain
for all of us,
especially where
there is talent and
also finance but
there are a lot of
bitter pills to
swallow before
you get to the
top…..Those
people who took
the long route are
not stupid, it takes
time to get to the
top of a building
and with every
level you learn
something new
about where you
are going. You pass
one level to get to
the next.”
It’s important to be humble
before the Lord and others. It’s
better to seek guidance before
we breakaway from our own
game parks and tear down our
fences; so we can find our inner
selves and discover what drives
us. Those people who took the
long route are not stupid, it
takes time to get to the top of a
building and with every level
you learn something new about
where you are going. You pass
one level to get to the next. You
can’t do a Masters without a
degree. The fence is there to
keep you grounded until you
are ready. When the time is
right, the gates will open and
there won’t be need to break
anything. No need to trample
on anything whilst in the
jungle, because as big as you
might be, young elephant, and
as strong as you might be, Mr
Bull; those tiny forces joint
together could be a major cause
of your downfall. Be nice, you
never know where your bread is
buttered. Learn from living
testimonies, the success stories,
and ask the how they did it. But
first, you need to be humble
because without humility, there
is no learning, without learning
there will be no knowledge,
without knowledge there is no
power. And that’s a biscuit to
chew on…
It reminds him of home. On this patch he falls into a peaceful sleep, but this time with a sense of fulfilment. Wait a minute…what’s that loud sound? It sounds like as trumpet but with him sleeping, whose trumpet is it?
26
Star Power
Rihanna
All the way from
Barbados she made
music in the sun,
relating to a girl like
me. But then she
started growing up,
she became a good girl
gone bad to the point
of being rated R. From
the darkness, to her
loud red hair and she
has proved that she
can talk that talk with
the success she has
achieved. And she is
definitely
unapologetic about it.7
albums, in 7 years, and
268 awards under her
belt including 7
AMAs,6 Grammy
awards and having
won ‘The Video Of
The Year’ at the 2012
MTV Video Music
Awards with ‘We
found love’ featuring
Calvin
Harris, this Bajan beauty is
proving her worth as a star.
RiRi Facts
Rihanna is derived from the
Celtic name “Rhiannon”, but
did you know that in Arabic,
Rihanna means sweet basil.
This could explain her
perfume line which she
launched, which includes
Reb’l Fleur which is her
nickname given to her by her
grandmother, Rebelle and
Nude.
• Rihanna was born in St
Micheal, Barbados, but by
origin she is Afro Guyanese,
hailing from the South
American country of Guyana.
She is also part Irish.
• Rihanna is the oldest sibling in
her family with two younger
brothers Rorrey and Rajad
Fenty, and two half-sisters and
a half-brother from her father’s
side.
• She began singing at the age 7,
and in her teens she formed a
girl group with two of her
classmates. Hmm, does that not
sound like Destiny’s Child?
27
RiRi’s hair album by album
A girl like me Music in the sun Good girl gone bad Rated R
Loud Talk that Talk
Unapologetic
RiRi as Beyonce and the other two
Michelle and Kelly.
She and the band then went
on to audition for veteran
music producer, Evan
Rogers. He then took the
then 16 year old, Rihanna to
the United States.
After making a demo, Rogers
took Rihanna to audition for
Jay Z who signed her up
there and there although
initially he did not want to
sign her up.
Off stage, Rihanna is a
reserved girl but once you
know her, she loves to play
pranks on her friends.
In 2012, Rihanna
celebrated 7 years in the
industry and 7 successful
albums. And had a tour.
She told Complex
magazine during her 777
cover shoot that
‘Diamonds’ is her favourite
single since she last
released ‘Umbrella’.
To the Power Ri
Rihanna recently
completed her 5th world
tour, the Diamond world
Tour.
She has also been featured
in movies such as ‘Bring It
On: All or Nothing
(2006),’Battleship’ (2012),
in which she starred as a soldier
and she has upcoming movies for
2013 and 2014.
Rihanna has more #1 hit
songs than anyone else in
this decade. She holds a
record of reaching 20 Top
10 hits on the Billboard
Charts.
In 2012, Rihanna was
named by Time Magazine
as one of the most
influential people in the
world.
• At the 2013 American Music
Awards, she received the Icon
Award.
28
BILLBOARD
CHARTS:RIHANNA’S #1
HITS
SOS (2006) 1 Week
Take A Bow (2008) 3
Weeks
Disturbia (2008) 3 Weeks
Live Your Life (2008) 2
Weeks
Rude Boy (2010) 2 Weeks
Love the Way You Lie
(2010) 2 Weeks
Only Girl (In the World)
(2010) 3 Weeks
S&M (2011) 1 Week
We found love (2011) 8
Weeks
Stay (2013)
RiRi’s Hit
Songs
• Rihanna’s hit song “Umbrella’’
was written by Tarius “The
Dream” Nash. This song
actually set off The Dream’s
song-writing career, making
him the most sought after
song-writers in the business.
• Ester Dean wrote and co-
wrote most of Rihanna’s
songs on her “Loud”, “Talk
that Talk” album. From the
album “Rated R”, Ester wrote
the hit song, Rude Boy”. Other
hit songs include” What’s my
name?”, “S&M”, “Fading”,
“Complicated”, “You da one”,
“Where have you been?”,
“Talk that Talk”, “We all want
love”, “Drunk on love” and “Roc
me out”.
•“Shaffer Chimere Smith,
popularly known as Ne-yo, wrote
“Unfaithful”, “Take a bow”, “I hate
that I love you”, “Russian roulette”
and “Stupid in love”.
• The eerie “Disturbia”, was
written by former boyfriend,
Chris Brown
• “Rehab” was written by Justin
Timberlake and produced by
Timbaland.
Rihanna’s Star
power
She has managed to achieve success
in a short space of time. Be it her
edgy songs, her diverse hairstyles,
or her bad girl persona,
RiRi has proved that she
has the qualities of a long
standing artist and she is
not going anywhere,
anytime soon. Like Janet
Jackson and Madonna, she
has the ability to evolve her
image and music,
something very few artists
can achieve. She’s achieved
success as a reggae, R&B,
pop and techno-dance
artist. Her hairstyles and
hair colour also have made
her quite a trendsetter.
RiRi’s star power is at four
because of her daring
nature when it comes to
her career.
29
QUIZ
Are you celebrity
obsessed?
The world would come to
a stop if there were no
longer any music
channels, or if the
entertainment pages did
not print the latest
scandal on a famous
person. You know
everything about them.
You are constantly
keeping up with them, or
even emulating their
image e.g. half-shaved
head a la RiRi. There is a
thin line between being a
fan and being celebrity
obsessed. Take this test
and see where you stand
on this line.
1. Your favourite celebrity is
walking down the street and
you happen to cross paths with
them. Do you:
A. Notice them and give
them a polite nod
B. Stop and stare until they
completely pass by
A. Nothing. I just put on what
feels comfortable and sensible
B. A number of things. I mostly
dress myself but I might steal a
style from a celebrity’s wardrobe.
C. Fashion magazines, and
whatever celebrities are wearing.
5. Your favourite TV channels
would probably include:
A. Something educational
like Discovery or BBC
Knowledge
B. Infotainment like Series,
some laughs with the
Comedy channel and BBC
Lifestyle
C. All things music and
entertainment like
Channel O, VUZU and E!
C. Scream and jump to the opportunity of
greeting them, and maybe take a pic with
them
2. You buy magazines:
A. Once in a blue moon. The money can be
used on more important things.
B. 2 to 4 times a month. I need to have an
idea of what’s happening in the world.
C. Every single issue that I can get my
hands on. I need to be up to date with
the trends.
3. When going through a newspaper, you
start reading:
A. The headlines and business section
B. Columns. They are so inspiring.
C. Entertainment section.
4. Your style is influenced by:
30
Results
Mostly As. Celeb what? You live in
reality and could care less about
people whose careers depend on
getting attention from the public and
media. You might have one or two
musicians whose music you
appreciate, but you are not fazed by
the latest music video or who’s
dating who? Life’s too short to be
serious, live a little. There is some
good, thought provoking music out
there, and some famous people who
could give you a little inspiration.
Mostly Bs. You are not completely
clueless about entertainment and
celebville. You would not turn down
tickets to a show, and you can do the
Harlem shake when nobody is
watching. You take some inspiration
from celebrities but maintain your
individuality. (You wouldn’t want to
be a clone of Nicki Minaj).You are
definitely a fan.
Mostly Cs. You probably see
yourself married with children to
your favourite celebrity. Your room is
a shrine dedicated to your idol. You
probably also follow every celebrity
blog site and concert in town. You
probably even know when who got
their first tattoo or nose job. In the
midst of gossiping about celebrities,
you will air your opinions based on
how ‘close’ you are to them. In as
much as celebrities are fascinating, it
is important to place your focus more
on your life and the world around
you. You do not entirely need to look
like a famous person to be cool,
because your uniqueness makes you
special.
6. You win a contest to meet
an international performing
artist .Are you excited?
A. I would like to ask
them questions about
their career choice
B. Of course. It’s not every
day that I meet a celebrity
C. Yes. I worship the ground
that they walk on. Will
probably take the water
glass they drink in as a
souvenir.
7. What do you think about
tabloid media?
A. Don’t they have
anything better to do
B. They should have
boundaries
C. They should leave those
celebrities alone
8. You would probably sit
down a good three hours
watching:
A. Parliamentary debate
B. A soccer match
C. The Royal Wedding
9. Your role models are:
A. Family members. They
have always had my
back.
B. People who have used
their celebrity status to
change the world like
Nelson Mandela and
Oprah
C. They are like so many.
How do you choose
between Kesha and Lil
Wayne?
10. On your social media pages,
you mostly post or tweet
about:
A. Nothing much. I rarely
have time.
B. Whatever is on my
mind
C. OMG! Did Kim and
Kanye just name their
baby “North”? What is
happening in the Big
Brother house?
31
OUT
Heavy layers
Heavy perfumes
Bold red lipstick
Dark colours
Exaggerated platforms
32
SUMMER FASHION TRENDS
Summer’s here and we all know what that means….FUN! And of course less is more meaning lighter everything so as to bear the summer heat and this is how we do it for summer 2013/14
Do not throw away your leather jacket or boots
Mixed prints are in, just make sure that you do
it right.
Bold statement jewellery is definitely in
IN Light fabrics, little or no layering Floral or citrus scents Nude shades For both men and women, go bold Pointy toes
FASHION
Fashion Designer
RumbiRumbi Clothing
By Rumbidzai Chirumbwana
RumbiRumbi Clothing is a
brand celebrating the urban,
young professional
Zimbabwean woman. Our
brand prides itself in selecting
unique fabric from around the
world and manufacturing it our
entire product in Zimbabwe.
We are currently working on
our second range of clothing
which hit exclusive stores on
July 31, 2013.
Tag&Bow Boutique, 11
College Road, Alexander
Park
G24 Emporium shop 27, 5
Harrow Road, Doon Estate
Village, Msasa
Email :
Facebook :
RumbiRumbi Clothing
Twitter:
@rumbirumbiclothing
33
GROOVE WOMAN
Summer fashion
Fiery red
Red is a very bold colour for those
individuals who love to make a
statement. It is also a mood
elevator which boosts confidence
and makes you feel like you are in
control. Wear with sleek hair,
neutral lips and black or nude
heels.
Tuxedo 2.0
This style is for those ladies who
would love to trade in those
dresses for a masculine but sexy
look. The tuxedos come in various
styles from shorts to ankle length
slacks and short-sleeved jackets.
Wear it with a blouse, a jewel
toned scarf and closed toe pumps.
Sweet and soft
Like the season, light fabrics like
silk and chiffon are in. Wear this
with few or no accessories and
metallic sandals.
Modern Floral
Big, bold floral prints are
representative of the blooming
flowers in season.
Lace dresses
Lace is feminine, it is sexy and
light and definitely a must this
summer. This is suitable for
Sunday lunch, or in darker
shades for evening functions and
dinner. Wear with pearl beads or
bling it up with silver or gold
jewellery, and a pair of heels or
sandals.
Colours
Bold and light is this summer’s
theme. Acid green, gerbera daisy
(pink), aquamarine and wisteria
(purple) are a must this spring
for dresses, blouses, scarfs and
accessories.
Peek-a-boo
If you are the adventurous type
then this look is for you. It
reveals abs and toned thighs
but keeps you fully clothed. It
is suitable for a night out at the
club or dressy parties.
Graphic black and white
Whether it is checks, stripes
or hound tooth, black and
white is back with a bang.
34
Beauty
Lips
As we offload the weighty
clothes, now it is time to lighten
up those lips. Nude is the in
colour for a perfect pout.
Eyes
This season don’t pluck out or
tweeze your eyebrows. If you
have thin eyebrows or you are
not a fan of very bushy brows you
can fill them in by making short
strokes with eyeliner. With your
eye shadow go pastel. Layer on
super pigmented colours to
create an edgy, polychromatic
take on the classic smoky look or
opt for a single line of liquid
pastel.
Skin
Less is more, so invest in more
subtle shades of blush.
Hair
Trendy hairstyles for this
summer
Long and wavy…..
Short and precise…..
Hair by Gerri.com
Hair by Gerri.com
…from the stars
themselves…..
Shoulder length…..
Kerri Washington rocks shoulder length hair with short bangs.
35
Hair factors
Dandruff: Is that flake
giving you a
headache?
There is nothing as annoying as
annoying as an itching head.
Scratching seems to be a great idea
until your clothes have flakes, (and
we don’t mean corn flakes).
Dandruff!
What is Dandruff?
Dandruff is a harmless, chronic
condition that occurs when the
scalp becomes dry or greasy and
produces white flakes of the dead
skin that appear in the hair or on
the shoulders. Dandruff is very
embarrassing, and affects up to
40% of people over the age of 30.
They have longer oil-producing
glands on their scalps, which
contribute dandruff.
Poor diet
If your diet lacks food high in
zinc or vitamin B, you may be
more likely to have dandruff.
Illnesses
Neurological diseases such as
Parkinson’s disease, stress,
compromised immune system,
heart attacks and strokes
Oily hair and scalp
Excessively oily skin and hair
makes you prone to dandruff.
