Mtandazo Dube
His claim to fame may have been as a cover version master, but Mic Inity, born Mike Madamombe, will surely not be remembered for singing other people’s music.
After a lifetime of singing cover versions from yesteryear greats like Bob Marley to recent tunes from the likes of Jah Cure and Mavado, Mic Inity has released a 13-track reggae album.

His booming voice quickly reminds many of Buju Banton and his stage act clearly tells the story of a talented youngman who if he keeps his feet on the ground, is likely to take the world stage by storm. His music caters for both the young and the mature. 
Aptly titled Freedom, the album is a social commentary, prayer, dance and collaborative effort, featuring Kenyan Sister Mercy, Jamaican Lutan Faya and rising local dancehall singer and music producer Guspy Warrior.

Initially scheduled for three years ago, Mic Inity first tried to record the album in South Africa and then Jamaica, but both attempts did not yield the desired results.
A number of local studios shunned the Marondera-born and bred crooner while many others simply failed to work with him as he is deemed a somewhat arrogant artiste. History has lots of such talented and yet arrogant artistes who still make it to the top in their chosen fields.

The singer has a number of abandoned projects and an endless list of recorded songs scattered in over 10 recording studios in three countries — Zimbabwe, South Africa and Jamaica — which did not find their way to the 13-track debut effort.
But even in the face of such hurdles, the 30-year-old father of four (Tshiwe, Kudzi, Angelo and Marcus) kept on fighting for his freedom, freedom to express himself the way he

wanted and not the way his producers wanted him to.

And so on May 26 the temperamental pint-sized muso released his much-awaited debut album, which he launched at a glittering ceremony at Gecko Gardens in Glen Lorne, Harare.
Although Mic Inity wrote and composed all songs, it was the surprise inclusion of Emmanuel Manyeruke, aka Guspy Warrior, as the producer of most of the songs that shocked many.

“Guspy is a fine youth, free spirited, hardworking and a good producer. But what made us really click is that we have the same mentality in that we all believe in pure reggae and also because we are young and energetic,” said Mic Inity.
He added: “I have a problem with producers when recording and engineers when doing live shows, because I believe it is a matter of working together and not dictating to one another. I found that I did not have such problems with Guspy and for two months I drove 50km everyday from my home to his studio for recordings.”

Mic Inity, who says he is riddim-driven and does not pen songs but sings the lyrics as they occur in his head, says he is planning to do a few songs in Ndebele and Shona.
“I have overcome my biggest hurdle so far, recording something from my soul, and now I believe my next challenge is to give my fans countrywide something in vernacular. I will start with collaborations with the likes of Sulu (Suluman Chimbetu), Chiwoniso (Maraire), Tuku (Oliver Mtukudzi) and Mdara Macheso (Alick) if they agree.

“The objective is to fuse the popular genres in the country at the moment with the resurgent genre of reggae to produce a unique sound, which Zimbabweans will relate to while the international audience is also wowed,” he said.

What Mic Inity feels is immediate, though, are live show collaborations: “Museve (sungura) is music for the people and so is reggae. All we need to do is hold joint shows and, I can guarantee you, the result will be explosive.”

The former Transit Crew lead vocalist, who left the experienced team of instrumentalists to “grow, do my own thing and become my own man”, has become the biggest threat to dancehall maestro Winky D, real name Wallace Chirumiko.

Mic Inity’s advantage is the years he has spent playing with different live bands, which include Transit, Just Friends and his own Hotta Faya band, which he has been playing with for five years.

On Freedom he even recorded a song, Thank you Jah, with a live band and the track is one of the best songs on the CD. He insists on playing with a live band during live shows, even international ones.

Having impressed at the South African Macufe Festival in Bloomfontein and the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa) where he collaborated with Jamaram, a band from Germany, Mic Inity is headed for the UK.

“I had promoters tempting me with international tours for a long time, but my biggest problem was lack of my own stuff and the refusal by promoters to let me take my band or arrange one that side,” said Mic Inity.

Now armed with an album and the promoters having agreed to assemble a band for the former Marondera High School student, Mic Inity will spend 10 days in the UK with performances at the SAMMA festival and Africa Unplugged.

Born on January 23 1983 in Madamombe, Marondera, Mic Inity is a third born in a family dominated by the female species.
Before music took control of him, Mic Inity led a relatively normal life, by Zimbabwean standards, graduating with an O-Level certificate in 1998 before enrolling for a Computer Installations and Hardware programme.

But with music flowing through his veins, just like his father before him, the allure of the Nyabinghi drum, guitar, keyboard and microphone was too powerful for Mic Inity to resist.

And after part-time music with friends Costa and Rhonie, the breakthrough he had been praying for came through. He found himself as the frontman of a rebuilding Transit Crew in the mid 2000s, which he stayed with for three years and left them at the top of their game to start his own thing.
With reggae and dancehall music spreading like wildfire nationwide, dominated, of course, by the likes of Winky D, Sniper Storm, King Shaddy, Guspy Warrior, Dadza D and many others, will Mic Inity continue his incredible rise to become an international star?

Only time will tell.