THE year 2016 will go down as a memorable and fruitful year for the Princess of Mbira, Rumbidzai Hope Masike, having gained new music appreciation and strengthened her brand.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
Her collaboration with dendera maestro Sulumani Chimbetu on her song Tingwarire and graduation with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz were her high points in 2016.
The mbira songstress said studying for the degree programme with Africa University, in partnership with Zimbabwe College of Music, had enabled her to express herself better than before as a musician.
“I am happy that I finally graduated, although my studies took me very long because I had to do some tours, some of which I blocked for a while so that I could focus on my academic work. I am glad that by God’s grace and professional guidance from my director at the College of Music, Mai Jera, I have attained my degree,” she said.
“I have perfected my mbira playing skills and have learnt about other mbira types, their histories and the general Zimbabwean music landscape now and before. So besides being able to play mbira, I can play, perform and even teach Zimbabwean traditional rhythms on many ngoma types, marimba and their dances.”
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Masike said she would be ending the year with a bang and stepping into 2017 in style.
“The year comes to an end with my brand having seen remarkable growth. I will shut down 2016 with an out-of-this-world New Year’s Eve gig at Chinhoyi University of Technology Hotel and welcome the new year at Dungane Farm in Karoi for a jamboree of mbira fused with sungura, reggae, pop and other music genres,” she said.
In all her endeavours, she said she was moving with a theme entitled Mwanasikana Anokosha and she had partnered the Environmental Management Agency on a clean environment campaign.
Together with Sulu, they have done a song for the environment, which will be officially launched next year.
To kickstart the new year, Masike will donate sanitary pads under her Hope Pad Campaign at Karoi Children’s Home and will spread her environmental cleanliness message.
She said establishing a proper management structure headed by Lucky Muzava had enabled her to focus on music, while Muzava handled the business.
“I have big dreams and God keeps revitalising my energy towards my calling. I can say for sure — finally too — that my third album is coming in 2017. That is one of my main babies I am looking forward to this coming year,” she said.
She, however, admitted that 2016 also had its low points.
“The few things I failed to achieve, like doing a lot more videos for my songs from my first and second albums, are certainly still on my to-do list as we get into 2017,” she said.
She thanked cinematographer Charles Mawungwa for helping build her brand.
“I also did the video to one of my fans’ favourite songs, Ndinewe, and it was very warmly received. All my fans can easily enjoy the song on my YouTube channel,” she said, adding that experimenting with different music styles also paid off.
Apart from the collaboration with Sulu, she also did a Mbira-new age collaboration with DJ/producer St Emmo, real name Emmerson Mnangagwa Jnr, and a Dinhe groove called Kwira Gomo.