Assegai Crew makes a comeback

13 Jul, 2014 - 06:07 0 Views
Assegai Crew makes a comeback

The Sunday Mail

ASSEGAI CREWIt is a common scenario that whenever the original members of a certain band die, the chances of the band surviving are very slim. Financial squabbles and disputes on who should lead the band are familiar to the extent of crippling the band almost leaving it extinct. The Eastern Highlands band, Assegai Crew, is no exception as they struggled to survive after some of the key original band members passed away.

However, Assegai Crew, widely regarded as one of the best bands to emerge out of Mutare, has made a comeback by launching their fourth album after a long silence on the showbiz scene.

Masiwa Mbutsa, the lead vocalist of the band, confessed that it has not been an easy road.
“The band was silent because some of the band members passed away and others broke away from the group and formed their own. Hence it took us a long time to fill the gap and also we were financially broke,” said Mbutsa.

With the six-tracked album titled “Tauyahe (The Comeback)”, Assegai Crew hopes to reclaim their lost ground. Mbutsa is confident that Assegai Crew will make it on the local showbiz platform despite the threat posed by Zim-dancehall.

“We cannot dispute the fact the Zim-dancehall is the talk of everyone in the country, but we see ourselves as a force to reckon with. Our music is Ragga Manyika with a different flavour. Our fans love our accent because it sounds funny but that’s the way we speak,” said Mbutsa.

In their infant stages, Assegai Crew became popular for their expert delivery of covers from many genres, but soon began composing their own music, a fusion of ragga and Afro-pop with lyrics in Manyika which they branded Ragga Manyika. Formed in 1991 in Mutare, original members of Assegai Crew included the late Stobart Chidikano, Herbert Keyara, Silas Makumbe, Totichii Makureya, Brian Nhanhanga, Brian Chiriga, Robert Chagora and Mike Moyo.

The legendary Mutare band first rose to stardom in 1997 when they released their debut album titled “Zvese Mari” which carried the hit song “Amaibhoyi”, populary known as “Kanyama Karipi”. “Amaibhoyi” went viral on all local radio stations, scooping number one on the then Radio 3’s Top 20. Floating in their overnight success, the Eastern border city band relocated to Harare where they became a resident band at the now defunct George Hotel.

In the consequent years, Assegai Crew’s main vocalists Chidikano and Keyara passed away forcing Makumbe to recruit new and young members into the band. Despite the continued death of new members, the Mutare group went on to release their second album “Nyarara” (1998) and their third “Mabororo Disaster” (2002).

The band is well known for delivering their unique rhythms and rhymes of Manicaland popularised Ragga Manyika. The crew has recorded their fourth album which carries six tracks and is set to reclaim the spot that had been left vacant following the band’s previous setbacks.
The band was given a second chance to life by Khumbulani Dube who is sponsoring the band financially.

“We met Dube two years ago and we have been working with him since and he then decided to sponsor the group for the new project. He saved us from the deep waters we were drowning in. He is the man who gave us courage to work on this project,” explained Mbutsa.

Back in 2010, the band split following long-standing financial disputes among band members and issues of relocation. The break-up saw Thomas Marimbita and Lawrence Karimanzira forming their own separate band.

The band now consists of Silas Makumbe (drums), Oblong Mariseni (keyboards), John Chimbodza, Terrence Makoni  and Petros Ushe (lead guitarist). At the helm of Assegai Crew’s career, the band saw the likes of the late Fortune Muparutsa joining the ensemble.

It remains to be seen if the group can manage to reclaim their past glory and rock the clubs like they used to do in their heydays.

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