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Vincent Gono, Magazine Editor
AT just eighteen years of age, Nicole Chitsvatsva aka Niccoe is in the fast lane to become the next great thing Bulawayo has been looking for as an artiste to reckon with — a musician and a model as well as a major life changer for many.
She is fairly young, artistic, has an ethereal beauty that makes her a round peg into the modelling hole and instinctively philanthropic whose life is a busy one divorced from the popular vuzooms — the partying, dating and abuse of alcohol that have become some teenagers’ way of life in Bulawayo.
Instead her life is one that is punctuated by busy schedules of how she can improve her artistic work as well as further her modelling career.
And perhaps having noted her multiple artistic talents and potential to become Bulawayo’s Mother Theresa, she was approached by St John Ambulance, an organisation she is now working with as a brand ambassador.
She said she was inspired to help change the life of the community she lives in as well as improve her artistic prowess.
Niccoe has already released two albums one of which is getting fair airplay on radio and recently released a seven track conscious reggae album titled Ndaneta which is a mixture of English and Shona songs.
She got the opportunity to sample some of her songs off her new album at a the Everyday Hero Awards organised by St John Ambulance to celebrate their 95th anniversary and people could not help but marvel in excitement as she put together her act.
Niccoe is studying for an ACCA diploma with a local college and is also working on a project which focuses on helping victims of verbal abuse, especially children.
Sunday Leisure (SL) had a one on one interview with Niccoe (NC) who told of how she started her artistic work, her new project and her philanthropic vision. Excerpts of the interview are below.
SL: May you walk us through you artistic work.
NC: I am a musician and a model. I started my music career at the age of 15 in 2012. My first album Topchic, which I collaborated with the Chibhorane hit-maker, Tinashe Maravanyika aka Nashi Mboko, was released in the same year. The album got a good response from the audience though it didn’t take me anywhere musically. I was introduced to the urban grooves and dancehall music which I worked on and recorded a video of our first album with Nashi.
SL: You said you have two albums so far, how was the second one and did it help you get the much needed recognition?
NC: Yes, my second album is called Super Love, which is also a collaboration with Nashi and it was released last year in September. This one did better than the first one as it got airplay on most of the country’s radio stations. Through the two albums I got my name out there and I got to meet many artistes from whom I learnt a thing or two.
SL: Who inspired you to get into the music industry?
NC: I was inspired by my brother who is based in Malawi. He is a DJ there and just loves his music.
SL: You said your new album is conscious reggae with a track or two of jazz. Do you harbour any hope of changing the genre of music?
NC: I think for now I will stick to afro-pop/jazz and conscious reggae. I have already done other genres in my previous productions like hip hop, RnB and dancehall. I did hip hop on Topchic and dancehall on Super Love but I believe this conscious reggae one will open more doors for me because it catches a wider audience. It has no specific target group and I believe it is loaded lyrically.
SL: Where do you see yourself in five years time?
NC: In five years I am certain that I will be doing even better compositions and that my music will be having an international flair competing fairly well with international artistes. I am also hoping to make music videos that can be played in any part of the world. I will not allow geographical boundaries to limit my scope because I believe music, like so many forms of art, knows no boundaries.
SL: Have you been involved in other projects artistically or otherwise and what are the challenges?
NC: I am involved with a well known gospel group called Dumisa but I don’t intend to drop secular music anytime soon. I am glad when I joined the group I never got judged for doing “worldly music” but they gave me their support. I am also doing other things like modelling and my school work as well as my project of helping verbally abused children. I therefore sometimes find it hard to balance my time which results in me taking too much time working and completing an album. And like most up-and-coming artistes I do get financial challenges.
SL: What is your advice to other up-and- coming musicians?
NC: My advice is that they should hold on because the music industry is not just a stroll in the park. There is cut-throat competition therefore striving for quality and originality should be basic. It is definitely not for the faint-hearted but those who are determined to make a mark will push on. Self control and respect for the fans are also part of the
essential ingredients for success because it takes fans to make an artiste.
SL: Can you briefly tell us about your philanthropic work?
NC: Well, I decided to help verbally abused children after realising that much of the efforts are expended on sexual abuse.
Verbal abuse is equally as bad as sexual abuse and I am happy that so far we have assisted a lot of people especially children.
We engage the victim and counsel them and we do not end there. We also engage the guardians to educate them on the dangers of verbally abusing children.
Bongani Ndlovu