The Sunday Mail
IT has only been a few hours into 2017, what is left of 2016 is just a memory.
Today marks the beginning of a new year.
Many people are still in celebratory mode, thankful that they have made it into 2017 and it cannot be denied that this is indeed a special day for many Zimbabweans — 2016 was a very challenging year.
A new year usually comes with prospects of better fortunes as people make resolutions with high hopes that they will be more successful in their endeavours.
As the world basks in the beauty of a new dawn, it is hard to ignore that there are many personalities in the arts industry who made their mark in 2016. From the musicians who managed to captivate fans to the actors whose prowess in front of the camera gave viewers something to marvel at, the pool of artistes who excelled in their fields last year is vast.
The Sunday Mail Leisure spoke to some of the artistes and arts industry players who set the pace in 2016 to find out what they have to say about their exploits in the year gone by and their prospects for 2017.
Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave (Musician)
In early 2016, this publication had a no holds barred interview with Fungisai, during which she revealed a lot of things, some of which shocked the nation. Other people were quick to judge and ridicule her but she also got a lot of support from others. Fungisai continued on the trajectory she had set herself upon.
Here is what Fungisai has to say about last year and her future plans:
“The year 2016 was a great challenge for me. It started a very sorrowful hopeless year for me with a lot of huddles to leap. I had a daunting God-given assignment to carry out, a dream to fulfil and to believe in myself, and God to hold onto. It is the year I dared to come out of the cocoon, followed my heart and believed in God for a miracle amid a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions.
“What kept me going and hopeful was the simple knowledge that mine is a God-given assignment to impact positively on my society across all demography and not just limited to church surroundings. I have always understood myself to be a gift to the whole nation and that’s why I effortlessly churn out songs that just find a way into people’s hearts across the board.”
The year 2016 is the year Fungisai also won her very first award in the arts industry.
“I am glad I have been faithful to myself and God such that I will not grow old a bitter woman who failed to follow her dream as a result of a certain social construct. The year 2016 was the year I proved all things are possible with God against all odds.
“It is the year God proved to me that no amount of pressure or ridicule can derail one from a God-given destiny. I will always be grateful to God for giving me strength to do all these things and for strategically positioning his people in my favour. It’s the year God changed my story as award nominations materialised.
I have, therefore, won these awards for every fellow female artiste who gave up their dream due to social stigmatisation and ridicule.
“These awards are my faith story and I will stick to it. 2017 could be my year of conclusion. I am hoping to conclude on my international and local tours and perhaps launch my last musical album.
I am hoping to tone down on my music as music was only a conduit to my humanitarian dream, which is to impact positively on the women in my community.
“It’s the year I will assume full responsibility for the Vulnerable Women Development Trust, which I founded. Not that I will cut off music permanently, I will direct most of my efforts towards achieving that dream.”
Jah Prayzah (Musician)
Jah Prayzah has not only managed to maintain his dominance on the local music scene but has also been scaling greater heights and breaking new barriers.
While it has not been all rosy for the artiste whose tiff with his former dancer, Pamela Zulu, popularly known by her stage name Gonyeti, threatened to taint his reputation, he still managed to finish the year on a high.
Said his manager Keen Mushapaidze:
“2016 has been a generally good year for us and although we cannot list all we have achieved we can probably highlight the most notable ones.
We have managed to break onto the international music scene and get noticed by many players in the market and that’s obviously due to the slight twist in some of our songs and also the collaboration with Diamond Platinumz, one of Africa’s biggest artistes.”
He added: “We will continue to work towards providing good music and awards are a result of that push, so we are not really eyeing particular awards but would obviously cherish being recognised by more international award bodies across the world.
“If we happen to come across more people we blend with in terms of music and as long as we can mutually create value for each other, then its definite that we will do more collaborations but obviously not as our main penetration strategy, though it has worked well as one.”
Carl Joshua Ncube (Comedian)
One of the hardest working comedians in the country started off 2016 by spreading his wings across the continent as he made his debut performance in Ivory Coast.
While he also embarked on a national and Asian tour, the biggest highlight last year was his attempt at breaking the world record for staging the most shows in a week.
“I managed to stage the most shows in a space of seven days but we are still waiting for conformation from the Guinness Book of World Records as there are a lot of things they will need to verify first.
“2017 is going to be a nomadic year because I will be on the road for the greater part, I will be touring on every continent around the globe.”