Remedies for
dandruff
Can you believe that you can relieve dandruff with stuff
found in your own kitchen or medicine cabinet. Skip the
dandruff shampoo, here are six homemade remedies for
dandruff. Aspirin Crush two aspirins to a fine powder and adding it to the normal amount of shampoo you use each time you wash your hair. Leave the mixture on your scalp for 1-2 minutes, then rinse well and wash again with plain shampoo.
Causes:
Allergies
Most of the chemicals used
in hair products tend to be
slightly aggressive on the
scalp’s natural process
therefore in certain
individuals who are
hypersensitive, they develop
dandruff.
Skin conditions
Skin conditions such as
psoriasis, seborrhoeic
dermatitis, or eczema
Age
Dandruff begins at as young
as 10 years old and continues
into middle age. This
problem can be life-long.
Being male
Researchers think that
dandruff is more prevalent in
men due to male hormones.
HAIR TIPS
• First, shampoo with a
shampoo containing zinc pyrithione. This kills the fungus.
• Follow this shampoo with one that has salicylic acid, which "scrubs" off the flakes.
These two in combination should control your dandruff problems, but if this doesn't work, THEN consult a dermatologist, who can prescribe stronger medication.
36
Mouthwash Wash your hair with regular shampoo; then rinse with an alcohol-based mouthwash. You can follow with your regular conditioner. Salt Salt is abrasive so that table salt comes in handy when it comes to scraping those flakes off your head. Shake some salt onto your dry scalp. Then work it through your hair, giving your scalp a massage. Once you’ve worked out the dry, flaky skin and are ready for shampoo.
Vinegar To give your dandruff the brush-off, follow up each shampoo with a rinse of apple cider vinegar mixed with 2 cups cold water. Or you could apply 3 tablespoons vinegar onto your hair and massaging into your scalp before you shampoo. Wait a few minutes, then rinse it out and wash as usual.
Baking soda Wet your hair and then rub a handful of baking soda vigorously into your scalp. Rinse thoroughly and dry. Do this every time you normally wash your hair, but only use baking soda no shampoo. Your hair may get dried out first, but after a few weeks your scalp will be producing natural oils, leaving your hair softer and free of flakes. Lemon Massage 2 tablespoons of lemon juice into your scalp and rinse with water. Then stir 1 teaspoon lemon juice into 1 cup water and rinse hair with it. Repeat this daily until your dandruff disappears.
ADVICE FROM HAIRDRESSERS TO THE STARS….. • Try not to scratch your scalp
when you are washing your hair. The key is to work up a good lather and then massage, with the soft pads of your fingertips.
• On a bad hair day, wash your hair. It will make you feel much better and more confident. But if push comes to shove and you don’t have time, tie up your hair in a ponytail. You can also accessorise your hair with an Alice band or stylishly tie -up a scarf.
37
MPV…..my point of view! ©
The Salon: The
female sanctuary
A place to achieve vanity with
lots of oestrogen and chattering,
there can only be one place that
looks like the Beijing Conference;
the salon. (All males must be
warned before they decide to
tread into this territory).
Oh, the salon! The favourite
hangout. The free therapy
session; the news desk; the safe
haven and yes, the female
sanctuary! This place is a holy
ground, where divine beauty
interventions are made. Whether
it is the hair or nails, maybe a
facial or pedicure, the salon must
be a reflection of what the world
would look like if girls run the
world.
I personally get my hair and nails
done at two different salons.
They are both favourable for my
budget and my convenience. The
hair salon is by the shopping
complex close to my home and
the nail salon is right in the
building where I work in, to my
boss’s horror, the office next
door. (And I have a wicked grin
on my face as I write this).
The owner and head nail technician
is a friendly and bubbly lady. She is
one of the few people who would
probably beat me in a ‘talking
marathon’, (and boy is she loud). But
I am fond of her, maybe I adore her.
She and the other ladies call me by
the nickname, ‘tete’, (aunty), which
is very amusing because I am in no
relation to any of them either by
blood or marriage.
The nail salon is my favourite place
to be. It is always fun to have
something new done to my nails,
and beautify my hands. Did I
mention that they wash and rub this
sweet smelling lotion? (Taking a
breath) Fabulous!
In this particular salon one
meets various characters, most
very colourful. Because of this
salon I now know the who’s
who of Harare without even
meeting them. Every scandal you
can think of you will hear it. For
some strange reason ladies find
it easy to divulge personal
information in a public place
like this.
I personally choose to be
discreet even in the midst of hot
and saucy discussions. It is
because of who I am, and who I
want to be, that I keep my
personal life, personal!
38
through a session, while egos
are being fed or trampled on;
society is being dissected by
people who deal mostly with
hair. (No pun intended).
“For some strange
reason ladies find it
easy to divulge
personal information
in a public place like
this.”
But all salons have a general
atmosphere, oestrogen! (With
this statement I include our
‘pink’ male friends). Whether
it is the low density up-class,
expensive salon, or the ghetto
tuck-shop salon, you will
never find silence in these
places.
Unfortunately, there is very
little problem solving, or
intellectual conversations in
the Salon. The main topic of
discussion, MEN! I think it is
high time; women stopped
centralising life around
testosterone and focus more
on important issues such as
world peace, how to raise our
children to be good citizens,
or how to ensure that every
woman, whether rich or poor,
owns lots of pairs
of…..SHOES! And hand bags.
Undoubtedly there is never a
dull day in a salon. At times
there is drama! Those owing
debts, the wife versus the
mistress, the ‘pink ladies’ versus
the other ladies, and division
amongst the hairdressers
themselves, I have witnessed
physical fights, verbal abuse
(every profane word you can
imagine, I have heard), but the
action is priceless! (Shaking my
head).
Salon. Salon. Salon. Only a
woman can understand how
therapeutic it is to go there. You
go in low, you come out high. It
is a hospital for non-surgical
plastic surgery. It gives women
more things to talk about.
Blessed be every salon that
every woman sets foot in, and if
two or more women are
gathered, there shall be a lot of
chatter.
P.S.: Always write your own
love story
Ciao!
Lady E
So in as much as I love attention, some information is very lethal to give away.
I do though, from time to time,
ask for advice from the head
technician. Her being slightly
older, level headed, happy-go-
lucky and, yes, married, she
gives good sound advice, but
encourages prayer and
listening to one’s heart.
Yes, advice. If one wants to
vent out frustrations, possibly
cry, have a good laugh and
maybe catch up with the
latest gossip, this is the place
to be. It is also a place to
connect with people and
make new friends.
Home wreckers, feminists, the
naïve females, the sluts, the
church heathen and saints, all
meet in this place.
I absolutely love this nail
salon, and I doubt I will be
changing any time soon.
As for the hair salon, where I
get my hair done in particular
it is usually calm. There is of
course, the news desk also
known as , gossip. And I
cannot forget the ‘battle of the
sexes’ debates with the
barbers. It is always
interesting to sit
“P.S.: Always write your own love story”-Lady E
39
BODY
Getting summer ready As we have all noticed, most of those carbs go to the stomach area which is a big no, no for those of us who will
want to be strutting in swimwear by the poolside during the upcoming summer season. Since the days are
getting warmer here is a great way to prepare for summer.
Flat belly workout Start toning your stomach by sprinting. Running activates all the stomach muscles, but you will have to push yourself harder. Walking with your stomach pulled in is also beneficial. There are several sit-ups that can put you into shape. Here are 3 types of sit-ups: V-sits This works out the lower abs How it’s done: • Sit on the floor with your knees bent
and your arms next to your legs. • Lift both feet off the floor. • Lower your upper body while
extending your legs. • Lift up with control, into the seat
position. • Don’t let your feet touch the floor.
Side knee to Elbow
This works the midsection
How it’s done:
• Lie on your side
• Roll slightly backwards so that
you rest on the soft part of your
bottom
• Keep your hands behind your
head
• Lift both legs off the floor
• Tuck your knees in until your top
knee touches your top elbow
• Extend your legs, keeping them
off the floor
Tip: Pull your belly button into your
spine to aid balance.
Seated Leg lifts This works the lower abs
How it’s done: • Sit on the edge of a chair • Hold onto the side and lean
slightly backwards. • Lift both legs off the floor
pulling your knee upwards. • Lower with control Tip: Ensure that you don’t swing your upper body.
40
HEALTH
Being young entails
energy, good looks and of
course great health. Great
health requires a lifestyle
that promotes it including
exercise, well-balanced
diet, and hygiene. Health
experts are always
working tirelessly to
ensure that the public is
informed about health
trends, new vaccines, as
well as alerts on disease
outbreaks. Of late the
medical trend that has
been affecting people in
Zimbabwe is Diabetes.
According to medical
experts, diabetes has
become one of the major
chronic diseases that are
affecting mortality rates,
along with cardiovascular
diseases, cancer and HIV-
related infections. Worst
still, diabetes especially
type 1 has become more
and more prevalent in
young people.
DIABETES MELLITUS
Definition
Diabetes is a condition in which
the body cannot control the
level of sugar in the blood
resulting in high blood sugar
levels.
Diabetes mellitus is a disorder of
carbohydrate metabolism
resulting from deficiency of or
resistance to available insulin
and is characterised by
hyperglycaemia.
Diabetes mellitus is the third
leading cause of death from
disease.
There are four types of diabetes
including type I, type II,
gestational diabetes and
diabetes associated with other
conditions, however we will
discuss on type I diabetes.
Type 1
This is also known as insulin
dependent diabetes mellitus. It
accounts for 5% to 10% of cases
and typically occurs in people
younger than age 30. It is
characterised by insulin
deficiency and risk of ketosis.
Cause
The exact cause is unknown
however type 1 may result from
an autoimmune process possibly
triggered by a virus, with genetic
factors playing a part.
How diabetes affects the body
In diabetes mellitus, the beta
cells in the pancreas no longer
produce any insulin and
therefore these individuals must
inject insulin every day to
maintain a blood glucose level
within the acceptable range. This
is referred to as ‘absolute’ insulin
deficiency. Insulin is a protein
and therefore must be injected. It
cannot be taken orally because it
is destroyed by the digestive
juices in the stomach before it
can be used.
41
Signs and symptoms
Excessive urinating
Abnormal thirst
Weight loss
Fatigue and weakness
Excessive hunger
Visual disturbances
General aches and pains
Itchiness of the skin
Slow healing of cuts and
wounds
Frequent infections
Numbness or tingling in
the feet and hands
Dehydration
Acetone breath
Decreased levels of
consciousness-dizziness
and loss of balance
Abnormally deep, very
rapid sighing breathing
known as Kussmaul’s
respirations
Nausea, vomiting, stomach
pains
When blood and urine tests are
made:
Blood results will indicate
blood sugar levels that are
high for example the
glucose tolerance test will
reveal blood glucose over
200mg/dl at the 2-hour
sample.
Urine specimen reveals
absence of ketosis
Serum blood glucose level
is less than 70mg/dl
Management
1. Administer prescribed
medications. In type 1 the
client with the condition
should take prescribed
insulin. It must be
administered at least a
minute to 30 minutes before
meals.
2. Nutritional
recommendations to
individuals should be
modified to take account of
associated features of
diabetes, including:
a. Excess weight and obesity
b. Underweight
c. Eating disorders
d. Raised blood pressure
e. Renal failure
There is no such thing as a ‘diabetic diet’. It is simply a healthy eating plan-and the way we should all eat. 3. Use of peer support groups 4. Physical activity -Adults with type 1 diabetes should be advised that physical activity can reduce their enhanced arterial risk in the medium and longer term.
-Adults with type 1 diabetes
who choose to integrate
increased physical activity into
a healthier lifestyle should be
offered information about:
Appropriate intensity and frequency of physical activity
Role of self-monitoring of changed insulin and/or nutritional needs
Effect of activity on blood glucose levels (likely fall) when insulin levels are adequate
Effect of exercise on blood glucose levels when hyperglycemic and hypoinsulinaemic (risk of worsening of hyperglycemia and ketonaemia)
Appropriate adjustments of insulin dosage and/or nutritional intake for exercise and post-exercise periods, and the next 24 hours
Interactions of exercise and alcohol
In the next issue we will continue more on management of type 1 diabetes mellitus including how to administer insulin, recommended exercise routines and the diet plan for those people with diabetes. Stay healthy.
42
HEALTH TIPS
Food balancing act
You are what you eat, and here
are some health benefits of
some of your favourite foods:
Love your tea? Rooibos tea
helps skin irritations like
itchy skin, eczema,
sunburns and acne. Rooibos
is rich in antioxidants
shown to fight
inflammation. Add Rooibos
tea to cool, bath water and
allow it to soothe you.
Hmm, chocolate! Yes you
can satisfy your cravings
and also improve your
health. For once it helps
prevent strokes. This is due
to a class of chemicals called
flavonoids, which are found
in fruits, vegetables, tea and
red wine. These act as
potent antioxidants that
protect cells from free-
radical damage which can
contribute to aging, heart
disease and certain cancers.
Fish are good for the eyes.
They are rich in Vitamin A
and Vitamin D which helps
dry eyes and improve
eyesight.
For the love of fashion
You love looking stylish and
trendy but did you know that
some fashion trends are actually
bad for your health. Here are a
few of them:
Tight clothes
They flatter your figure,
accentuating those curves but
at times they can be a real
eyesore, and a real health
hazard. Guys you might need to
ease on the speedos and skinny
jeans, you need to loosen up.
Tight pants cause testicular
torsion and lower sperm
potency due to the amount of
heat. In general, tight clothes
cause numbness to the muscles,
‘tight pants syndrome’ which is
marked by abdominal
discomfort, heartburn and
belching, bladder problems.
Artificial nails
Long nails elongate the fingers;
nail art makes the nails look
pretty however artificial nails
can cause severe damage to the
nails and fingers in the long
run. Acetone thins the nails
therefore causing them to break
easily and making one’s fingers
susceptible to diseases . Give
your nails time to heal and
strengthen before booking
another nail appointment. You
can paint your nails with nail
polish which will still look very
pretty.
High Heels
Ladies those heels are real killers.
Literally! In as much as they add
centimetres to the little women or
they put that oomph into that walk;
high heels strain muscles in both the
legs and lower back. When possible
wear flat shoes and keep the heels for
special occasions and those important
meetings where you might need to
look the part.
