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Takudzwa Chihambakwe Leisure Correspondent —
MOST local music promoters rarely invest in gospel music because they find it not as lucrative as other genres.
This year alone, only two international gospel acts performed in the country namely, Sinach and Rebecca Malope, excluding a number of South African acts that graced the Gwanda Gospel Extravaganza, versus an influx of acts from other genres who include the likes of Busiswa, Diamond Platinumz, Chris Martin, AKA, Mafikizolo and Morgan Heritage to name just a few.
Even when you turn to local shows, there has not been much activity from gospel musicians in recent years with the most consistent event being the Zimpraise Live DVD recording and Call To Worship Concert as compared to the secular music scene, which is abuzz with annual events such as the Bob Marley Commemorations, Simon Chimbetu Commemorations, the ever growing Jah Prayzah album launch concerts, Tuku Anniversary gigs, and the recently birthed annual Hip-Hop Festival among many others.
However, in the midst of all these dynamics, there is one man who has vowed to support the genre no matter what for as long as the “Gospel of Christ is taken to all corners of the country” and this is William Mikaye.
The Sunday Mail Leisure had a chat with the humble businessman, vocalist and current Chairperson of the award-winning group, Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Voice of Mbare, to know more about what drives him to support the genre.
Q: Who is William Mikaye
A: William Mikaye is a 50-year-old man who was born in Chegutu to a Christian family. My father was a pastor and because of that we used to travel a lot from one town to the other because he would be regularly transferred from zone to zone.
After finishing my O-Level studies at Mutoroshanga Secondary School, I enrolled at Seke Teacher’s College back in 1980 and I was a teacher for a good nine years.
But, I never really liked it, my father is the one who wanted me to be a teacher because it was a pretty good job back in the day. So in 1989 I quit and I joined a local commercial bank and rose within the ranks till I was at managerial level. By then I was now based in Masvingo and in the year 2000 I left the bank and set up my own business, Rayclash Trading which specialised in furniture.
Business was doing very well till the year 2008 when the economy took a slump and I then decided to move to Harare and that is where I am based to this day with my wife and three children.
Q: When did the music business start and how did you link up with the CCAP team?
A: Well since I was in church from a tender age, which was where the gift was discovered and nurtured. As I grew up in the Lord, I started to teach children at Nyabhira School on the basics of the Christian faith and that is where I met with some of the founders of the group, CCAP.
When they then formed the group and asked me to join I refused because it meant I had to travel every weekend to Harare and I did not fancy that idea at that moment because I was based in Masvingo and I also preferred to visit my parents who were based in Chinhoyi at that time.
It is only when I moved to Harare in 2008 that I then joined the group and we started working together.
Q: What made you start helping the group financially and eventually other artistes?
A: After joining the group, I realised that the fame my friends had was not the reality of the lives they lived. Just like it is today many artistes celebrated out there live some miserable lives because fame does not equate to actual riches.
So after noticing this I decided that from the profits coming from my businesses I would invest in the group and thereby improve the livelihoods of my colleagues. This was when the idea of promoting gospel music in Zimbabwe was born.
So once in a while I would have artistes come and share their ideas with me and with what I had I simply assisted them.
However, let me hasten to say that with all the help I give artistes, I do not expect any returns. My desire is to see my fellow artistes grow and live their dreams.
Over the years we have worked with a number of artistes both established and those still making their first strides and among them are the likes of Mathias Mhere, Sabastain Magacha and Baba Manyeruke.
Q: As you assist these artistes, what are some of the areas that you think they need to improve?
A: The greatest challenge I see with gospel music in Zimbabwe currently is that there are too many young artistes who are singing for audiences that comprise mainly of the youth.
You rarely have old mature people attending gospel shows nowadays as it was back in the days of Baba Charamba, Carol Mujokoro and the Ngaavongwe team.
What this has done is that most of the artistes lack the understanding of what gospel music is all about because they have nobody to mentor them. Majority of them are in it for money because the lives they lead and what they sing are in direct contrast.
They do not understand that this is ministry and not a platform for just creating catchy lines and sweet beats, no. If you look at seniors in the genre today who include the likes of Pastor G and the Charamba’s you can tell that their music had and still has substance and that is what has sustained them to this day.
But having said this, I believe the youngsters have a lot of potential and through proper guidance we can rebuild the gospel music sector.
Q: What are you planning for 2017?
A: We have big plans for 2017 and first on the agenda is to get a new wing, which will operate more like a record label fully functional. This will be spearheaded by renowned award-winning producer, McDonald Chidavayenzi aka McDee.
We also have state-of-the-art public address system, which we have been giving out freely to some gospel artistes to use at their shows. We will continue doing this but we now want to start holding shows in the different cities and towns in the country.
These shows will feature established and little-known artistes, thereby giving the latter more visibility and the former get to buttress their brands as they market themselves to a wider audience.
We also want to host workshops to improve on the areas we touched on earlier. At these platforms we will have the youthful crop interacting with the mature players in the genre.
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