Local artiste nominated for SA award

AFTER rebranding to Mr Nambini from Eithan Tunez, local house artiste, Kelvin Nzima has been nominated for the Mzansi Arts and Media Awards (Mama).

The Mama is an annual awards ceremony that recognises artistes and media professionals in fields such as music, film, television, radio and sports.

They seek to identify and honour great talent, originality, and innovation in South Africa’s arts and media industries.

Nominated under the Best Upcoming Artiste category, Mr Nambini’s song Amagama which was released in February is proving to be a hit in the neighbouring country.

He told Chronicle Showbiz why he rebranded and how that has helped him elevate his game.

“I rebranded my stage name to Mr Nambini so I could push my house and Afro-beat sound since it’s one of the sounds dominating out here. This has helped my visibility within the music sector since a lot of people have buy-in when it comes to house music this side,” he said.

Commenting on the Mama nomination, Mr Nambini said: “This nomination means a lot to me as a brand. It means that my hard work is being recognised, not only in Zimbabwe but across the borders as well.

“This is the second nomination in South Africa and this time, I have a feeling I’m bringing it home.”

Mr Nambini is the creator of Flickpad Channel, a platform through which many artistes from Bulawayo have been promoted on social media platforms.

The talk show host, movie script writer, clothing company entrepreneur and actor began his career as a rapper, first as a member of the hip-hop duo “Young Zee” before going solo.

He launched his debut album Back To Hip-Hop as a solo artiste under the management of Petros Khoza, the founder of Daveyton TV.

His second studio album, released while he was still going by the name Eithan Tunez following the 2019 release of an EP, Nambini Volume One (pronounced “Nyimbo Za Ku Afrika”). Union Records, an Italian record label, distributed it.

The Nkayi-born artiste has worked with X-Mile, Novuyo Seagirl, Qeqeshiwe Mntambo, HiRev Rockstar, Dweezy Bwoi Wonder, Msiz’kay, Mac Fela, and 8nine Muzique. – @MbuleloMpofu