The Sunday Mail
Prince Mushawevato
SUNGURA king Alick Macheso is for the first time, in over a decade, set to produce a video album.
The musician is selecting songs from his last two studio projects — “Dzinosvitsa Kure” (2018) and “Tsoka Dzerwendo” (2016).
Macheso’s last video production was for his seventh studio album “Ndezvashe-h” in 2007.
Since then, the musician has not released any video for his numerous chart topping songs.
However, Macheso, better known as Baba Sharo, says the long hiatus is over.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Mail Society on the sidelines of his well-attended Club Las Vegas gig, Macheso said the eight track video album will be released before the end of the year.
“Dzinosvitsa Kure” and “Tsoka Dzerwendo” breathed life into Macheso’s career, which seemed to have taken a knock following an unfavourable response to his ninth album — “Kwatakabva Mitunhu” (2012).
“Nguva yareba tisati takanda zvinofadza maziso nenzeve dzevatsigiri vedu vari kudzimba kana muma hofisi avo (It’s been long since we last released videos that delight our fans in the comfort of their homes or offices),” reckoned Baba Sharo.
During live gigs and through various social media platforms, his fans are making requests for the songs they want to be included on the project.
Said Baba Sharo: “We have started working on the new videos. We selected three songs from “Dzinosvitsa Kure”, then another two or three tracks from “Tsoka Dzerwendo”. Fans will choose two songs from as far back as “Magariro” (1998).”
Over the years, music pirates have cashed in on Macheso’s reluctance to produce videos.
A number of pirated DVDs, with an assortment of titles, are available for sale on street corners.
Other pirates also make and upload the musician’s unofficial music videos on YouTube.
The sungura exponent acknowledges that he is partly to blame for the predicament.
Macheso is probably the only high ranking artiste in the country who does not frequently produce videos. In fact, for reasons better known to him, Macheso does not seem to have an appetite for motion pictures.
“This is an area that we have neglected for a long time. Some people end up trying to fill the gap, sadly with half-baked products. We are going to try and make sure that we rise to the occasion in video production,” pledged Baba Sharo.
According to the musician, the music videos project will incorporate scenes from live shows and various other video shoots.
“I’m trying to create a unique product, one that my fans can easily relate to. It will be a video album that tells our Mberikwazvo story. This is why we are going to blend various footages to come up with one solid package,” said the musician.
Baba Shero is among the country’s top musicians that are not dropping new albums this year. He reckons “Dzinosvitsa Kure” is still doing well on the market. Tracks like “Chikuru Kurarama”, “Ndakakutadzirei” and “Kudzwai” are still top on rotation.
Last year, the “Mundikumbuke” hitmaker promised never to starve his fans of new material. Macheso had been taking periods ranging between two to four years to come up with new stuff.
However, he believes that this year’s video album will keep his fans entertained.
“I am not releasing a new album this year. According to the feedback we are getting from our fans, “Dzinosvitsa Kure” is still doing well. However, we promised our fans that we will drop new products every now and then to keep them entertained. This year we have placed our focus on the music videos,” said Baba Shero.
