AFRO soul singer MJ Sings says his debut at the Shoko Festival was an opportunity to take his music to greater heights and to a new audience.
The Bulawayo-based singer was one of the headline acts that performed at the recently held festival, which ran between September 28 and 30 under the theme The Take Back.
MJ Sings performed on the opening night on Thursday at the Shoko Mash Up night, which saw a women’s cypher, a poetry session and Blufhill jams.
“I’m still trying to process the whole moment, it was an honour and an electrifying moment,” said MJ Sings.
“It was an eye opener because when you are always in one place and one city you assume that it’s hard to cross borders and get appreciated outside. So finally to have an experience of seeing and feeling my music being appreciated in Harare, is something that I am not going to forget anytime soon. It is surely going to push me into doing more things and create and take my music outside Bulawayo and also outside Zimbabwe.
I am grateful to Shoko Festival organisers and everyone that came through to support me and the amazing list of performers.”
MJ Sings is expected to launch his album dubbed Umuzi soon. He has so far released four songs from the album as a sampler to the full album. The four songs are Infinity, Nami, Konke and Ikula, a remake of Lovemore Majaivana’s yesteryear hit.
Shoko Festival’s curtains came down yesterday with the Peace in the Hood show hosted in Chitungwiza.
The festival featured a variety of events, including the opening Mash Up night, the popular Shoko Comedy Roast, the Hub Unconference, and the Peace in the Hood Concert.
Shoko Festival is a celebration of free expression, cutting edge urban art and alternative youth culture. The festival is a project of Magamba Network, Africa's trailblazing creative and digital media organisation.