Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
She has performed for chairs, been ogled at by indifferent crowds and gotten the lifetime opportunity to perform at the Commonwealth Games.
This is the story of Zimbabwe hip hop artiste, Awakhiweumuzi Wako Sibanda, popularly known as Awa Khiwe who hails from Dolahali, Dakamela KoMlisana in Nkayi.
About two weeks ago, Awa tore up the internet and continues to do so after a clip of her teasing her upcoming song had the Twitter sphere in flames. The one-minute clip has recorded thousands of likes and retweets, with views hurtling towards 250 000, something unprecedented for someone who once performed for rows of chairs.
A Hlangabeza High School pupil who describes herself as a village girl who decided to go for it, Awa’s music journey began at the age of 11 when she performed a song by Purity at Miss Nkayi. Her brother Spencer Ndlovu was very influential in her decision to take up hip hop as he had audio cassettes of South African musician Zola including his popular Mdlwembe album. This type of music rubbed off her.
One day, her other brother, Terrence heard her rap over beats and seeing her prowess with the pen, he promised to take her to a recording studio in Makokoba, Bulawayo, that was owned by his friend Kenneth Chikoza.
In 2012 when she was 21 years old, she decided to pursue what she described as her calling by relocating to Bulawayo. She had plans to chase her music dream and envisioned getting good remuneration and fame in return.
Her brother Terrence managed to link her up with Chikoza and that is where she recorded her first song, Ngoneni Na?
Platforms such as Bigger than Hip Hop run by veteran DJ Mark Vusani which were meant to give up-and-coming artistes like Awa a platform to showcase their untapped talents, were the only solace for the Nkayi girl. Through this platform, she had a place to express herself fully. This is where she was in her element as those who attended appreciated her talent. Other than this platform, she was doomed as she struggled to make it big in Zimbabwe as she performed for small crowds if she was lucky.
In 2015, things started looking up for her as the proverbial greener pastures began after a chance meeting with one Ruth Daniel who was on a quest to promote talent, got the ball rolling.
“Ruth Daniel saw me when I was performing at Bigger than Hip Hop which used to take place at Cape to Cairo. Crazy enough, I had no money that day. I just went there with the little I had and performed. I took it as an opportunity to market myself. And true to my word, on that day, there was someone who was actually watching.
“When Ruth Daniel saw me performing my song Ngoneni Na?, she was blown away. After my performance, she approached me and told me how talented I was before telling me of a Makokoba project (where Ruth Daniel was working with up-and-coming artistes from Makokoba in order to promote their talent) she wanted me to be part of. I told her that I actually worked at a studio in Makokoba and she was impressed,” Awa recounted.
She said she agreed and got involved in the Makokoba project which had the likes of Psycho Tech, Street Killers and Spinkx. That very same year, through this project and Daniel’s contacts, Awa was invited to perform at the biggest spoken word fete, Shoko Festival in Harare.
“I went to Shoko Festival through Ruth Daniel’s Makokoba project. There, I met guys from Outree Records, a record label in Germany and we exchanged digits,” said Awa.
At Shoko Festival, Awa was an opening act for top South African hip hop artiste, Cassper Nyovest. This was her first time to perform for a huge crowd. Unfortunately, most had no idea who she was so when she performed, they just stared at her while a few sang along.
A year later, Awa, while back in Nkayi, received a phone call that changed her life.
“I headed home and when I was from collecting water esbhoraneni (hand powered borehole), I got a phone call. I was with my friends and because the call had a weird number, I stopped them saying I wanted to answer the call. We put down our containers and when my friends saw the unusual lengthy number, they suggested that I ignore the call as it could be from Satanists. I laughed and answered.
“The call was from George Mills (from Outree Records) who said he remembered me from the Makokoba project. He invited me to Germany and said they wanted to sign me and would facilitate my visa and travel arrangements. I was confused and speechless,” said Awa.
All went as planned and in no time, Awa was in Germany, a country she still resides in. During her early years there, she had another chance to perform with Cassper Nyovest at an Urban Africa Concert that featured Luveve boy, Cal Vin.
Still in touch with Ruth Daniel, Awa was then invited by her to the UK in 2016 to be part of a project called Voices of the Revolution that put together, 20 female artistes from different nationalities.
This gave birth to a group, GRRRL which Awa is part of. With this group, Awa toured Europe and got a slot in 2018 to perform during the Commonwealth Games in Australia where they dazzled thousands during the closing ceremony. No empty chairs, no one ogling at her with indifference, it was just people appreciating her music and art form, while being entertained.
The following year, Awa, with things looking up, met up with DJ Tira in Germany while Malume was on tour there. The two got into studio and hammered out a Gqom track with the clip being shared on social media. People loved what they were cooking, but unfortunately, up to now, the song has not been released.
That clip however, showed how diverse Awa was as it showed that she was not confined to hip hop. This week, she cemented her diversity by working on an Amapiano track.
Looking back, Awa said she once thought she was in the wrong field and had made a grave mistake by opting for music as people did not support her locally.
“There were many times that I felt as if I was doing the wrong thing because of the attitude of people towards local artistes. People will make you feel as if you aren’t normal. They look down on them (artistes) using words like okungama local artiste, the main act will come later. That’s hurtful and it breaks your self-esteem.
“Before, my self-esteem was fragile, but with time as I’ve become older, I’ve gotten wiser and stronger. My passion for music taught me to outgrow such negativity, to be persistent and patient, focus on me and my journey. What people say doesn’t matter.
“After four years trying to push music in Bulawayo, I got to perform at Shoko and that’s when things started changing and doors started opening. Since then, I’ve always believed that nothing is impossible as long as you keep pushing and just do you,” said Awa.
Now that she has somewhat gained popularity locally through her recent video clip, she said she will milk the moment for what it’s worth, urging people to expect a lot of new things from her this year.
Online Reporter