Killer T (Musician)
Killer T has been one of the most consistent artistes in the industry ever since he arrived on the local music scene and last year was no different as he continued releasing hit songs.
We spoke to his manager, Kudzai Biston.
“Our goal has been to maintain the level that we set in the past which is why we released hit songs that include ‘Takangodaro’, ‘Dai Zvaibvira’, ‘Nezvangu’ and also ‘Bvunza Tinzwe’ from the new album.”
While Killer T has been criticised for his poor stage performances, he showed signs of improvement as the year came to a close.
“People have been advising us to improve our stage performances so we looked at previous shows and started correcting our mistakes, which is why you have seen that our act has been getting better and we are going to be perfecting it even more.”
His new album has, however, been met with mixed views with some critics saying he failed to reach the standards set by his previous projects.
“In terms of our new album, I can tell you that it is good and it will make an impact as time goes on because it is only a month old so as people take their time to listen to it, they will realise that it is as good as our previous projects.”
Killer T promises to continue churning out new music throughout 2017 with another album in the pipeline in the not-so-distant future.
Joe Njagu (Filmmaker)
The award winning filmmaker is among the few individuals who have made a significant contribution to the local film scene.
“2016 was a great year not only for me but for the Zimbabwean film industry because after shooting the movie ‘Escape’, it premiered in two full cinema houses at the Zimbabwe International Film Festival, a feat that has never been achieved by any film in the country.”
Njagu is already planning to set this year ablaze with numerous projects that are already in the pipeline.
“We have already secured a distribution and production deal from South Africa. There is also a new sitcom that will be hitting the screens soon, which features Doc Vikela and Nyari Nhongonhema.
“We also have three movies lined up for release and we will also be touring with ‘Escape’ at big film festivals around the world.”
Ammara Brown (Musician)
She has lately been one of the few shining female stars in the music industry, thanks to several hit collaborations. Her performance at the 2015 NYE Johannesburg City Countdown with Steve Dyer and Louis Mhlanga paved the way for one of the most eventful years in her career.
“I spent my entire January in South Africa recording songs for my album as we also released the hit song ‘Mukoko’ which I collaborated with Tytan. I returned to win a ZIMA award for ‘Kure Kure’ (a collaboration with Jah Prayzah) and went back into the studio and added Hugh Masekela to the project which will be titled ‘Ammartia’.”
Although she did not release an album last year and is still to divulge any details about its release, she still managed to hit the headlines and saw her popularity soar. After the release of the video for “Mukoko”, it accumulated over a million views while also topping radio charts.
The artiste also toured the UK, United Arab Emirates, USA and South Africa.
Meanwhile, XQ’s video for “Bhachura” which she featured on has been labelled a smash hit on Trace Africa and has also made it into the channel’s top 10 charts.
Ammara released a single with her sister Chengeto titled “Watchu Want”, which generated its own steam on music charts before the debut of its video also started trending instantly.
The only low that Ammara remembers from last year was “burying my sister Shahla”.
“Everything I have touched in 2016 has turned to gold and I plan to make 2017 a year where everything I touch goes platinum.”
Suluman Chimbetu (Musician)
“The biggest highlight in my life in 2016 was tying the knot with my lovely and beautiful wife. Even right now I cannot describe the feeling but the experience alone has sort of given me strength and a new sense of purpose.”
Last year also saw the dendera crooner expanding his territory by establishing his own studio, Cockpit. Although he dragged the release of a new project as the dates kept on shifting, he still managed to put out a splendid project as the year drew to an end.
“We recently released a new album ‘Jamboree’, so people should be on the lookout for music videos, which we are already working on as we speak. That should set ablaze our 2017. There are many things we will be doing differently, the music industry is changing.”
Eddie Sandifolo (Actor)
He has been in the film industry for a while, capturing the hearts of many with his charisma in front of the camera but he was yet to be rewarded for his efforts.
“One of the greatest moments in my career took place in 2016 when I won an award at the Zimbabwe International Film Festival for best actor, which was the first award I have ever won.”
Last year he starred in several films and TV series, which include “Escape”, “Wenera”, “Champion” and “Conflict”, among many others.
“While I will be looking forward to making more films in 2017, I’m also thinking of doing more directing than being in front of the camera.”