Hair extensions
Ladies from all walks of life love a
long, thick mane which keeps
everybody gasping but very few are
blessed with luscious locks. The
solution? Hair extensions! They come
in all lengths, colours and styles
which can be bonded, braided, plaited
or pinned onto one’s natural hair.
Prolonged use will eventually cause
balding of the hairline, thinning and
breakage of the hair. Give your hair
some time to breathe in between
hairstyles and keep it natural. Opt for
a wig if your natural look is not a ‘do’
with you, so that your hairline has
time to recover.
It is important to look well
groomed and stylish, but it is far
more important not to damage that
very same temple that you love to
adorn. Be moderate and find other
alternatives of looking fabulous
without causing your body harm for
the love of fashion.
43
GROOVE MAN
Summer Fashion
trends
Dos and Don’ts
DOs
Layer lean
Citrus and musk scents
Stripes
DON’Ts
Saggy slacks
Board shorts
Military themes
Crinkles
Mandals
Wrap around shades
Skinny jeans
Bold colours
Denim
Sportswear
Unless you want to look like you’re cycling through Tour de France….don’t!
These have never been a fashion do…… The sun is out and it’s time for a cool summer
guys…..Cool as in lighter, bold and with lots of
swag!
ETV’s Ken Baker
Jamie Foxx
44
GADGETS
GALAXY NOTE 3
Specs: 5.7-inch touch,
Android v4.3 with
Qualcomm Snap dragon
800 Erexynos 5 octa
processor, 13 MP rear
camera, 3200 m Ah battery
and 32/64GB internal
storage.
Overview
While Apple is happy with its 4-
inch displays, Samsung is moving
towards larger screens sizes. The
new Galaxy Note 3 is thinner and
lighter though the display size has
been increased to 5.7 inches. The
company has replaced the plastic
back with a soft textured back
cover along with a serrated pattern
on the side to give it a diary-like
feel. Like the S4, there is a
2.3GHzquad-core Qualcomm
Snapdragon 800 and an eight-core
Exynos 5 Octa chipset version. It
will be paired with 3GB RAM.
Samsung's S-Pen functionality has
been beefed up.
The Galaxy S4 Zoom
So can a camera phone kill a stand-alone
camera? Well, it seems Samsung is getting
closer to the answer. First it made a
camera with 3G connectivity, now it has
integrated an optical zoom to a phone, the
Galaxy S4 Zoom
45
Overview
Design: The Galaxy S4 Zoom
has got a weird design for
a smartphone. Yes, it is a
slightly com-pact version of last
year’s Galaxy Camera, but we
are not sure the concept works
as a smartphone. The lens at the
back makes it awkward to grip.
Then there is the 208 grams
weight that could tire your
hands in less than 10 minutes.
You will also have to live with
the constant stares rom people
Battery: The 2330mAh
removable battery on the Zoom
struggled to survive a day with
a couple of hours of calling, data
connectivity and a new click
here and there. However, it
used judiciously, it can last
longer
Traktor Kontrol S4
Overview:
The Native Instruments
Traktor Kontrol S4 is FINALLY
here and the complete VIDEO
REVIEW is finished ahead of
schedule! Native Instruments
was gracious enough to send us
a brand-spankin' new Traktor
Kontrol S4 unit as soon as they
hit the store shelves. In return, I
have completed a 25 minute,
two-part video review which
goes over all the main
functionality and usage
possibilities that this mean
little beast can crank out.
Complete Video Review after
the jump.
GoPro HERO3: White
Edition
Professional quality video capture in
1080p 30fps, 960p 30 fpts, 720p 60
fps, and WVGA 60 fps
Overview
Built in Wi-Fi compatible with
the GoPro app for
Smartphones/Tablets; as well as
the Wi-Fi remote (available
separately)
5 MP photos with 3 fps burst
mode, and time lapse at .5, 2, 5, 10,
30, and 60 second intervals
197'/ 60m Waterproof Housing
with integrated flat lens housing
Compatible with LCD Touch
BacPac, and 2nd generation
Battery Bacpac, as well as
backward compatible with all
older generation bacpacs
46
They are the cause of the hectic traffic
jams we go through day-to-day during
the rush hour, yet they make
travelling smoother. Of course, we’re
talking about motor vehicles which in
urban lingo we call them ‘rides’ and
here are some of the trending ones
RIDEZ
LAND ROVER
FREELANDER 2
It may have been largely forgotten
in the hype of its more glamorous
sister, the Range Rover Evoque, but
the success of the updated Land
Rover Freelander 2 remains crucial
to the iconic British brand in the
lead-up to the launch of a new-
generation model in 2015.
The 2013 Freelander 2 update
brings several styling tweaks, an
interior makeover and a new 2.0-
litre turbocharged petrol engine in a
refresh Land Rover hopes will
provide enough of a boost to
ward off challenges from both
premium and non-premium
competition such as the Audi
Q3 and updated Q5,
Volkswagen Tiguan, Volvo
XC60 and even the Evoque
itself.
EXTERIOR
Most noticeable are the front
and rear lamps that now
incorporate LED technology, and
there’s a new signature graphic
for the front running lights. Less
obvious is the bright finish to the
grille and fog lamp surrounds,
together with minor detailing
enhancements to the grille
surround and front guard vents
Additional features include auto-
dimming rear-view mirror, seven
airbags (including driver’s knee),
power-folding side mirrors and
approach lamps, rear parking
sensors, 18-inch alloy wheels
(19-inch on HSE models),
full-size spare wheel and
climate control.
Fitted with 19-inch alloys our
Freelander Si4 HSE provided
a firmIsh ride over less than
perfect road surfaces, but
without being uncomfortable.
The standard 18-inch wheels
offered a slightly suppler ride
over the same surface.
INTERIOR
The interior is where most of
the effort has been focused with
the 2013 update, with several
features borrowed from Evoque.
There’s a new-look centre
console that boasts an electric
parking brake, while the original
Terrain Response dial has been
replaced with easy-to-use flush-
mounted buttons, freeing up
more space for storage –
something lacking in the
outgoing Freelander.
47
The instrument cluster has also
been revamped with a new five-
inch screen displaying vehicle
data like temperature and fuel
levels, gear positions and
Terrain Response mode, sitting
between the twin display dials.
Steering wheel toggle switches
operate several easy-to-read
drop-down menus and set-up
instructions. It’s all very
intuitive.
There’s push-button start
across the entire Land Rover
Freelander 2 line-up replacing
the old-school key docking
system employed by the
previous iteration.
A reversing camera is now
standard across all but the
entry-level Freelander 2 TD4
manual and features a
marvellous bit of technology
that allows drivers to
accurately guide the vehicle’s
tow ball into the perfect
docking position.
Also new to Freelander for 2013
is a 380-watt Meridian sound
system with 11 speakers and
subwoofer for lower and mid-
spec variants, while the range-
topping SD4 HSE Luxury
boasts a more powerful 825-
watt 17-speaker Meridian unit.
There’s also a revised satellite
navigation system with seven-
inch touchscreen available as an
option on all but the top-spec
HSE models where it’s
standard. It’s a cleverly
integrated unit that also
features step-by-step prompts
for the ‘Say What You See’ voice
activation system.
Bluetooth phone and music
streaming is also standard
across the entire 2013 Land
Rover Freelander 2 line-up.
While interior space remains
unchanged from the outgoing
Freelander, the rear seats have
been lifted for a stadium seating
experience.
DRIVETRAIN
The 177kW/340Nm Si4 2.0-litre
four-cylinder turbocharged
power plant joins the Land
Rover Freelander 2 line-up as
the only petrol engine in an
otherwise an all-diesel family.
It’s almost identical to the one
used in the Evoque.
Mated to a six-speed automatic
transmission, the Freelander’s
new four-cylinder drivetrain
cruises at 110km/h effortlessly
and with very low noise levels
heard inside the cabin.
Turbocharging ensures there’s
plenty of torque on tap from
2000rpm, providing plenty of
punch for safe high-speed
overtaking – even in these
conditions.
Progress from rest is equally
brisk with the new Freelander
able to sprint from 0-100km/h
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE TRENDY LANDROVER FREELANDER LOG ON TO WWW.LANDROVER.COM WHERE YOU CAN EXPLORE YOUR FINANCE OPTIONS.
48
in 8.8 seconds. Top speed is 200km/h.
SAFETY
The Land Rover Freelander earns a
five-star ANCAP crash test rating and
comes standard with seven airbags,
dynamic stability control, anti-locking
braking with electronic brake force
distribution and cornering brake
control, roll stability control and
engine drag control.
COMFORT & CONVENIENCE
The latest Land Rover Freelander 2 is a
hugely capable compact SUV, offering
more refinement, punchy on-road
performance with the new Si4 petrol,
and standout off-road capability in a
family-friendly package.
PEUGEOT 208 HYBRID FE: FRUGAL
& FAST
The FE stands for two different things,
according to Peugeot: fuel economy
and fun and efficiency.
Peugeot 208, is claimed to be 25% more
aerodynamic. There’s a new front grille
with a large portion blanked out to
make the front end more slippery, and
because the 1.2-litre petrol engine
that powers the concept requires less
cooling.
Apparently there are no door mirrors
or handles. These create too much
aerodynamic drag, so have been done
away with – a rear-view camera
defeats the reduced visibility
problem.
Round the back is where the 208 has
been manipulated most – the new
rear-end design is said to distribute
the airflow better, completing the air-
cutting design of the concept.
It also runs on narrow, low-rolling
resistant tyres that are wrapped
around 19 inch wheels with carbon
inserts, which also distribute airflow
better.
And as well as being far more
aerodynamic than the 208 it’s based
on, the Hybrid FE is also 20% lighter.
The drivetrain is a combination of a
super-efficient petrol engine, a
Lemans-inspired electric motor and a.
clever, though quite
rudimentary, manual
transmission The three-
cylinder 1.2-litre petrol engine
has been tweaked to reduce
friction, thus improving
efficiency. It still turns out
68bhp, but is claimed to be 10%
more efficient than a standard
1200cc motor.
The electric motor attached to
the batteries is extremely light,
tipping the scales at a flyweight
7kg. But it does more than just
generate the power to the drive
the car. It also provides the
reverse function, with the six-
speed manual only providing
the six forward-moving gears.
The batteries, also pretty
skimpy at 20kg, are mounted
under the rear bench alongside
the 25-litre fuel tank, so there’s
no compromise on the boot
space either.
49
ADVERTISE HERE
52
AT THE MOVIES WITH STERKINEKOR
TYLER PERRY’S
MADEA
CHRISTMAS
Genre: Comedy
Age restriction: 10 LPV
Length: 1h 40min
Released: 13 December 2013
Starring: Tyler Perry, Chad Micheal
Murray, Tika Sumpter
Review:Just when you think that
Tyler Perry’s character, Madea has
run out mischief and family
intervening, another movie comes up
in the longstanding comedy series.
The holidays are back and this
Christmas, Madea is taken to a small
town by a friend who tricks her into
believing that they are paying the
daughter a surprise visit. Madea
finds herself not only babysitting,
but right in the centre of secrets that
slowly unravel. And as usual, Madea
never leaves behind her
wisecracking humour and of course,
no-nonsense principles which whip
up not only her friend’s family, but a
whole town, a Madea Christmas.
Popcorn rate: 3/5 Madea is one hell
of a crazy grandma!
Director: Tyler Perry
Genre: Fantasy, adventure
Age restriction: 10-12 PG V
Length: 2h 1min
Released: 27th December 2013
Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada,
Keanu Reeves, Ko Shibasaki
Synopsis: In 18th century Japan,
Oishi (Sanada) leads a group of
Samurai whose master has
been killed by the treacherous
villain, Lord Kira (Tadanobu
Asano). Joined by talented
outcast named Kai (Reeves),
the Ronin (Samurai without a
master), seek to avenge the
death of their beloved and
respected master. However,
Kai’s loyalty to Ronin and the
mission is tested when he falls
for the deceased master’s young
daughter, Mika (Shibasaki)
Director: Carl Rinsch
For the epic lovers…..
RONIN (3D)
Laugh a little…
CLOUDY WITH
A CHANCE OF
MEATBALLS 2
(3D)
Genre: Animation
Age restriction: PG
Length: 1h 35 min
Released:31 January 2014
Starring: Anna Faris, Bill Hader,
Will Forte, Benjamin Bratt, Terry
Crews, James Caan, Andy
Samberg, Kristen Schaal, Cody
Cameron, Melissa Stern, Kris
Pearn
Synopsis: Inventor Flint
Lockwood thought he saved the
world when he destroyed his most
infamous invention -- a machine
that turned water into food
causing cheeseburger rain and
spaghetti tornadoes. But Flint soon
learns that his invention survived
and is now creating food-animals -
"foodimals!" Flint and his friends
embark on a dangerously delicious
mission to battle hungry tacodiles,
shrimpanzees, hippotatomuses,
cheespiders and other foodimals to
save the world - again!
Director: Cody Cameron, Kris
Pearn
51
TV PEOPLE WE KNOW…..
Tinashe ‘Flowsick’ Rodrick
Our television viewing would
be dull if it did not have its
interesting personalities who
host the various programs
from day to day. From the
breakfast show to the news
anchors, or talk show hosts,
they bring in their colourful
personalities to our living
rooms, and kind of make some
of us want to be on TV too.
One personality we have got to
know is the music TV program
‘Five’ presenter, Tinashe
‘Flowsick’ Rodrick. He’s
energetic, creative and loves
his food.
GM.: Hi Tinashe, and welcome
to Groove magazine. Tell us a
little bit about yourself. Who is
Tinashe Rodrick?
Tinashe: Umm, okay. Tinashe is a
Capricorn, born on the 1st day of
January. I like words and food.
I’m actually married to them.
GM.: You recently joined our
national broadcaster as the new
presenter for the music
television program.
Tinashe: It’s a weekly music video countdown show called “Five”. Basically we play the top five videos selected by viewers through Facebook and twitter we get in touch with them during the week, and then we compile them; then on Friday we play the videos
GM.: So how has the experience
been?
Tinashe: So far it’s pretty much
new but I feel like I am actually
adding flavour to the show.
GM.: Have you always known
that you wanted to be a TV
presenter?
