TAMY Moyo has been having quite the year as far as hit-making is concerned.
With her recently released third album, Bold, the artiste displays her multi-year-long experience in the music industry through impeccably composed songs and vocal chops that can render the most hardened of heads motionless.
She started singing at the age of seven, and in only two years, was getting mentored by the likes of late Zimbabwean music legends Oliver Mtukudzi and Chiwoniso Maraire.
At 10, she was performing professionally, and released her first singles Celebrate Your Life and African Beat when she was 14.
The 18th Rollercoaster album, which had songs such as Ndibereke, was released when she was 18.
Her second album Bvudzi Jena followed in 2021, when she was 23.
Her goal going into the third project was to “establish a sound that was different from all these other projects that I’ve done before”.
She was also less hands-on than she had been on previous albums, something she says was intentional.
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Part of this off-handed approach included letting other people write songs for her.
An instance of that is Chinono, which was written by Jah Prayzah.
“[I wanted] something that resonated a little bit more different from all these other projects that I’d done before. Something that resonated with myself, and celebrated where I come from as well,” she says about the album.
Bold is about being fearless and headstrong.
Moyo makes a declarative statement that she has earned her bragging rights.
It’s also about encouraging other people to speak their truth and stay real.
“There’s a little bit of sass and attitude in the lyrical content. The main message was to go where we’re wanted. Life is too short. The older I get, the more I realise there’s so much to live for, and there’s very little time,” she says.
Kelly Kelvedhura, released in March, was a transitional song for the artiste.
It features one of Zimbabwe’s most exciting dancehall artistes, Master H.
“We sat down with [Master H’s] team and said that we wanna come up with an anthem, something that will resonate with people and be good vibes, good energies,” she says, adding, “We wanted to do something that was upbeat, very cool, giving youthful energy, but still very ‘I’m in my feminine energy and I’m not afraid to show it now.’ It’s basically a song about a woman who is beautiful, who is coming into her own, and she’s expressing that in the song. The lyrics talk about a young lady who is shaking her booty.”
Master H’s presence on the song accentuates its impact.
It’s high-energy and addictive, with sleek, well-produced visuals to match.
In speaking about the studio session, Moyo says that he was easy to work with, and eager to learn.
“He’s very open-minded. It was just a whole lot of musical chemistry in the room. It didn’t even take us long to even come up with the track. I think we took about an hour in the studio session. It actually took [that long] because I was taking longer, but he was in the zone already.”
For those who know, Zimbabwe and dancehall go hand-in-hand.
It’s, therefore, not a surprise that the song took off the way it did.
The video is currently sitting on a million views, which is quite a big deal.
“I grew up listening to a lot of dancehall, particularly dancehall from here at home. It was just a general appreciation for the genre because I think it resonates with a lot of our people here at home,” she says.
Moyo has a crystal clear vision of where she wants to see herself.
She is not afraid to challenge her sonic limits and fully exercises her artistic freedom when immersed in song.
It’s a great quality to have for someone whose global aspirations trump the imagination.
Kelly Kelvedhura wasn’t her only moment of glory this year.
She followed it up with Zvakadaro two months later.
The song is a departure from the dancehall sound, and explores guitar elements that recall classic Chimurenga and kwassa-kwassa songs.
Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a wave of amazing musicians across genres.
There are the likes of Rachel Chinouriri, Holy Ten and Voltz JT.
Moyo’s opinion of the industry signals someone who is optimistic about their path.
“I genuinely believe that Zimbabwe is going to be a part of the conversation very soon. The world is looking for something new to experience. The West is looking towards Africa now to collaborate. I feel like Zimbabwe is somehow contributing to that conversation,” she says.
She goes on to list the likes of producers such as Brian Soko, who has production credits that include Beyonce’s Drunk In Love, as well as Rymez, who has produced for the likes of Stefflon Don.
She does admit that being in the country comes with its own set of challenges, but remains hopeful nonetheless.
“The resources are not available, they’re not at your disposal as much as you’d wish for them to be. Even just to establish things like streaming culture here has been quite a challenge. You look at things such as the availability of data, the amount of people who actually stream on a daily basis has been a challenge,” she says.
“Slowly but surely, it is becoming a thing. We are also struggling with issues of piracy back here in Zimbabwe, just people downloading music for free. So there’s a lot of education that still needs to happen so that we empower the next generation of musicians on the importance of licensing and copyrighting your music.”
Bold doesn’t include any of the two singles that became hits this year.
Moyo says that it’s intentional, she has way too much music in her to recycle songs.— okayafrica.com
