Jah Love and Benji — The money team

14 May, 2017 - 00:05 0 Views
Jah Love and Benji — The money team

The Sunday Mail

Mtandazo Dube
ONE of the greatest musical transformations of our time is about to take place.

Soul Jah Love, a bad boy Zimbabweans cannot resist, has hired a professional management team whose sole mandate is to turn the chanter’s enchanting lyrics, popular sayings and brand into dollars and cents.

Impossible, one could say. But when the team is led by Benji Nyandoro, the founder of Jive Zimbabwe and the bringer of so much change to the local showbiz industry, anything can happen.

Nyandoro may be a teenager in as far as experience in showbiz is concerned, but in the short time he has been around, he has changed a lot of things, dreaming his way to the top.

Because he works behind the scenes, many would not recognise him on the street but the name of his company, Jive Zimbabwe, has made great inroads.

Both Nyandoro and Jah Love are workaholics, so one can imagine what is cooking in the kitchen right now.

When Soul Jah Love arrived, the “Ndini Uya Uya” singer could have been mistaken for a chancer but several years down the line, he remains one of the most sought-after voices in the country with collaborations that cut across genres.

Riding high with his mega hit “Pamamonya Ipapo”, Soul Jah Love’s latest could prove to be a game changer in local music.

Professional management, regarded by many as having been the missing factor in his music career, could be what the doctor ordered at this stage.

The Sunday Mail Society caught up with Soul Jah Love, who heaped praise on his new manager.

“It has not been long, but in the short space of time we have been together, Benji has already changed a lot in the band. Indeed it is true I have changed management. Benji is now handling my affairs. He is a dedicated and energetic man who has already brought a vast difference in my affairs. I love mangoma (dancehall) and have to keep on producing music that resonates well with the people.

“While I do that, Benji handles everything to do with brand Soul Jah Love, from music to merchandise. The graph is growing and I’m travelling around the country be it for gigs or meetings and Benji is part of this,” said Jah Love, born Soul Musaka.

The singer said more hits were on the way as he spends a great deal of time in the studio ensuring that the next big song comes from him.

Soul Jah Love – also known as Chibaba, Chigunduru and Makuruwani – said Nyandoro had already started repackaging his music. He said all the music he had released as singles was being compiled and would be properly sold as collections. He said 21 of his greatest hits would be on a CD to be launched soon.

Refusing to talk about his new gig as Soul Jah Love’s handler, Nyandoro simply declared the artiste “Zim’s next superstar”.

A civil engineer by training, Nyandoro could not resist the allure showbiz and has worked with many high profile artistes in Zimbabwe.

He is renowned for introducing contemporary practices in the arts industry, hosting websites and social media platforms for Suluman Chimbetu, Jah Prayzah, Peter Moyo and Jean Masters among others.

He led the hosting of the first ever album launch at the Harare International Conference Centre for Jah Prayzah in 2014. Nyandoro also helped Alick Macheso do his first ever formal album launch last year.

In a career spanning over two decades, Macheso had never officially launched an album, let alone hold a Press conference, opting to merely release his work to the public.

Last year, Nyandoro mobilised sponsorship for two cars for fans at Jah Prayzah’s album launch, and recently he signed content partner agreements with all mobile network operators in Zimbabwe.

He has distribution agreements with Zimpapers and Zimpost, which are the largest distribution networks in the country.

His company, Jive Zimbabwe is the pioneer of an online store to settle all payments in Zimbabwe using a local bank.

The combination of Soul Jah Love’s hits and Nyandoro’s big dreams could see Zimbabwe’s own version of the Money Team – welcome to the era Money Jah Love.

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