Tinashe: No. I have always
wanted to cook food for a living
that something that I figured out
when I was 3, or 5 years old.
GM.: So you are a chef?
Tinashe: Professionally trained,
yes. Chinese, Italian,
Portuguese.
GM.: So how did this gig
come about if you are a
professional chef?
Tinashe: Okay! (Laughs) What
happened is, I went for
auditions at Lion Lager. So at
these auditions, they were
looking for models, they were
casting models for their ‘Raise
our flag’ campaign, and this was
last year, in 2012. So at the
audition, that was the last day, I
met this guy who is a movie
director, well I got the Lion
Lager gig, so I got caught up
and I lost touch with him. Then
I bumped into him and he told
me that he was working on a
movie, and I went for the
casting. So the movie didn’t
happen, but during the casting
he linked me up with some guys
from ZBC and then this guy, I
called him up randomly one day
and I told him that “Dude, I’ve
been watching TV, I think that
TV needs me”. Then he called
me and linked me to this one
guy, and then I auditioned for
‘Jam Down’ initially, then the
52
producer of ‘Jam down’ introduced
me to the producer of ‘Woza
Friday’. So initially, I was
shortlisted for ‘Woza Friday’, so I
had been on their waiting list for a
while, with a couple of other
presenters. And then this guy from
‘Five’, the producer of ‘Five’, invited
me to audition for ‘Five’ because he
said that I could wait forever. And
then instantly we clicked. Me, the
camera and the producer we
clicked. ‘Five’ is now some months
old. That is like very distant from
the kitchen but yeah it has been fun.
GM.: Other than presenting, what
else do you do?
Tinashe: I am a spoken-word artist
but I paint words for a living.
GM.: Where do you see yourself
in the near future?
Tinashe: Well I see myself cooking
because that is like mandatory. I
still want to cook food. I want to do
a really eight-star establishment,
putting in the resources together.
And definitely I want to go main
stream with the spoken-word
because I believe that my product is
ready, it is a real game changer. I
have worked with an amazing team
of producers and a pool of artist,
musicians and poets. That project
on its own is gonna change the
game. I want to be the most
celebrated TV presenter around,
sooner or later, I would really like
that.
GM.: Tinashe is…..
Tinashe: Psycho. (Laughs) I’m
mentally disturbed and lyrically
creative. I speak before I think but
I pick my words. That makes me
very weird. (Laughs again)
GM.: You have mentioned that
you have worked with a number
of artists on your project. Who
have you worked with; and who
would you like to work with in
the near future locally and
internationally?
Tinashe: I have worked with
mainly the guys from Spinalong
Music; it’s a newly found stable,
studio where a set of DJs called D9
record. They are behind every
track on my album. Locally I’ve
worked with Don, So Profound,
Madzitatiguru, Mandisa from
Bots, Richie Orange. Amazing,
amazing artist Richie Orange. I’m
still working with Ammara
Brown. How could I forget my
boy, Xolani, X-mile? He was a
Starbrite finalist; he was in third
place last year. I’m also about to
get into the studio with this lady
called Lihle. She’s an amazing
vocalist. I’ve worked with the
Djembe Monks. But ultimately, I
would like to work with Steve
Makoni. I don’t know why this
guy is underrated, but to me he’s
legendary. And it’s a privilege that
he is still alive. I think that he is an
amazing and exceptional
musician. I would like to work
with mainly producers but I would
like to work with Berita from
South Africa.
I interviewed her and I thought
wow, she’s amazing. Maybe this
girl called Nekka, she’s from
Nigeria. She’s half-Nigerian and
half-German. She’s amazing.
Internationally a producer I think,
I don’t think that internationally
no one can complement what we
are doing here, we are cool as we
are, but I wouldn’t mind trying to
work with the guys from the
Swedish House Mafia, or Greg
Osvaldo.
GM.: Last words
Tinashe: Look out for my EP, a
powerful selection. A nine track
selection. It is a game changer. We
are really trying to commercialise
poetry, yet maintain the quality
and relevance of the substance.
Tinashe speaks eleven languages
including Ndebele, Shona,
English, Pedi, Sotho, Xhosa, and
Zulu, a bit of Creole, Portuguese,
Venda, and Italian. Some of the
languages he learns through his
food.
Watch Tinashe, as he counts
down your favourite music
videos on ‘Five’ every Friday at
1400 hours on ZTV.
53
With ambitions to succeed and the pressures of expectations, one wants to have something tangible to bring to the table. And because at times one needs a lot of capital to start their own businesses, getting a project loan from the bank is a long process on its own; they might find it tedious and fail to launch their ideas. We have found some simple ways to start raising capital, and with a lot of discipline, focus and patience, you might be able to raise capital and also have a source of petty cash to help you get by as you build your empire.
Line of business: Airtime Capital required: Start from $1500 going up Labour required: Minimal. You will need to go purchase airtime vouchers from dealers. Minimum profit per day: $30 to $40 Target market: The general public Reasons why this is a good start up: Airtime credit is a necessity for all cell phone users so you are likely to make sales due to the demand. You would have to be strategic where you sell your airtime vouchers so as to have as little competition as possible. Line of business: Hair and beauty Capital required: None to $500(for the nail kit) Labour required: Your talent or trained skills in beauty therapy Minimum profit per day: Varies with your charge and number of clients but one can make $50 or more Target market: Women who are image conscious Reasons why this is a good start up: It is a fact that most women love to look good and have a great appreciation about grooming. You would want to start with people that you know and you can offer house-calls and special promotions so as to increase your clientele.
Line of business: Car wash Capital required: $100 for cleaning equipment Labour required: You will have to be willing to stand for most of the day Minimum profit per day: $20 to $45 Target market: Motor vehicle owners, car parks Reasons why this is a good start up: A lot of people do not really have time to thoroughly clean their cars, so you could maximise on this. It is important to be strategic and create a large clientele basis so as to increase your profit margin. Your neighbourhood could be a great place to start and as your skills and speed improve you could move to other places, or receive referral clients.
With the current economic
environment and high
unemployment rate, at times many young people find it
challenging to make it in this
world.
BUSINESS
54
Line of business: Cooking and baking Capital required: A minimum of $20 for ingredients Labour required: Your knowledge and speed in the kitchen will determine the amount of labour needed, otherwise it is mostly minimal. Minimum profit per day: Varies with what you are selling but from $10 Target market: Offices, schools, industries Reasons why this is a good start up: Food is a necessity, so depending on your target market and what you are selling for example samosas, or scones are good for school children at break time, or for tea at offices and meals such as sadza or rice for industries, you would need to focus on your area of strength in terms of your culinary skills. Otherwise you could find yourself eventually expanding and might even start your own food outlet, or confectionery shop.
The above business start-ups can be a temporary means of accumulating capital for your business idea, or you could grow from your small business into a larger one. It is all up to you so get started.
Line of business: Fruit and vegetable market Capital required: $50 Labour required: Minimal Minimum profit per day: $20 to $40 Target market: The general public, health conscious individuals Reasons why this is a good start up: ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’, so that has been often said and it is true, so with the health conscious individuals your market is a winner. Be strategic with your market so as to increase your potential of increasing your profit margin.
55
YOUNG BUSINESS PERSON
Tommy Deuschle CEO of Emerging Ideas and C Media
Not only is he one of Groove magazine’s famous dads, but he is also a young, innovative businessman, and our feature for our young business person profile. A holder a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Oral Roberts University, USA, Thomas Deuschle III, or Tommy, is one of Zimbabwe’s businessmen, with a company that sets to promote business ideas by young, upcoming entrepreneurs.
He describes himself as, “I am an American citizen, with a Zimbabwean drivers licence, a British accent….umm…..with a half Canadian wife,” (and laughs jokingly),”No but in the real sense, I am a son of my father. And I am someone who really believes in God’s plan for Zimbabwe, and God’s plan for Zimbabwean people. And I believe in the young generation;
as youth pastor I really have a chance to, you know, I guess, to make such a positive change for Zimbabwe and the nations around.” Tommy is the first born son of founder and senior pastor of Celebration Ministries International Church, Pastor Tom Deuschle, and he too, has followed in his father’s footsteps in ministry, as he is the youth pastor at the church. He also comes from a business background, having his grandfather, and father, being businessmen themselves, making Tommy his father’s son in the truest sense. GM.: What motivated you to get into business rather than we know that you are from a very musical family; instead you focused on the business side? Tommy: So actually I am into music, and I write songs. My brother and I are releasing an album actually coming out sometime this year. This is actually the first time I’m talking about it to you, no one else knows about it. And the idea of music; my brothers normally do the music stuff. Business, I saw a big need for young entrepreneurs, and young ideas to have a platform,
“…I am someone who really believes in God’s plan
for Zimbabwe, and God’s plan for Zimbabwean
people….”
56
the overall perception of good ideas coming from young people, I don’t think that they are taken seriously as they should be. GM.: Is it viable enough in Zimbabwe? Tommy: 100%.And my counter question to that is; do young Zimbabweans have potential? And the answer is yes. 100% GM.: What grounds you? Tommy: What grounds me? The word of God. GM.: Do you have any other ventures that you are looking to get into? Tommy: All the time because we are in the start-up community, there are always new ideas, business plans being brought to my desk that need to be developed and new ventures coming up. GM.: Where to from here. Where do you see yourself and your business in the next 10 years? Tommy: In the next 10 years that’s a long time, my goodness. My son will be 11, so I do really see a regional presence. And the goal is that by 2025 we will have over 100 start-ups that have come out of Emerging Ideas and that are successful. GM.: What advice would you give to young people out there who want to start their businesses? Tommy: The advice is not to be greedy, to work together, and to complement each other’s strengths. And to really work together; to put your own agenda aside, and to make a difference to the people around you. And obviously the last thing is to be living within God’s will because that’s huge.
which is why I got into business, which I run a company called Emerging Ideas and C Media and we help incubate companies, incubate ideas and the best entrepreneurs. So the short on, I really felt like there was a need for entrepreneurs to be guided, invested in and helped with their ideas because Zimbabwe is so full of potential. GM.: You are the co-founder of Emerging Ideas and C Media. Why did you choose this industry? How did this business emerge? Tommy: I went to business school at Oral Roberts University. I started my business when I was 23, which completely failed but I learnt a lot along the way. GM.: So C Media is media and advertising, I guess…. Tommy: Its video production and online digital printing. GM.: As a young business person what challenges have you faced with the economic challenges that we have had over the years? Tommy: The current challenges today are the platforms for young entrepreneurs to be supported. I don’t think that they do exist, and that is what we are trying to change, and that’s what drives me. I don’t think that the tax system is friendly to young start-ups and entrepreneurs. I think that sometimes young people with good ideas are not taken seriously and I think that’s where the future lies; so the challenges have been I guess policies on the view of start-ups and just the overall idea;
“The current
challenges today
are the
platforms for
young
entrepreneurs
to be
supported. I
don’t think that
they do exist,
and that is what
we are trying to
change, and
that’s what
drives me. I
don’t think that
the tax system
is friendly to
young start-ups
and
entrepreneurs. I
think that
sometimes
young people
with good ideas
are not taken
seriously….”
57
MONEY
Money advice:
How to save up for
something that you
want
You probably have that phone that
you have been longing for, or
maybe that beautiful pair of shoes
that you could take on credit but
you are uncertain that you will be
able to pay for it. Some of you are
eager to go back to school, or you
would love to go on holiday to a
beautiful tourist resort but that
dream seems a little far-fetched
because your disposable income
does not seem to be enough to
cater to all your needs. Do not fret;
here are some easy ways to save up.
1. Have an objective
What do you want? Think about
why you want it and how happy you
will be when you get it. Write down
that thing that you really want and
how much it is. This will be your
motivation to save. It would help to
write on a piece of paper and stick it
on your bedroom mirror, in your car,
or on your desk so that you are
constantly reminded of your
objective.
2. Open a savings account or have
a savings jar
The best way to save is to have
somewhere to put your savings. A
savings account is ideal as you will
be saving up without the temptation
of spending; keeping your money
safe and also you get a little interest
from the bank. Another way of
saving is having a savings jar or
piggy bank where you throw in
money every day so as to save.
Remember, this is money for that
special something. You can always
give it a name like the ‘shoe fund’, or
‘dream holiday fund’.
3. Budget Writing down a budget for your income is a great way to help you manage your finances. You are able to see what is necessary and cut out unessential expenses. If you are willing to go the extra mile, you can actually sacrifice things like having nails done, buying coffee or lunch but instead, get nail polish, make coffee at work or carry a lunchbox.
4. Discipline This is a great challenge for most people. Most people have a bad habit of buying things that they do not need. Remember your objective. This will help you focus and give you restraint. If you are going to shop for something specific, carry only the money that you need for that particular thing to avoid temptation of buying something else that you do not need.
5. Be a smart shopper
Other than budgeting, you can
also save money by being a
smart shopper. It seems
annoying when you are given a
credit note for your change but
those credit notes can come in
handy. Instead of purchasing
your goods with cash, you can
collect your credit notes and
pay with them instead. Buying
essentials such as bath soap,
sugar, tinned foods etc., in bulk,
can save you from buying the
same things the following
month, so you can have room to
save. Take advantage of sales
and you can go thrifting for
clothes and shoes which saves
you some money.
58
The shark and the
Japanese Fisherman
By Musekiwa Samuriwo
© 2010
Before I venture into writing some
views on business it would be
important to appreciate my view
of sharks and the excessive
hunting of any animal by man. I
would explicitly say I believe that
God has made us stewards of his
creation thus we must act
responsibly and accordingly that is
to say avoiding any excesses as
with trawlers, poachers and other
types of greedy hunters.
But interestingly enough from a
business perspective the
relationship between the shark
and the Japanese fisherman is an
interesting one to look at. I would
consider it to be a significant
metaphor especially for any
entrepreneur who has experienced
the pain of loss, having been bait
or prey to the shark.
Sharks in business are a revered
species, renowned for one thing;
hunting down and killing the
naïve or inexperienced
entrepreneurial spirit. Many
people have dived into the ocean of
opportunity somewhat blindly
believing that they would swim
without any peril or danger.
And sometimes there isn’t but
most times many of us have
entered in with massive bloody
wounds or small lacerations giving
off the scent that attracts sharks;
simply put blood.
