Arts views with Thabani H Moyo
THE names Kudakay real name Kudakwashe Kagudu and Zie the Artist real name Zibusiso Tshuma did not ring any bells to many until on Sunday evening when the duo became the first runners up in the National Chimurenga Music competition powered by Power FM.
For their effort the duo got themselves a car, US$1000 and an opportunity to make a video for their song. But who are these two youngsters? The Zambezi Times got in touch with the two artists in an effort to get their story.
The two youngsters share some similarities as both of them are young music producers and Hip-hop artists. Kudakay, who is 21 years old, is also into RnB and Soul. Zie the Artist who is 22 years old is also a song writer and a painter.
The two are in that age group where one has to be finding their feet and a solid ground for building their careers and the duo seems to have hit the right cord and are set for greater heights. Kudakay started his music career in 2016 and in 2019 went into music production. Zie the Artist came into contact with music at an early age, he played the piano at the age of nine at Church.
It was Kudakay who got the information about the National Chimurenga Music Competition and shared it with his partner. The two who have the habit of expressing their creativity in Hip-hop inspired by other genres saw this as an opportunity to test the waters.
“The competition is based on an element of remixing the Chimurenga songs and for them. It was just what we were looking for to express our craft and creativity,” Zie said.
It was not an easy task to accomplish as the duo got into research and went through a number of Chimurenga songs to get the one that connected with them both. They were looking at something that they would play around with and be able to make their own narrative lyrics with losing the original touch. They had to fuss their own Hip-hop vibe so that it resonated with their target audience, the youth.
The duo settled for a Chimurenga song Zimbabwe yakauya nehondo by Chitungwiza mbira unit. They revamped it and made it their own. The objective was never to win but to make music.
“It was another challenge and winning was not the objective,” says the elated Zie.
The competition saw close to a thousand songs submitted. It must not have been an easy task for the judges. And for their product to make it to the top three of the competition.
“We feel honoured considering the number of entries. And we congratulate everyone who took an aim at the competition.”
For the duo this is the first step of a thousand miles into their musical journey. It is a moment that has energised them. It is a moment that has taught them that every opportunity is worth trying, just do it as long as you like it and have a passion for it.
“It is just the beginning and we are planning to make more music. We will use this recognition to grow our music careers,” Zie said.