Oskid (Music producer)
He needs no introduction when it comes to producing hit songs and last year he was at it again, putting in work on songs that include Ammara and Chengeto’s “Watchu Want”, XQ’s “Bachura”, Jah Prayzah’s “Mdhara Vachauya”, Freeman’s “Zvakaipa Dai Ndarega”, and Winky D’s recent album “Gafa Futi: Chi Extra-terrestrial”, to mention just a few.
“Most of the songs we produced last year are being played on international TV channels like Trace Africa, which is something to be proud of.
“We are definitely making history and it is all because of the love and support we get from music fans. We are looking forward to a bigger and better 2017, which we will kick off with a riddim called ‘Pull Up’ and ‘Oskid Productions Volume 1’ album compilation will be dropping sometime in April, followed by our first year anniversary.”
Winky D
“We wanted to do some sort of a crossover and I can safely say that we managed to do that in terms of reaffirming what we stand for,” said Jonathan Banda, Winky D’s manager.
For the greater part of last year, Winky D was riding on the success of his 2015 project and the release of a new album, “Gafa Life: Chi Extra-terrestrial” came as a welcome development.
Although the album release was marred by a disagreement between the artiste’s camp and the producer, Oskid, which threatened to derail the project, it still managed to attract massive attention from music fans.
“Compared to our previous project, this album seems to be stronger as it is sitting on the foundation set by the last one.
“You will realise that this album has spread faster in terms of taking off because we are just carrying on from where we left off last time. This album is strong in every aspect, from the wordplay in the lyrics to the exceptional instrumentation accompanying the vocals.”
Banda said people should look forward to music that will be moving in line with whatever will be happening in society at any given time during the year.
Philip Chidavaenzi (Author)
He is one of the best writers in the country at the moment and his consistency is seen in his continual book releases every single year.
“I released two books in 2016, ‘The Gospel of Grace (From the Old to the New Testament)’ and ‘The Latter Rain’, which is my third novel. The feedback I have been getting from readers, especially for the novel, has been inspiring.
“Two more books are coming in 2017, a Christian inspirational text ‘Walking in the Spirit’, which is coming out at the end of January and my forth novel ‘Chasing the Wind’, which comes out towards the end of the year.”
Doc Vikela (Comedian)
“2016 was my worst year ever because I lost my son so even everything that I achieved was overshadowed by that tragedy. Come 2017, I will go all out to make sure that I take my career to the next level.
“I have already confirmed several international shows, including my debut UK tour.”
Kessia (Actor/dancer/musician)
From pursuing her studies to pulling off unbelievable antics for television lovers, Kessia has been super active this past year.
“I landed a role in ‘Muchaneta’, a ZTV sitcom as one of the lead actors and this has significantly boosted my career as it has become one of the most popular dramas on ZTV.
Besides acting, I also had the opportunity to be a presenter for a musical programme called ‘Tshayingoma’.”
She is planning to launch the “Learn to say No” campaign concurrently with the release of her single, which also goes by the same title.
“I want young girls to learn to say no to temptation that comes from selfish men in our arts industry as people also need to realise that doing art is a job. I will be doing a lot of charity work for this whole year and intend to give as much as possible whenever I can.”
Alson Darikayi (MTZ spokesperson)
After delivering a splendid Miss Tourism Zimbabwe (MTZ) finale at the HICC this year, organisers of the pageant are confident 2017 will be an even better edition.
The event, which was duly recognised this year as a pageant of the year, is expected to be held in the early months of 2017 to enable the queen and her other two princesses to have enough time to practise for international competitions that are held throughout the year.
“2017 will be bigger and better. Yes, we made some mistakes in our inaugural edition and it’s those that we are going to address so that we come up with a perfect event.
“Perhaps I should also take this opportunity to tell Zimbabweans that BigTime Strategic Group led by Justice Maphosa will still be our anchor sponsor in the coming year,” said Darikayi.
Plot Mhako (Projects director, Jibilika)
“Twenty sixteen was the most fruitful and active year for Jibilika since inception, we defied the economic challenges.
‘‘We held a very successful ninth edition of our festival in Mutare, toured all corners of the country, conducted Step Up 2 HIV awareness campaigns in schools and communities.
“We finally established a dance academy in Harare, hosted workshops with several visiting international choreographers and taught dance to in-and-out-of-school youths in several communities.
This year is our 10th anniversary and our plan is to consolidate our achievements and celebrate them.
We shall host a Jibilika Dance Festival that will take stock, showcase the best of all talent we have exposed and nurtured over the years.
We also have several regional and international tours lined up.