In business terms I believe this
scent represents a number of
positions that turn many
entrepreneurs into prey.
Naivety - when one enters
business with the notion that
everybody is genuinely interested
in helping. It isn’t to say that there
aren’t any genuine people in
business but it is appropriate to
say that one needs to recognise
and discern genuine interest.
Sharks can smell this a mile away,
the young entrepreneur with a
brilliant idea who is desperate for
someone to believe in him/her.
Naivety in entrepreneurship is
dangerous and exposes most of us
to heartbreak and sometimes
certain death (giving up) as we
become bait to predators in open
and perilous waters.
When we started developing our
software business naivety led us to
encounter some people who were
just looking for an opportunity to
make money. Most of these people
proved to be a waste of time
because they weren’t in it for the
long haul; they wanted a meal
there and then (little did we know
that we were the prey).
Ignorance with certainty is not
bliss in business. Many an
entrepreneur has lost an idea
because of ignorance.
Entrepreneurs who are
uninformed pay the ultimate
price; they will experience
painful losses because they did
not know. Hosea says that, “My
people perish because they do
not know.” Ignorance in business
is one of the main reasons people
fall prey to sharks. Entering into
business uninformed and
uninterested in knowledge is
dangerous. The money may
sound great and the opportunity
may look good but careful
inspection and understanding is
critical. It is important to learn
to read the lines and to read
between the lines, that is to say
knowing what to look out for. In
business, we’ve met people who
claim to be privy to some
important people, resources or
information. Initially, we fell
nicely into his jaws, lapping up
his bold assertions that he knew
so many powerful people. More
so he was boasting about his
capacity to rollout a multi-
million dollar network in a few
months. Yet, as we got more
informed and as we called his
bluff we realised that we had just
encountered a shark and our
ignorance and lack of knowledge
would have led inevitably to
death.
59
Desperation – countless
entrepreneurs overwhelmed by
challenges and problems like lack
of capital have found themselves in
open water with blood seeping
from their hearts, calling the
resilient predator to come and
have supper. When entrepreneurs
are desperate we have an open
wound in our hearts. Desperation
is a clear sign of disappointment,
frustration and worse still, a lack
of key virtues required in building
a successful and lasting business.
Sharks welcome desperate people
with open arms. I remember when
our business was ‘desperately’
looking for finance we found
ourselves meeting more sharks
than genuine investors. One time
we had an investor who wanted us
to undervalue the whole business
below the value of one product.
He knew one thing, that we
needed money to support the idea
and so he was making an offer to
very desperate souls.
Greed – when an entrepreneur
sees the open waters of
opportunity they too tend to
become too greedy. In a foolish bid
to make money fast, entrepreneurs
over commit, over promise and
ultimately sell themselves short to
their larger more voracious
competitor. Whenever the pursuit
of the all elusive mother of all deals
overwhelms clear and rational
business sense an entrepreneur
must realise that he/she is bait
(probably self-made).
In the late early stages of our
business we met up with what
seemed the ultimate strategic
alliance. He was promising the
world and he had the offices to
prove it. We were thinking to
ourselves that we had hit the big
time yet it was going to become
apparent to us, that all that
glittered wasn’t genuine gold (we
were just being greedy).
Over the years by mistake or
genuine learning it is becoming
clear that in business there are
sharks of varying degrees and sizes
whose express intent is to have
entrepreneurs for breakfast, lunch
and supper. Their sole instinct is
to smell blood and feast on the
flesh of their prey. Yet, these
sharks aren’t as infallible and
ferocious as we by first impression
think. It all depends on how we
get into the water.
It is thus appropriate to introduce
the concept of the Japanese
fisherman who hunts shark in
open waters. In business this
character is the entrepreneur who
is well equipped to seize
opportunity and create significant
value. He/she is not necessarily a
shark matching bite power for bite
power. He/she is not in blind
pursuit of market share. But as
stated in one of my earlier articles
he/she is an entrepreneur looking
for market space.
Unlike the entrepreneurs who are
trapped or lured by open waters
unprepared for eventualities, the
Japanese fisherman is well prepared,
well informed and very clear of their
intentions.
The Japanese fisherman is the
entrepreneur who sets aside time
planning and learning. He or she is
in direct contrast to the earlier
stated entrepreneur. Given the
opportunity to encounter a shark
they are well armed and equipped to
expose and do away with the
predatory instincts of the shark.
The entrepreneur who is better
equipped has vision and therefore is
restrained in the pursuit of dead end
opportunities.
Vision creates the platform and
vehicle which allows the
entrepreneur to develop and weigh
his/her strategic objectives and
what it will take to achieve them.
A clear reality of the cost will ensure
that the entrepreneur can
adequately communicate what they
are looking for. Thus when such an
entrepreneur enters the vast ocean
of opportunity their efforts are more
focused and they are better armed to
deal with sharks.
With time we will discover the
profound meaning of this metaphor
in business.
60
FOOD
Quick & Easy snack…
Sandwich Rolls
INGREDIENTS
12 Rolls 1 Lettuce head 5g Cheese 4 Tomatoes 10 Carrot sticks 2 Cucumbers Assorted cold meats
In the oven……
Baked Chocolate and
Coffee Pudding
INGREDIENTS
150g Butter
300g Sugar
2 Eggs
10ml Baking soda
10ml Berry jam
280g Cake flour
30ml Cocoa powder
250ml Milk
250ml Strong coffee
SAUCE
250ml Cream
100g Dark chocolate
30ml Brown sugar
61
METHOD
1. Cut through the top of the rolls but
not completely.
2. Place the lettuce, then the assorted
meats in the centre of the roll.
3. Slice the cucumber and tomatoes,
and place them alternatively inside
the roll.
4. Grate the cheese and the carrots
and place them in between the
tomatoes and the cucumber.
Serves 4-6 or you can make as many
as you would like.
METHOD
1. Mix butter and sugar until light
and creamy. Add eggs one by one and
mix well.
2. Add balsamic vinegar, baking soda
and berry jam to mixture.
3. Sieve flour and add cocoa powder,
coffee and milk to the mixture.
4. Pour batter into a greased oven
dish and bake for 1 hour in a pre-
heated oven at 180 degrees.
5. Remove the baked pudding from
the oven and pour and pour the sauce
over immediately.
6. Serve with cream or custard.
Serves 8-10
What’s cooking?
Butter Bean Curry
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ Onions
2 Tomatoes
1 Green pepper
750g Dry butter beans
30ml Mild Spicy curry powder
2 cups Water
1 ox Beef stock cube
1 cube Seasons garlic
Serve with rice or sadza
62
METHOD
1. Sort the butter beans and soak in water
overnight.
2. Boil in clean water for 1 hour and drain in a
pot.(pre-cook)
3. Brown the onion in oil.
4. Add the curry powder and simmer for 2
minutes.
5. Add remaining ingredients and the beans
turn down the heat and simmer for 30
minutes.
6. Add seasons cube 5 minutes before the end
of the cooking time.
VOICES
The Urban Ancient
poet…..
He is young, and very talented.
He delivers the day to day issues
that affect each and every one of
us, in one way or the other,
utilising thought provoking
statements in urban lingo and
with witty humour. He made his
HIFA poetic debut this year, and
was the slam master at the 2013
Shoko festival poetry slam, and
has been a frequent feature both
on radio and television. We are
rest assured that he is one of the
new breed of poets, who are
going to change the view of
poetry and perhaps
commercialise it. He is the
Urban-ancient poet, he is
Madzitatiguru.
GM.: Madzitatiguru, what an
interesting name. Who is
Madzitatiguru?
MTG: Madzitatiguru is more or less like a selection of certain characteristics that come from a boy or a man, I don’t know what you call him, and 23 year old called Tendekai Tati. In other words, Madzitatiguru is a character; a character that I created, but then I, myself go by the name Tendekai Tati, that’s who I am at home, and that’s who I am with people
who know me on a personal basis
that I ‘m Tendekai. But when I’m
on stage, when I’m writing, that’s
when I become Madzitatiguru. And
Madzitatiguru is this mixture of
ancient art or artist, I don’t know
what to call it, but it’s a culture,
just like poetry has been there since
the days of old like the poetry for
mitupo (totems), “Maita Soko, maita
Gudo vanotibira chibage mumunda…”,
something like that into the
modern sphere. Madzitatiguru is
this person who tries to bring that
ancient culture into the modern
sphere or tries to bring relevance
into the things that happen today
using ancient methods. So that’s
why Madzitatiguru would be
called the
Urban Ancient poet because he
brings the ancient culture into
the modern atmosphere.
GM.: Why did you choose
poetry? When did you start
with poetry?
MTG: I started in 1995 when I
was 5 years old. I didn’t actually
choose poetry then, it was a
matter of a teacher picking me
out in nursery school of a poem
that they wrote. But I kept on
remembering when I went to
school that I did a poem called
“Education”, I don’t remember
the words exactly, but I
remember the title of the poem,
I remember myself reciting it.
So I always knew
63
that I had a poetic nature in me
that had been induced by
someone else but it was part of
me. So when I was in primary
school I never did much in poetry
but I would read the ones in the
books, maybe I’d be the one of the
few reading the poetry sections of
the text books. Then when I
really started reciting poetry on
my own terms as in something I
wrote originally, actually I co-
wrote the poem with somebody
but I recited a poem when I was
in form 4 in 2006. I was supposed
to write a speech, I’m a public
speaker as well; I was part of the
public speaking group of the
school. So they asked us to write
speeches, to deliver speeches for
Africa day, so I wanted to play
truant, and tried to run away so I
didn’t write anything. So when
the day came my teacher asked
me to deliver the speech and I
told him that I didn’t write
anything so he said go and deliver
an impromptu speech about
Africa Day. So the other members
of the club decided that I should
go last because I was the only
male. So I went on stage then
delivered a poem that I once
wrote. I remember one teacher
congratulating me and giving me
a large ‘stash’ of money
equivalent to today’s $20. I made
my professional debut at
Chinhoyi University in 2010,then
in 2011 I was on the House of
Hunger Poetry Slam stage-and
that’s when I started my
professional career.
GM.: What inspires your work?
MTG : It’s fortunate or
unfortunate that the things that
inspire me are the negative things
that I go through-the things
around me that affect me
negatively. I know that there are a
lot of things to talk about like being
happy, parties and love, but I feel
that I don’t quite do justice to those
things that’s why I let the Tehn
Diamonds and Junior Browns sing
about being ‘happy’ and everybody
will be singing along with them,
but you wont find me part of those
things. I write about stuff that I see
and things that happen to me.
GM.: How receptive are people to
the genre of poetry. What can be
done to improve the art?
MTG: Currently poetry has been
for certain people; if you don’t
know that there is poetry
somewhere then you don’t know is
for some people. Poetry is
recognised with Book Café because
the Book Café has a lot of arts
activities that it caters for-meaning
that the Book Café is the biggest
platform for poetry. People know
poetry is there but do not go to
where it is performed. That shows
that poetry has value but not the
value that it should have. I think
that poetry is secluded to a certain
class of people. Poetry should be
brought to the people and should
be relatable to everyone. We need
to bridge the that gap and remove
stereotypes from poetry.
GM.: You have done festivals
including Shoko and HIFA
what has the experience been
like. Any projects you are
doing?
MTG: Right now, I don’t know
what to call it an album or
something but I’m working on a
project that I entitled, ‘Nhau
Dzepadare’, then in English it is
called ‘Ciphers of The Ancient’-
which is a mixture of a lot of
things including music, poetry
and theatre. It’s more of a ribbon
tape. There is a connected from
one “track” to the next from the
beginning to the end but I
wouldn’t exactly call it an album.
I’m also doing collabos and
mixed tapes with some artists.
I’m also writing tracks for
consulting artists-lyrical content
that I just come in to add. I made
debut at HIFA. This year and it
was an elevation. It was different
because I didn’t know about 90%
of the people, so I saw it as an
opportunity for my artistry to
develop and grow. So because of
that I had an adrenalin rush
which was constant even before
I went on stage. I noticed as I
was interacting with people, I
could feel this energy different
from other even that I have
attended. The experience was
quite great.
GM.: You were a participant at
this year's Shoko festival.
Could you please share your
experience.
64
POEM by Madzitatiguru
If I’m louder than possible Then it’s because of the microphone But the microphone does not amplify To the amplitude on its own You’re going to need an amplifier, A mixer and at least one loud speaker I’m the speaker and I’m loud So you won’t need your magnetic speaker You need me You see, I remember ndichiri mupfana kuchicrosswa makumbo MuPeugeot 504, ndichigara pamakumbo Zvichinzi uyu haabhadhare, ihalf ticket Ndichinzi number 7 webhora because of maRickets Ane mateya mwana uyu apa airehwa ndini Mavende achinzi magedhi ebhora kuchiru nemabhini Emadrum akachekwa aiita ngura kukanaya Matoys achinzi anogara mumba panze tichitamba nemota Kana zvidhinha zvekusunda zvichinzi bhazi Mabhazi ekupinda ghetto ari ma AVM Kombi ichiri kunzi mini bus Yakazotanga kudaidzwa kunzi kombi after VW 2.5 ndokubva yanyorwa kuti commuter Omni bus Yakuplacer ma e.t ayo akudzoka futi nhasi muna Leopold Takawira Yakapinda two dollar coin ichinzi pangolin Tiri vapfanha tichinyeperana kuti I goridhe Paholiday ya August neya December I remember tichiskera matemba… ….takaungana nemacousin hobho Pachi releaswa mafresh, vana ‘’priz, priz mahobho’’
Wangu usamuzembera ndapota Chirimupoto chimbambaira chiri mupoto Dhikondo ndera mai vaDhikondo Muvharanda majose mune tutable netuchair netusikana tunotamba Tuchiti ndochi….. …ndomazuva ainetsa fashani yakudzoka futi nhasi yema scotch-scotch Nemadungaree Namadhikauzi, masize hombe ema earring Batista na John Cena vasati vapinda mupicture Kuna Lex Luger, Yokozuna na Kamala Hulk Hogan, Jim Dugan, Navaya tsano vanonzi Undertaker Tsano vaya vagara Machips aya anonzi maJohn Cena haasiriwo akatanga kutora zita kubva kuwrestling, zvakatanga nema Doink Magen’a aizvipenda kumeso ogan’gira vanhu Hapana chinhu chitsva pasi pezuva Kusati kwana DJ Chilli naDJ Naida Kwaiva na John Phiri naEric Knight the night rider Coke on the beat na Tich Mataz tichiiona pablack and white Zvichitoshamisira kuti mune colour TV Macolour TV tese tanawo zvakushamisira nhasi ndezve kuti mune plasma TV in 3D VCR yakatombonetsa sekunetsa kwakaita DVD Macassette eparadio tichirewinda nemapen Kukazouya macd Cd rinoscratcheka seku scratcheka kunoita mavinyl record History repeats itself saka stadha marecords enhorondo
MTG: Over ally I enjoyed the
experience. . You can imagine from the
Chiwoniso Maraire main stage at
Water Whirld, all the way to the King
Pinn Main stage in Glen Norah (Peace
in the hood). Shoko Festival is a bridge.
