BY SINDISO DUBE Veteran guitarist and producer Clive Mono Mukundu has sensationally claimed that modern day sungura artists are killing the genre due to lack of creativity and lacking originality.
Mukundu said modern day sungura artists are Alick Macheso’s copycats hence their music sounds the same.
Mukundu who is a former guitarist for the late Oliver Mtukudzi made the claims in a video on his social media page.
“I have got one grievance with Sungura music, the majority of the artists are copying Alick Macheso and that’s killing the genre. Sungura styles and sound is diverse, John Chibadura, Leonard Dembo, Pengaudzoke all had different sounds but it was all sungura. We can’t have modern day artists using the same bass and sound which is synonymous with Macheso.
“May you come up with your own style and sound and desist from copying Macheso, it’s now boring and killing the genre. No replica will overcome the original, have you noticed that of all the Macheso copycats, none has made any meaningful success because all glory keeps going back to the original,” he said.
Meanwhile, Macheso is set to launch his 12th album with a star studded launch party which coincides with his birthday on June 10.
The launch and celebrations will be held at Aquatic Complex in Chitungwiza. Zora musician Leonard Zhakata and Dendera star Sulumani Chimbetu will grace the event.
Freeman, Baba Harare, Andy Muridzo, Selmor Mtukudzi will also be part of the event.
Macheso came onto the music scene as a solo artist in 1998, with his debut album Magariro, which carried Pakutema Munda probably the least noticeable from that album. The first cut never received any recognition but he continued to release Vakiridzo the following year.