Masiwa striving to be his own icon

Lawrence Mangenje–Arts Correspondent 

When a video of upcoming Afro-Jazz musician Strive Masiwa circulated on social media recently, music fans confused his name with that of billionaire and philanthropist Strive Masiyiwa. 

Many assumed the 21-year-old was using the name of the Econet Wireless founder as his stage name. 

But the Dzivaresekwa-bred lyricist chose to be unique, and believes using his birthday name is first step to being different. 

The soft-spoken youngster is the young brother of award-winning music producer Shelton ‘Sunshine’ Masiwa, but insists he doesn’t want to be referred by association. 

“When I decided to pursue music, I  used to nag my brother. I would continuously ask him to help me, the way he did to renowned artists like Freeman,” recalls Masiwa. 

“He would always tell me that I needed to grow and be my own man. Now I understand him better, because sometimes you have to walk your own journey so that you get to value every step you make, as well as take pain and challenges that are part of it. 

“I’m not under any pressure to emulate the success my brother has enjoyed in music, he has his own passion, which is to produce music and I have mine, which is to sing and create my own art.”

The lanky youngster, who is ridding high with singles such has ‘Kumusoro’ and ‘Ndoita sei?’, says he draws inspiration from the late Sam Mtukudzi. 

“I have a friend who always asked me about Sam Mtukudzi, so I started listening to him. By that time I had already started learning how to play an acoustic guitar and I can safely say I was inspired by Sam’s music,” said Masiwa. 

Masiwa, who is working on a collaboration with Tocky Vibes called ‘Mukana’ which is set to be released in September, believes he can inspire children who grew up orphaned like him, to pursue their dreams in life. 

“I want to inspire and motivate kids who had the same experiences of life like I had growing up,” he declared. “I grew up as an orphan raised by my grandparents, so anything outside academics, they were not in support, as is the case in most families. 

“So, you can imagine that under such circumstances, having to convince them to buy an instrument like a guitar, was not easy, so I would have to find my ways to get it on my own. I want to inspire, motivate youngsters to pursue their dreams, even if they will face societal pressure.”