On artist development, the workshops
were really informative. However, a
personal highlight was the poetry slam.
I was asked to be Slam Master and I
took it up without any prior
experience. I had never performed in
"numbers" before so you can imagine
my confusion. It was a difficult
transition but I got the hang of it in the
end. I learnt a lot and I'd be interested
in a chance to have another go at it
with a different energy.
GM.: Where do you want to take
poetry?
MTG: I hadn’t thought about it that
way but I would like to do things that
are relevant. I would like to earn a
living as well. People differ; everybody
has their role and their place in this
world . Like there are people to
entertain other people and there are
people to inform and those to heal
people and I could go on. But I would
like to be that one person who reveals
things to people about things that they
do not see and help them see. What I
would like to do with my poetry is to
expand as an artist as well as the way
that I deliver the poetry I would like to
bring something unique to the people.
that they can enjoy but also enlighten
them by giving solutions to their
problems. I enjoy entertaining people
but also in forming them.
GM.: Last word…
MTG: There is more value in the
build-up to a five minute performance
so people should value that.
65
SCENE
By Tendekai Tati
Shoko Festival: We Are
The People!
In the Scope of a Poet’s view: Shoko
festival 2013
The poetry scene in Zimbabwe as it
stands has a lot of talent and
contrary to what most people say, it
has and it is still growing, it’s only
that the progression is gradual. One
of the platforms to thank for this
gradual progression has notably
been the Shoko festival.
As biased to poetry as this article is,
what is the Shoko Festival anyway?,
Lest we might take it for granted
that the individual reading this is
aware.
According to the founders, the
Shoko Festival is an initiative of
Magamba network, one of the
country’s leading urban culture
organisation working on the cutting
edge of culture activism and new
media. The festival was launched in
2011 beginning as a 3 day
programme , going on to expand to
a 6 day programme in 2012. It has
brought together leading
International acts and leading local
acts in their various sectors of art.
That includes music, comedy,
poetry , and some elements of the
Hip hop culture including graffiti
and dance.
Who is the Suitable audience?
Well in my opinion, the festival is
so versatile that everyone is
included; all it takes is to just pick
up the programme (which is in the
form of a magazine by the way)
and choose which shows that suit
your preference from the line up of
shows. In addition, the festival
also includes a number of
workshops for artists and the
community.
On this years’ programme,
performances kicked off with the
Shoko Comedy Night. The Host
was Clive Chigubhu , the youngest
fastest growing stand-up
comedian in Zimbabwe (Google
that name). On the line-up of
comedians were Carl Joshua
Ncube, Simba the Comic King ,
both from Zimbabwe , then Kagiso
Lediga and Tumi Morake , both
from South Africa. All five are the
biggest names in both countries
and indeed they proved why.
The second night was the
‘Breaking Barriers ’ poetry slam.
This was held in partnership with
Pamberi Trust (Book Cafe) .
There were three South African poets
, Afurakan (Champion 2012) , Ewok
and Masai Dabula (Champion 2013) ,
Ian Kamau(Canada) , ?oem Tha
Answer (Botswana, the question
mark is not a typo) .
From Zimbabwe, Orator took the
lime light and made it the top three
,along with Ewok and Masai, the
winner. Bravoman from Zimbabwe
(the Star Brite finalist), made a great
audience engaging performance but
failed to capture the judges and was
knocked out in the second round.
Tinashe was the only lady that made
it to the 3rd round but all this is not
to say the other poets did not do well ,
as the Poetry slam culture goes , the
finalist were just ” Lucky”.
“The Rising” was the theme for the
first performances at the Chiwoniso
Maraire main stage at Waterwhirld.
This saw artist such as Ian Kamau
(Canada) , Mzungu Kichaa
(Tanzania) , Tariro Neguitar (oops
Negitare) and Tony Rebel
performing. “The Shutdown” on the
same stage the following day had
Khuli Chana (wish him well on his
recovery) , Junior Brown( The feeling
aint fair ,right?) Symbiz Sound,
Dhadza D ,Netsayi and the Monkey
Nuts. MMT did a pretty good
performance too, and so did Simba
Tags . The event was really loaded!
(Where were you?)
66
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69
The Julius Chongono stage
“Sunset” had Momo Size with a
well polished violin and guitar
backed poetry act. Charity did an
acoustic music and poetry set and
then Josh Meck did a Solo with a
bass guitar .(That was amazing by
the way) . As Josh Meck was
closing, he called a poet on the
stage and Madzitatiguru turned
up giving a dose of unusual
“Poetry and Bass fusion ” (it was
unusual for me ). The following
“sunset” featured SoProfound,
Batsirai E Chigama (with a band)
and ?oem the Answa (I insist , the
Question Mark is not a typo).
To close of the festival was ‘Peace
in the Hood’, that was held at
Glen Norah shops on the King
Pinn stage. This event was filled
with local and international acts
who gave explosive performances.
There was also spray-can art
(graffiti ) and a number of dance
ciphers around the area. I
personally liked most of the
performances but Symbiz Sound
Shut it down , enough said...
The Hub Unconference
By Elspeth Chimedza Being my first time to attend Shoko Festival, I was delighted to attend at least one of the workshops, by invitation of course. In a day and age where technology has made the dissemination of information faster, accessible and somewhat reliable, how do we as young people in media utilise this tool to share information which could change our world. In attendance were eager journalism students, social media activists, youth activists, technological developers and of course artists. A great mix for exchange of knowledge about media trends, tools, applications and even styles of relaying information to the world around us. Facilitators included Lukonga Lindunda (Zambia), Natasha Msonza (Zimbabwe), Privilege Musvanhiri (Zimbabwe), Koketso Moeti(South Africa) and Fungai Machirori (Zimbabwe); with each of them sharing their challenges with media, new innovations in improving media and the importance of one’s online presence. Lukonga discussed about the “Mobile Revolution” whereby mobile phones are slowly replacing large computer monitors as technology advances hence the accessibility to the internet and other applications by every mobile user. Apparently “most people in Africa will never use a computer….”-Gustav Prackett; and seeing the increasing purchase of smart phones by most ‘urbanites’ in Africa and the trend is slowly encroaching rural areas , too. On the other hand, Natasha shared about using phones for social impact and how to secure our phones so as to avoid ‘índiscretions’ in the case that a phone lands in the wrong hands. (Wise advice).
A new way of telling stories in media is through ‘Visual Story telling’. Story maker is a software created by Small world News (USA) in assisting journalists in visual story telling. A very interesting innovation which is still undergoing testing and upgrading but it could change the way people share information. So how many of us are into blogging or follow blogs? I myself am a blogger (although I have not been very consistent ), and Koketso Moeti and Fungai Machirori opened my eyes about ‘blogging in the future’. How important is blogging in disseminating information? How does one put value in blogging ? Well ,if done well, an individual can use blogging as a way of sharing things that affect them and the rest of the world. A blogger can also monetize their blogs for as long as they have the right strategies and consistency in assuring their readers relevant information that they can always look forward to. Fungai highlighted about an individual’s ‘digital footprint’; in English, the information history that you leave in cyberspace. In other words, think before you type and post anything on any platform because that leaves an impression of the kind of person you are and what one represents. The workshop was quite insightful looking at present journalism and what the future holds. Taking from the Shoko Festival theme I would say,” We are the people……the people who bring about change for the future!”
68
SHOKO FESTIVAL
FEATURE
SCENE
Having attended Shoko Festival we couldn’t just let the event pass by without
asking at least one international artist to share
with us their view of the festival and Zimbabwe as a whole. Lucky for us we got
hold of Tanzanian musician, Mzungu Kichaa who was more than glad to share with us not only his
journey as an artist in Africa , but the Shoko Festival experience.
GM.: Jambo, and welcome to Groove Magazine Zimbabwe. Please tell us about Mzungu Kichaa. Who is he? MK: That is a hard question. I always prefer it if someone else tells the story of who Mzungu Kichaa is. It is hard to talk about oneself, but I will try. I was born in the countryside in Denmark and I grew up in Zambia, age 6 - 10, in the rural village of Mapanza, where I went to the local primary school. I think this is where I became “African". Just like a child with one African parent or some kind of birth-given connection
to Africa, I decided to really take up Tanzanian culture and the language when I moved there with my parents at the age of 15. Choosing the name Mzungu Kichaa (crazy white man or murungu anopenga) was a hard process. I guess it is ironic and perhaps also shows that I accept that I am different, but I strongly believe that we are all different regardless of race or were we come from. My calling was to break down racial barriers and to give the negative meaning of Mzungu a new meaning or at least another meaning. GM.: So what inspires your
“I grew up in Zambia, age 6 - 10, in the rural village
of Mapanza, where I went to the local primary
school. I think this is where I became “African". ”
music and how relevant is it to young Africans in general? MK: I am inspired by all music. I even studied the mbira at one point during my bachelors degree in London, under Chartwell Dutiro who was a member of Thomas Mapfumo’s band Blacks Unlimited. I really, really feel this music. My first big inspirations in music (also when I was in Zambia) included Bob Marley, Alpha Blondie, Bhundu Boys, Kanda Bongo Man and Tracy Chapman. Later on I fell in love with Jimi Hendrix. Studying ethnomusicology at university also gave a lot of insight into traditional music from all over the world. But my passion has always been African music.
69
about how developed Zimbabwe was back then, compared to Zambia. Those days we had absolutely nothing! It seems that today Zimbabwe has a bad name and people abroad think it is still unstable. But I found it to be peaceful and the people I met to be easy going and very friendly. I have definitely already spread this "news" with the people I have met since my visit. GM.: You performed at Shoko Festival 2013, as well as shared your knowledge on song writing in a workshop. What was your experience like? MK: Performing at SHOKO was one of my highlights this year, and trust me I have been busy, and it is competing with a lot of other great events this year. But there was something special about Shoko and the audience. People really took time to listen and to understand my music and I really respect that.
I collaborated with Chabvondoka and Tariro Negitare who are all great musicians. The workshops that I did together with Tariro were also good fun. I always love to help inspire young artists face to face.
“Performing at SHOKO
was one of my highlights
this year,….” GM.: What did you learn from the whole Shoko Festival that you could take back to Tanzania? MK: I learnt a very good approach to holding a festival. I think what the Shoko Festival organisers are doing is very admirable and important. I really found that people were supportive and that they were doing a great job. It is an important community based initiative, at the same time as being professional and also providing very entertaining acts. I don´t think that anyone can complain about the line up. I mean, they programmed that crazy murungu.... joke aside, there was a lot of great music that I personally really enjoyed watching. I am also personally involved in managing and promoting events in Tanzania, so there are definitely a lot of ideas that I got from Shoko that I will try to incorporate into them. GM.: How well was your music received at Shoko Festival and by Zimbabweans at large especially after your radio interview?
“My calling was to break
down racial barriers and
to give the negative
meaning of Mzungu a
new meaning or at least
another meaning.”
especially the youth. But I always fuse some elements from the past into my music. We all share this past, which is what makes it relevant. I also write predominantly conscious music, whether its about love or politics, it is conscious and relative to what is happening around me. GM.: We understand that this was your first time in Zimbabwe. Please share with us your thoughts on Zimbabwe. MK: Wow.... Zimbabwe was an amazing experience for me. It was my first time to perform in Zimbabwe, but actually, I came there to visit a couple of times while I lived in Zambia (86-90) as a child. I was always impressed 70
GM.: Shoko means word. What words would you like to impart to young Zimbabweans, especially in the arts and entertainment industry? MK: Faith and Perseverance. Always have faith in what you are doing and keep persevering until you become nothing but the best. And those are some very motivating words from Mzungu Kichaa. We hope to have you back soon in Zimbabwe! For more Kichaa music follow him on:
MK: Well, that is hard for me to say. But in general I felt well received. I was happy on stage and so was my band and I could sense from the crowd that they were happy too. One thing that I didn´t expect was to find so many people who already knew about my music. But for me, what’s most important, is to make new fans and friends, and I definitely did that at Shoko. I think you need to ask someone else who attended the concert or listened to my music on the radio to really find out how I have been received in Zimbabwe since my visit. GM.: What are the differences between the urban music and culture in Tanzania and that of
Zimbabwe, that you have noticed? MK: I think that there are more similarities than differences. I feel I was there too short to really make a statement about that. GM.: Can we look forward to another visit from Mzungu Kichaa anytime soon? MK: Yes! At least I hope so... But I will definitely do my best to make it happen. First I need to put the final touches to my new album which will be coming out early next year. So make sure you tweet or Facebook me @mzungukichaa so that I can keep you updated.
Mzungu Kichaa and band
“…..what’s
most
important, is
to make new
fans and
friends, and I
definitely did
that at
Shoko.”
Mzungu Kichaa
@mzungukichaa
71
72
Album Reviews
Album : Lifted
Artist : Mr. Bell
Genre : Gospel
Record Label : Archangel Music
Date of release: September 2013
A double CD album with 23 tracks in total, Kenneth
Jonasi, popularly known as Mr. Bell, has really
worked hard on his comeback album after years of
being off the Zimbabwean scene and having been
based in South Africa. He wrote and produced most
of the songs having a balance of praise, which would
be the more upbeat tracks and worship, which are the
ballads. Well thought of and containing powerful,
inspirational messages, “Lifted” gives fans that
nostalgic Mr. Bell flavour that they were introduced
to, in the early 2000s, and a sound that is relevant to
current times. The album features the likes of vocally
talented Liezel Watson, Verlene Faro, Portia Jonasi,
rapper Afurakhan on “Rebel Music” and the
traditional hymn “The Lord Is my Shepherd” was co-
produced by pioneering urban grooves producer,
Delani Makhalima and additional arrangements by
Bernadine Bismarck. Some tracks like “I Can” and
“Come Together” include samples of inspirational
messages from Bishop Tudor Bismarck and the great
Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. With a book to
accompany the album “Lifted” is sure to get you
lifted.
