tawandamusarurwa
Dennis Chimanzi
SELMOR MTUKUDZI has released her second album following the death of her father, Dr Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, on January 23, 2019.
The late national hero succumbed to diabetes. Selmor officially unveiled the new offering, simply titled “Selmor 4.0”, in Harare on August 12, 2023. The launch coincided with her 40th birthday celebrations running throughout August.
Prior to this, the singer dropped “Dehwe reNzou” in 2020, which was emotionally charged. But the musician has several other works she has released since embarking on her solo career in 2008, when she dropped her debut album “Shungu”.
“Selmor 4.0” appears to be a continuation of “Dehwe reNzou” — in terms of lyrics. Clearly, the singer still has more to say pertaining to “disturbances” in her life.
The album carries eight tracks, done in contemporary beats, while maintaining the Katetwe touch — the late Tuku’s signature — in some of the compositions.
Tracks on the new project are “Takabva Kare”; “Hosana”; “Ndinotenda”; “Hamunyare”; “Mafungiro”; “Anoti Pwee”, featuring Boss Gus; “Kumatenga”; and “Murume Wangu”.
The songs talk about the musician’s upbringing, as well as her relationship with the late Tuku and his widow Daisy Mtukudzi.
“It was never easy for me growing up. My academic studies suffered because of circumstances that saw me growing away from my biological mother. The album has songs like ‘Hamunyare’ and ‘Kumatenga’ that give an insight into my life. I was academically gifted, but failed to further my studies due to lack of support,” Selmor told The Sunday Mail Society.
The musician hopes to effectively market the new album both within and outside the country.
On August 26, she will be performing in the United Kingdom — alongside Jah Prayzah, Winky D, Saintfloew and Mambo Dhuterere, among other artistes.
After this show, Selmor is expected to perform in Canada on September 1.
“On August 26, I will perform in Leicester City in the UK, and the following week, I will be in Canada. This is a perfect platform to introduce the new album to our fans in the diaspora. However, I will be back home around mid-September for the launch of my documentary,” revealed Selmor.
The documentary, the singer said, contains some sensitive information about her personal life, which has haunted her for decades. She also talks about her relationship with her late father, her love-hate relationship with Daisy and inheritance, among other issues.
“The documentary is more like a visual version of the album ‘Selmor 4.0’ with regard to context and content. I am telling a story which has never been told before while, at the same time, correcting some misconceptions,” she said.
“We are almost done with the documentary and we will announce the actual launch date in due course.”
Selmor’s elder sister, Sandra Mtukudzi, who is now based in the UK, is no longer part of the band, but features in the documentary.
She equally played a part in some of the compositions on the new offering.
“She (Sandra) is doing her thing in the UK, but we are still together in terms of composing songs. We also worked together on the documentary.”
Online Reporter