REGGAE singer and founder of the Warren Park Arts and Culture Development Association, Mannex, showed his maturity as a composer, songwriter, percussionist and cultural arts promoter recently as he staged a reggae music luncheon at Gava Restaurant in Harare.
Born Emmanuel Chamunorwa Motsi, Mannex, who emerged from the popular group Bootkin Klan, recently took his audience through classical meddlies of yesteryear reggae, belting out hits Tsamba, Munhu Mutema and Anoti Nyoo Ndiani.
Switching with ease from normal speech to a moulded tenor, his soothing voice could only restore fond memories of his stint with the Pied Pipers when they remixed the song Ruva Rangu.
With the Transit Crew, Mannex led the vocals on the Unity album in 2009 and subsequently shared the stage with Sizzla Kalonji and collaborated with Yasus Afari at the now-defunct Harare International Festival of the Arts.
“I am a creative with a diverse talent. I am an athlete, musician and I work with the youth in Warren Park. At one time, I was requested by a local radio station to carry out a survey on what people would want to listen to on the radio and television. This also helped me to get a much clearer picture of what people want to listen to during my musical performances,” he said.
“I released albums The Journey and Mo Love and in 2013, was approached by Czech Radio 1 producer DJ Krystof Koenigsmark to partner Telka Metelka to make a ZimCzech nine-track album called Optimists by Choice, which won the Best Album Award at the 2014 Czech Republic Best Music Awards.”
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Mannex and his Mo Family have toured internationally and there is one thing which surprised many at the Gava Restaurant.
“We have an upcoming music album which is in the final touches and to be honest, I am not able to reveal the details right now. It’s going to be something good and great,” Mannex said.
“I would like to encourage all the youth and aspiring musicians to perfect their creative works and effectively make use of the online spaces.
“Likewise, we wish to have all the stakeholders in the arts sector come together and lay a strategy that enables broadcasters and online plartforms to reward artists accordingly and timeously.”
Reggae music has always had a huge following in Zimbabwe since the coming of Jamaican legend Bob Marley to commemorate the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980.
Several sungura musicians, have incorporated reggae progressions and styles in their music.
The likes of Nicholas Madzibaba Zacharia, Alick Macheso, John Chibadura, Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo and plenty others produced one or two reggae songs in their careers.
Mapfumo had the song Mugarandega, Mtukudzi came up with Ishe Komborera Africa, while Chibadura unleashed timeless hits like Mudiwa Janet, Zuva Rekufa Kwangu, which also anchored his reggae music hit albums which were released by the then Gramma Records.
A more vibrant computerised version of reggae dancehall, has almost supplanted roots rock reggae and has several stars like Enzo Ishall, Winky D, Guspy Warrior, Dadza D, Killer T, the late Soul Jah Love and plenty others.
The reggae discourse in Zimbabwe cannot be complete without mentioning the likes of Transit Crew, King Isaacs, Elder Trevor Hall aka Ras Jabu and contemporary musician Jah Prayzah.
Ras TK, who manages Mannex, was impressed by the support he is getting from reggae music fans and promised more fulfilling entertainment in performances.