Rate:
Get it for: Believe it, whether you are into gospel
music or not, this is a must have album. The best
tracks from this album, both CDs would have to be
on CD 1: I Can, Come Together, Broken Rose, Lifted,
Entertain You and CD 2: I Believe, You Are The One,
Ngairire, So Help me God, Exalted and Handeyi.
MUSIC
Album : Fire Of Zamani
Artist : Ice Prince
Genre : Afro Pop/Rap
Record Label : Chocolate City
Date of release: November 2013
Ice Prince is one artist who has been known
for consistency and this album is nothing
short of that. Inspired by fellow musician,
Tuface’s song, the title of the album, “Fire Of
Zamani”, is a reflection of Ice Prince’s journey
in life and his career. Having been a BET
award winner, he managed to get
international artistes such as French
Montana and Wale to feature on this album,
which added to his five hit singles.
Impressive, we must say! So listeners get to
hear Ice’s vocals, which are pretty
exceptional and of course his powerful rap
which has made him one of Africa’s most
bankable artistes. Overally, this album is
good, with Ice playing around with different
sounds such as reggae/dancehall, and gospel
however, it has its moments where one can
question, ”Okay, Ice Prince what happened
on that track?”. But this “fire” of Zamani,
really brings the heat on and takes African
music to a whole new level on the
international scene.
Rate:
Get it for: Because it’s Ice Prince! But the
whole album is worth listening to. Aboki is
an obvious favourite, the groovy, Jambo,
Gimme Dat, Komotion, the hit-I Swear in
collaboration with French Montana and
Person Wey Sabi gets one into a great mood!
73
Album : Britney Jean
Artist : Britney Spears
Genre : Pop
Record Label : RCA
Date of release: 3 December 2013
So with a title for an album, “Britney Jean” one
would have thought that Ms. Spears was bringing
on her A-game with a probable feisty, over the top
“alter ego” so as to reclaim her title of Pop
princess however this album falls short of
Britney’s glory. It has been called her most
personal album to date, one tends to wonder
what’s been happening to her, personally? It is
public knowledge that this album was produced
after calling off her engagement, (which should
have been more reason to create a superb album),
however her eighth studio album has more lows
than highs. She was hands-on on this album and
allowed Will.i.Am to produce most of the songs.
What can we say, we love Britney and how sweet
and down-to-earth she is, but we miss the pop
superstar that we met in the late 90s. Oh well, it’s
good to see Britney back on the music scene and
we hope that her new Vegas gig will be
compensation for this album and remind fans
why they loved Britney so much.
Rate:
Get it for : Some tracks like the intro “Aliens”,
”Til It’s Gone”, ”Perfume”, ”Don’t Cry”, ”Now
That I Found You” and of course the reason why
we all have to ”Work B****”, with the lines "You
want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You want a
Maserati? You better work, …“, are worthy tracks
to listen to.
Album : Beyoncé
Artist : Beyoncé
Genre : R&B/Pop
Record Label : Sony BMG
Date of release: 13 December 2013
If ever Queen B wanted to seal the stamp on
who runs the world, it was the day when she
secretly released her fifth studio album. With
no promotion and without the knowledge of her
record label, Beyoncé took one of the biggest
risks in music however she managed to break
iTunes records within three days of release. The
self-titled audio-visual album of 14 songs and 17
videos is the most personal album to date.
Actually after listening to the album, “Beyoncé”
is the music version of Mrs. Carter’s biopic,
“Life Is But A Dream”. There’s nothing fancy in
terms of production compared to the album’s
predecessors however this is the most intimate
that fans could get to Bey. She includes
husband, Jay Z, daughter Blue Ivy, Drake, Frank
Ocean and poet, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on
the album thus highlighting the elements that
make Beyoncé who she is. The videos are simple
and contain snippets of personal home videos,
showing how far Beyoncé has come as an artist
and a person.
Rate:
Get it for: For the ultra Beyoncé fan this album
is a must-have as it encompasses soulful ballads,
the “girl-power” tracks and of course why being
Mrs. Carter is so fab. The best tracks on this
album are Flawless, Drunk In Love, Pretty
Hurts, Jealous, Mine and Superpower. As for
the videos, it is whatever you relate to, we love
“Grown Woman”!
The beat makers…
What are the
components of a good
song? Some say a
singer’s voice. Others
prefer to qualify a
song by the lyrics.
Whilst most would
agree that it is
definitely the beat.
And Groove magazine
understands the
many fundamentals
of a great song so
with that we found
out from one of the
many talented ‘beat
makers’ in
Zimbabwe, local
music producer Evans
Dube about making
‘beats’.
Evans ‘Block 101’
Dube
Evans Dube (TG) is a music producer of production studio and label Block 101 which is based in Masasa Park, Harare. His journey as a producer began a couple of years back when he was in high school.
“In retrospect, it’s funny how long we’ve come and we haven’t even started yet. I went to Speciss College for high school and you can imagine we did the usual, chase girls, party and all the other stuff except study.” He was being a typical young man in high school although it seems that it was then when his passion began. Evans says that he started producing music or beats as it is called, to just mess around-or in his
honesty to get the girls. “Back in the day we started off with the basic stuff, working on cakewalk software and recording with budget headphone computer microphones. It was a friend of mine- Matthew Grey who introduced to all this chaos.” Well it was good chaos in our opinion.
Evans and his friends started
producing a whole bunch of
potentials from Masasa Park-
the hood. They started working
with people like TNL, who
were a group of youngsters
from Masasa Park. TNL
consisted of three members-
Tinashe, Natasha and Lionel.
”That’s when we released our
first album as a group of
collaborating artists-Block 101
had not been born yet. A couple
of years later we started calling
ourselves Block 101.” The idea
behind block 101 according to
Evans was that they were a
group of producers and friends
who worked with potential
artists one on one, face to face
and interactively from the
beginning. Block 101 was all
about developing potential
talent in the hood and
developing it to become the
“In retrospect, it’s funny how
long we’ve come and we
haven’t even started yet.”
74
next big thing. “We started from
humble beginnings. It was all about
learning,
We were virgins in the business and
we had no idea where we were going
or how we were going to get there but
we were having fun and we were
learning-that’s all that counted.”
When they started they were
producing urban grooves and hip-
hop. “We were trying to make music
tailored for Zimbabwean people-
which in our first couple of years, we
failed miserably but we were learning
and we had fun…”, and that’s all that
counted.
Their first big project was Block 101
Volume one which was released in
2011, eight years after they had started
making music. This compilation
included the likes of Varaidzo, J Boss,
Shamz, Thari Khris, Tricky-T, Ta$h,
Codacane, Sio-P and a whole bunch
of other talented singers and rappers
who slowly making headway in the
industry today. In the past decade
Block 101 has worked with the likes
of Tererai Mugwadi, Taurayi
Mandebvu, Maskiri, Reckless
Damage and Sanii Makhalima.
“We’ve also worked with a lot of
small time artists who have built the
backbone of Block 101 music
production who Block 101 wouldn’t
be Block 101 without them.
Currently block 101 has two main
producers who are Evans Dube and
Brighton (Dexter). They also have a
lot of other producers who specialize
at different genres of music as well as
instrumentals such as PhroPhos.
Block 101 genres include R&B, hip-hop, dub step, urban grooves, dancehall and house. Their first major breakthrough as a label was with Varaidzo, the R&B singer. Currently block 101 has two main producers who are Evans Dube and Brighton (Dexter). They also have a lot of other producers who specialize in different genres of music as well as instrumentals such as PhroPhos. Block 101 genres include R&B, hip-hop, dub step, urban grooves, dancehall and house. Their first major breakthrough as a label was with Varaidzo, the R&B singer.
“We are proud to call her a product of
Block 101 as we were the first to work
with her and develop her as an artist.”
So where does Block 101 see
themselves in the years to come? “In
the future we are hoping to expand
Block 101 beyond our borders and
work with international artists like P
Square, D Banj, David Guetta and
Calvin Harris.” Their music has been
getting international recognition
especially in the States by people in
California. They have had
collaborations with the Nigerian
artist Mark Hayes and UK producer
Bill Van.
Evans’ thoughts on the music
industry in Zimbabwe are, “The
challenge facing music producers in
Zimbabwe today is that we are
incompetent in comparison to
international markets and
international standards.” He adds on,
“Our music is failing to make it
internationally and it only appeals to
local Zimbabweans. For the industry
to grow it has to appeal to
international markets.” He also
believes that our lack of production
schools such as degrees in Music
offered by schools such as Witts
University in South Africa and
Berkley in the USA is a major
hindrance to our development.
“When one is learning about music
production in Zimbabwe, he learns
at home and uses pirated software
like Fruity loops,” says Evans.. “For
the industry to grow it has to appeal
to international markets.”
He also believes that our lack of
production schools such as degrees
in Music offered by schools such as
Witts University in South Africa
and Berkley in the USA is a major
hindrance to our development.
“When one is learning about music
production in Zimbabwe, he learns
at home and uses pirated software
like Fruity loops,” says Evans,
“Because of our lack of international
standard in music production
education, we fail to produce music
that is internationally recognised
because it lacks the quality to get
there.”
It is not all negative though. “We
have managed to make reasonable
progress and we have stars like
“We started from
humble beginnings.
It was all about
learning,…..”
75
“In conclusion, we need the support
of the Zimbabwean people and we
are going to make you proud.” Big
dreams and great ambitions, Block
101 are aiming for world class.
Upcoming artists who need to be
produced and producers who would
like to collaborate with Block 101
you can get hold of them on:
Email: [email protected]
“Because of our lack
of international
standard in music
production
education, we fail to
produce music that
is internationally
recognised because
it lacks the quality to
get there.”
Tuku and Mapfumo who are the
pioneers of Zimbabwean music
and have taken it international.”
In his thoughts, in order to
improve our music we need to
have centres where industry
professionals come in and teach
local producers how to make the
best music. “I think we need to
have better quality music
education in our schools in
Zimbabwe music education is
but a myth.”
Block 101 has prospects of
becoming a major production
house and label in Africa. “We
firstly need to improve our
quality of music as well as
become an internationally
recognised label.”
They also aim at grooming more
talent in Zimbabwe and getting
professional artists from abroad
to come and train our artists.
76
Check out the music that they
produce on:
www.reverbnation.com/block1o1
www.soundcloud.com/block1o1
And like their page on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/BLOCK101
On the decks ...
Club DJs
Shumbatafari: DJ V & DJ
Banks
They rock the radio airwaves by
getting the weekend started with
their club tunes, and they are part
of a brand that calls out all the
party people to the clubs. If you
have not heard these guys play, you
better start now because they
definitely know how to spin those
decks. They are n’sync like the
music they play; they bring the
house down and they are the
members of Shumbatafari, Dj V
and Dj Banks.
GM.: Welcome to Groove magazine.
Please tell us about yourselves
DJ Banks: You mean individually, or as
a group? (Brief chattering between DJ V
and DJ Banks)
DJ V: We are brothers as well as
cousins. What else can I tell you? Uh,
and uh we are a group. Our group is
called Shumbatafari, you know, though
we’ve got our individual names in the
group, as we play individual genres of
music in the group.
So yeah, the real Shumbatafari
is kinda like a house name, like
a brand, you know like my shirt
here, the Shumbatafari shirt.
Banks has got his own thing
going on but you know, he can
wear the Shumbatafari shirt but
I can’t wear his label so it’s like
DJ Banks is gonna sign his label
so it’s like has got his own label
so. (He laughs)
GM.: Okay.
DJ V: Yeah so this is like the house brand, you see, we…..we are brothers, we are family. We
came up with the concept
which, this concept of
Shumbatafari. Shumba
means we are like tough a
shumba. Uh…Tafari is
derived from tafara in a
Rasta way…eh like we
please people, our job, like
it kinda like beats. There
are some people that Rasta
people come and tell me
what it means just from
hearing the name but some
people find it hard to
understand what it
actually means but…
77
DJ V: Well for me it’s a long story.
It dates back to maybe 10 years ago
when I had a passion for music and
instrument. I had a sound system
so we used to promote bands and
stuff. Then I just, from that culture
of entertaining people, promoting
other people’s shows, I started
deejaying at these shows then I
realised that deejaying could be an
art that I could master myself and
make money out of deejaying. So
my brother KB who is the actual
founder of Shumbatafari, the guy
with the actual concept of
Shumbatafari, the late Tapiwa
LenninTapfumaneyi a.k.a DJ KB.
You know when this guy was in
New Zealand for 10 years he was
jamming all around New Zealand
at festivals and he worked on radio
at Munt FM and then he came
back in 2009.When he came back
we sat down and he said “Let’s
stop this whole promotional thing
with the band because it’s killing
our sound and it’s going down the
drain”, and it wasn’t bringing us
anything although we had a
passion for music and supporting
those people, “we are supposed to
maintain our sound at the end of
the day”, KB. So KB being a dj, a
professional dj, sat me down and
said that we needed to work out
something out making money out
of our own sound. He taught me
professional deejaying and that is
how Shumbatafari began in
Zimbabwe, though it’s already an
international brand.
The first question he asked me was
what kind of music do I want to
play? And I told him that I want to
play house music. He told me that
house music was good but I need to
understand the basics of house
music in a way no one understands
house music. “When you go to a
show, when you play house music,
other people will know that this guy
knows his house music.” So he
contacted Banks in SA and Banks
came through, after 10 years of being
out. We sat down and went through
to open a studio in Southerton,
which was our meeting point, our
starting point. Our friend Chippaz
Promotions is also part director in
Shumbatafari. Shumbatafari is a
registered company. So we opened a
studio and we got a chance to play
through Banks’ contacts, we got an
audition at Rugby bar. Banks took
the bull by the horns and he did his
thing. And the other guys who were
there were chased away. (Laughs)
and we took over Rugby bar and
from Rugby bar came other links.
