Andy Muridzoa��s Ndebele roots

When he is on stage, with mbira or mic in hand, contemporary musician Andy Muridzo seems to be the perfect ambassador for Shona culture in times when many are bemoaning the erosion of traditional Zimbabwean customs.

Very few artistes seem to be in touch with their roots as they play to largely urban audiences as he does. Unknown to his growing legion of fans however, Muridzo has Ndebele roots, having been born and spent his early days in the City of Kings.

a�?I was born Kudzai Andrew Ngwenya in Bulawayo but I was raised in a Shona community. My father is Ndebele, this means that Ia��m half Ndebele and half Shona. This is why I call myself a Shobele,a�? said Muridzo jokingly during an interview on the Hot Box.

He said that although he could speak Ndebele, he was losing touch with his fathera��s language because of time spent in the northern parts of the country.

a�?I can speak Ndebele but Ia��m now losing my grip on the language because I have stayed with Shona people for so long,a�? he said.

Bred in the City of Kings, Muridzo went on to narrate how he started his music career as a child, before his talent fully sprouted at Musanhi Secondary School,A� in Uzumba.

a�?When I was a child I knew that I could understand a lot of music related things. But the only time that I started to realise that I can do music seriously was when I was in Form Three when I sang in front of the school assembly.

From then on I went on to the church choir where I also became the choir leader,a�? he said.

Muridzo went on to tell of how he and the man that he has been often accused of imitating, Jah Prayzah, also had deep family ties.

a�?His mother and my grandmother were related from their own rural backgrounds. He always said that he wanted someone young from our area that he could uplift but right about the same time he said that he went away so I thought that he had forgotten about me,a�? he said.