The Sunday Mail
The prophecy of good fortunes for Leonard Zhakata by prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa is yet to come to fruition, and Karikoga’s band members are getting disillusioned.
The founder of Zora music, whose touch remains a notch above most, is struggling to regain his 90s stature when he was a household name producing hit after hit and attracting thousands of fans whenever he played.
The ever-dwindling crowds last year saw some band members deserting the Zora exponent to form their own outfit called ‘‘Vagoni Vebasa’’.
Reasons for the departure, the band members said then, were not limited to the ever-shrinking following but were also attributable to Karikoga Zhakata devoting much of his time to Prophet Makandiwa’s church.
They said the veteran musician was cancelling shows that clashed with church activities.
And barely a year after that exodus, a similar threat is brewing.
Speaking on condition of anonymity on the sidelines of a show held recently in Harare, one Zimbabwe All-Stars band member said they were displeased with the show turnouts and the low number of gigs they were staging.
Performances at church, he said, brought little to no direct financial benefits to them.
He said they hoped the prophecy of success for the band fostered by the blossoming union between their front-man and United Family International Church founder Prophet Makandiwa would come to pass sooner rather than later. That prophecy was made in November 2014.
“We were promised that our association with UFIC would result in increased crowds for our show, but that is still to happen. The situation is better today because most of the people that have attended this show have been drawn by the ongoing World Cup,” said the band member.
Conversely, Zhakata contends airplay has improved recently and nothing has changed in his approach to the business. The Zimbabwe All Stars leader said though they no longer attract huge crowds due to reasons beyond their control, their music remained popular among Zora fans.
“We have never had shows on Sundays. The day is generally low on business for the showbiz industry, most people will be at church. It’s a norm that we only do shows two times a week,” explained Zhakata.
“It should also be noted that turnout for gigs also depends on the weather of the day and counter-attractions like football. Generally the trend has changed in the showbiz industry. People no longer want to spend the whole night at a show; some come in early but just for a few hours, while others join in later in the night.”
The Zora maestro said he was, indeed, an active UFIC member, but this did not in any way affect his business. The musician sometimes takes to the stage to provide entertainment on special occasions like the recently held second edition of Judgement Night.
His latest offering, “Zvangu Zvaita”, deliberately caters for both Christians and non-believers and was extensively marketed and distributed through UFIC. With the congregation’s huge membership, many expected Zhakata to counter piracy and break album sales records, or better still have at least one or two sold-out shows every week.
Many also thought that the Zora musician stood to benefit by holding family shows on Sundays.
“It’s not like I perform often in church, I do so on special occasions. However, you should note that I am currently working on two types of projects. One is for the church which I will release without my name on it while the other one for non-believers will carry my name as usual,” he said.
Given the quality and depth of Zhakata’s music, coupled with his experience as a musician, one would have expected the soft-spoken Zimbabwe All Stars frontman to have smoothly moved in to close the gap that was left by the late Tongai Moyo. Furthermore he should have been able to capitalise on the current quandary sungura virtuoso Alick Macheso finds himself in and go on to reclaim the top stop.
He has been there before and that should not be a problem. Should it?
But apart from his claims of having been a victim of media conspiracy, the Zora maestro also argues that the modern music industry no longer recognises people for their talents.
At one point the musician spent virtually three years in a row at the top of local music charts with hit songs “Mugove”, “Nzombe Huru” and “Maruva Enyika”.
“Back in the days music sales were determined by the quality of your music but the environment has changed. Music followers no longer look at the product, they are interested in those people that are always making headlines in the media,” noted Zhakata. Meanwhile, Zhakata says he is working on a “Zvangu Zvaita” video album, which he hopes will be ready by the end of August.
Born in 1968, Zhakata is a fine songwriter and has enjoyed relative success since coming onto the scene with his late uncle, Thomas Makion, in the ’90s.