We played at Rugby Bar for one year
and eight months from June 2011 to
the 31st of December 2012. We had a
good following at Rugby bar and we
don’t regret Rugby bar because
that’s where most people know us
from but we failed to market our
brand. We marketed Rugby bar and
people still go to Rugby there,
”Kuchinzi kuRugby bar kunofaya”
(saying that Rugby bar is hot!).
We didn’t market DJ V, DJ
Banks, or DJ KB. Out of all of that
though, we got club events to
mention a few that are really big
including the Big Brother Africa
Wendall Welcome party,
Schweppes Sparkling water
event. With Delta, we have a
longstanding relationship
especially DJ Banks he played at
the Burn Launch, and he also
played at the P-Square beer fest,
alongside DJ Raydizz. But before
all this came along he was
playing at Universities like at the
Lion Lager universities beer fest.
So yes, Banks has a longstanding
relationship; so as a family when
one gets something we always
work together, so there are many
of us because you can never
entertain a crowd on your own.
We need to entertain people so
that they remember our name.
But we didn’t start in Harare. In
Chinhoyi as djs we realised that
we can’t go any further in
Chinhoyi, we had people coming
from the surrounding farms. We
didn’t think that we still had
white people on the farms
(laughs a little), but I remember
that a couple of white guys
telling us that we are good and
appreciating that we can play
house music. We made a lot of
progress in Chinhoyi then we
moved to Harare. Now DJ Banks
and I are currently on radio.
78
GM.: Is there a difference
between being a club dj and
being a radio personality/dj?
DJ Banks: There’s a very, very big
difference. I think that one major
difference is being a radio dj;
your focus is mainly on
interacting and talking to the
people. You have got your music
set out for you. You’ve been told
already what you have to play-
it’s like a script. But being a club
dj, you have to be creative. You
have to be creative with song
selection, reading the crowd and
what people like. That’s basically
it, the major difference.
GM.: Who is inspires you?
DJ V: Wow! You know the
concept of Shumbatafari is a
professional, international brand
that whenever Banks gets called
to Madagascar, or Amsterdam or
Budapest, he’s going to play you
see now. Let’s just say Banks has
his own music genre, when I turn
on the radio without even
finishing the song automatically
I’ll know that it’s Banks, because
he has his own style of music.
The speed of the song, or the way
he samples his beats, that’s DJ
Banks. Shumbatafari style is that
we don’t copy other people
although we have people that we
look up to for standard of play or
the people that take us to the
next level. They are trendsetters
for everyone; anyone can have his
own style.
DJ Banks: Yeah before I started I
used to envy two guys based in
SA, DJ Reddy D, and then the
American dj, DJ Sleek, I play his
extended version and now I’m
doing my own, but that’s one guy
I like his sound.
DJ V: As for me on that aspect I
like DJ Euphonik, Chrisen, and I
could take Kent. There is this guy
who’s coming up in SA, his name
is DJ Crystal. He has a unique
sound. Although my style of
playing is totally different to
theirs. I have learnt songs that
are appealing to you as a
Zimbabwean, not take their style
as other djs. So I mix, well we all
do that, get a local blend. I think
that we were the first djs to be
mixing local songs in our sets
with people dancing because
local dancehall was seen as
something that was out but then
I heard Banks playing,
‘Takaipa,takaipa’ and everyone was
jumping and you know it just
changed the vibe at Rugby bar.
GM.: What is the market like
for club djs? What could be
done to improve it?
DJ Banks: I don’t know. It seems
that the crowd, I’ll talk more of
Harare because that’s what I
know. They are moving to
outdoor venues. They don’t want
to be closed up, they are more
about outdoor-open events e.g.
Rugby Bar, paHuku-people want
air.
So I don’t know maybe it’s because
there are not that much took at-to
look forward to in terms of clubs.
There are quite a few that are top
notch that you can enjoy yourself
freely with no havoc, good
infrastructure, they are very few. So
maybe if there are few that pop-up;
that improves the club scene.
GM.: You play on our local radio
stations. What is it like? Is there a
difference between radio and the
live scene?
DJ V: There is a big difference.
Playing on radio is for listening.
There are some songs that you
cannot play on air that you can play
on a live set and there are those that
you can play on radio. Radio reaches
out to many people like many things
are involved when playing on radio
such as censorship, timing and stuff.
So imagine that you’re playing in a
closed room and there’s no one
dancing in that room except you
nodding your head and some boring
host who is busy writing his notes.
But there is another guy in a kombi
planning his night, right there and
he is blasting his speakers and there
is a granny who is sitted by the
radio.
DJ Banks: (Laughing) wondering
what the hell? You can’t control the
crowd.
DJ V: You are playing to a bigger
crowd. But what you can do now,
you have to blend your music to suit
everyone and everyone can
appreciate what you are doing at
that particular moment.
79
DJ Banks: And also the one good
thing, one advantage of radio over
live sets, you know they say that
your personality is who you are in
the dark, so when you are there
alone there is minimum interaction
with whom you are playing for so
it’s easy for you to be yourself. In the
club there is someone who doesn’t
like what you are playing, they are
holding a bottle and they are
looking at you. (Everybody laughs)
.They can’t wait for you to finish. It’s
not easy.
DJ V: That’s when you show your
musical maturity. You know some
people go on radio and they just
play songs. On radio there is that
chance of introducing new songs
and you know showing people your
style. I believe Banks has been on
radio so many times and he has
developed his style. That’s one thing
that takes us back as djs.
GM.: Which artists/djs would you
like to work with locally,
regionally and internationally?
DJ Banks: Wow! Locally? Hmm
(Thinking) I’ve worked with most
of them. But I have to say Winky D
and Gutspy Warrior. Those two
really know what to do.
DJ V: Or people you wouldn’t want
to work like Mic Inity. You’ve
deejayed for him? (looking at Banks)
DJ Banks: I’ve worked with him but
I’ve not deejayed for him.
DJ V: I wouldn’t want to work
with him. He has no respect for
djs. People should respect djs. DJ
Banks when he’s sitting here no
one knows that he has degrees.
We are actually educated, we both
have degrees, and we went to
school. We are actually looking
forward to masters even have a
doctorate. The problem with most
people is that when they see a dj
and think that they are not
educated. There’s a big market for
djs. There are some big djs that we
don’t know about that are in
Harare but we don’t know them.
They are probably in the Brook,
playing for weddings in the Brook.
DJ Banks: Regionally I would love
to work with 2Face Idibia, I know
that it is random, many would ask
me. I would also like to work with
these guys Radio and Wizzo from
Kenya. From SA, I’m a huge fan of
HHP, he’s really good on stage and
I would like to see DJ Fresh before
he gets old. (Laughs) Yeah,
internationally I’m a very, very big
dancehall fan. I love dancehall.
Most of them have already come
here. If I were to choose who I’d
want to work with? I know that
Mavado came but I would love to
work with Mavado. I was part of
the Popcaan concert, I actually
deejayed there. But I would love to
be on stage, up close with Mavado.
I think that’s about it. And please
bring Jay Z to Zimbabwe. That’s
an extreme dream, you can tell.
(Laughs)
DJ V: Artists and DJs? You see
with the type of house that I
play; say that I get a chance to
play; I wouldn’t mind giving a
shot at performing live with
Toya DeLazy. She’s got that
groovy, unique style, you know,
that’s bumping and gets
everyone moving. Em, DJs? I
don’t want to look too high. I
just want to see what I can do
within the next three, four
years. I want to perform with
Euphonik and share decks with
the likes of Kent; and actually
show my style to those guys.
And that’s about it. (Thinking)
I look up to guys such as Nikki
Romero, Dmitri Vega. Those are
the guys that inspire me, they
do it. At the, what you call that
annual festival with Swedish
House Mafia? (Asking DJ
Banks) Yeah, the Tomorrow
land festival. Those guys, they
really showed the power of the
DJ, producing songs, you know,
just like how David Guetta
turned around the art of music
with Black Eyed Peas making a
beat for those guys and actually
making a world hit platinum
single, “I’ve got a feeling”. I
think it was a hit during the
world cup, so yeah, something
like that. I think that
Zimbabwe can be part of that
as long as we appreciate our
own style of music.
80
G.M.: Where do you want to
take your deejaying career?
DJ V: I think that we have to
speak as a crew now.
DJ Banks: Well, we dream of
Shumbatafari as a big household
brand. We are not just focused
on linking djs like this but we are
thinking of venturing into
producing. I was approached by
Valentine about. V is working on
a track. (Laughs)
DJ V: (Looking at DJ Banks)
Yeah he’s been teaching me.
DJ Banks: It’s been a passion of
mine.
DJ V: I think that it’s working.
Like when you go play with other
djs when you are like a
producer/dj it’s kind of not fair.
It’s like someone who’s using a
geyser and you are boiling water
to bath.
DJ Banks: We’ve plans of
venturing into that I think that
you have a track (looking at DJ
V) that you are working on.
DJ V: Yes I have a track that I’m
working on. You must listen to
the track.
GM.: What advice would you
give to a young people
interested in pursuing
deejaying as a part time/full
time career?
DJ V: When I look at deejaying
as an industry, it’s important
that you make your own style of
music. Focus and know; and
really understand what you are
doing. I believe that deejaying is
an industry even for someone
wearing a suit and tie, but don’t
compare the job to a dj.
DJ Banks: Be versatile, be
different. Know why you are
doing it. Be bold, be the guy if
you want to make a living out of
it. It can pay bills.
DJ V: KB we always look up to
our brother, our late brother for
teaching us the work. You
know we always had a problem
we would go to him and ask
him. He was the least popular
of us all but he got us through
many things. Where we are
today is because of him.
DJ Banks: Big up KB! Mukanya!
If you get lost, then follow his track. Check out DJ V’s house track “Sekele” featuring Djembe Monks and Thandoe. Out now!
Tune into Star FM for all your
party hits and club bangers with:
DJ V on the Flight mix at 1830
hours on Friday
DJ Banks on TXO at 1430 hours on
Wednesday
DJ Banks on the All Star Party at
2000 hours on Saturday
“The problem with most
people is that when they
see a dj and think that
they are not educated.
There’s a big market for
djs.”
“When I look at
deejaying as an
industry, it’s
important that you
make your own
style of music. “-DJ
V
81
82
In the next issue…
• What 2014 has in store for you:
Year plan
• More summer fashion
• Stars to look out for in 2014
• Music & Entertainment
• G Quiz: What is your love
language?
• Gifts for him and her for this
Valentines Day
…and so much more!
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LAST WORD…
My very warm regards to all the
readers as we endeavour on this
the very first publication of Life
with Lance. Lance being me of
course. It’s a pleasure to meet
your acquaintance. I have been
haggling with myself the past
couple of days as I wanted to
make a very good impression on
you guys and well what better
way to do that than to discuss
first impressions.
I found this especially interesting
because it shows the power of first
impressions. How you introduce
yourself to a person, how you first
present yourself to a crowd, the
manner in which you enter into a
certain scenario; that to me
determines how your audience is
going to respond to whatever else
you are going to contribute from
that moment onwards. It’s the
courtship equivalent of bad breath,
because if the way your breath
smells cannot accommodate the
intended target of your words,
then I am afraid all attempts will
be futile and she may never know
of your how great a guy you truly
are all because you failed to use a
breath mint. Come on brother be
serious.
In literary works, in music,
probably in all forms of art, there is
huge emphasis on creating a great
introduction in your work. This is
meant to captivate the audience, to
grab them by the collar and
demand their attention. Why
simply because those very first
moments are the determinants of
whether or not that particular
piece is going to tickle your fancy.
Ladies will bear testament to me
that the intensity of foreplay is a
great indicator of enjoyment to
follow.
83
That very first moment when we encounter someone for the very first time, which my friends may determine how that person will view you from that day onwards, so my personal advice would be to take this seriously. One Kurt Vonnegut had this to say about first impressions; “Charm was a scheme for making strangers like and trust a person immediately, no matter what the charmer had in mind.”-Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions.
Life with Lance !
Lancellote Chimedza
©2014
more of a glance that quickly runs
through the lady’s entire wardrobe,
and the smile becomes more
pronounced and I always throw in a
compliment, nothing too overcooked
(might indicate stalking) and always
indicate how it was a pleasure
meeting that person. The more
confidence you instil in them the
more they want to be around you
because you make her feel good about
herself. Those are just quick pointers I
picked up and they have worked
relatively well for me, try them, they
might work for you as well.
However at the end of it all, we just
need to realise that we only get one
shot at a first impression, and it is of
paramount importance that it be your
best, because it really does shape how
your audience relates to you
thereafter. However, failing to make
one is not the end of the world,
though it means a lot of work to make
up the difference. I surely hope I have
made a great impression with those of
you who come to read this. For my
aim is always to please your mind as
well as to educate. I trust I have done
both to the best of my ability and look
forward to a long a mutually
beneficial relationship.
So until the next edition of Life with
Lance, always remember eat right,
drink even better and always leave
some alcohol in the fridge for a
hangover. Cheers!
“However at the
end of it all, we
just need to
realise that we
only get one shot
at a first
impression, and it
is of paramount
importance that
it be your best,
because it really
does shape how
your audience
relates to you
thereafter.”
84
Stop blushing and agree with
me. It’s the truth and we all
know it, it’s in those initial
moments before that we realise
that we are in capable hands
and the actual act will just be,
but a fulfilment of expectations
created by that first impression.
When you are touched the right
way and handled with the
desired tenderness, all the
tension disappears; all of you
relax, as you wait to be taken.
There right there is the power
of first impression. It breaks
barriers of doubt, fear,
apprehension and insecurity,
which makes it easier to put
yourself across.
I have learnt a few tricks as I
grew up that help me to deliver
a more than decent first
impression judging by the
results. When meeting a person
of the same sex, I deliver a firm
grip, and a brief stare (yes I said
stare) accompanied by a subtle
smile and my name in full. This
projects me to be a confident
individual who is not afraid to
put himself out there and this
gives me a strong footing from
where to launch my “turf war”.
It is always a competition for us
men. However when meeting a
woman, the handshake remains
firm (sign of strength and
security), the stare becomes
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