adminBongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
VETERAN dub poet Albert Nyathi will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his song Senzeni Na with shows in Harare and Bulawayo. Senzeni Na, a song he composed in 1993 was dedicated to South African freedom fighter Chris Hani following his assassination on April 10, 1993. The celebrations kick off tonight at the Book Cafe in Harare followed by Bulawayo performances at Archers Sports Club and at the Intwasa Arts Festival KoBulawayo on September 26 and 27.
Nyathi said the show in Bulawayo would have performing artistes from Imbongi Arts that would entertain the crowd.
“The shows at the Book Cafe and Archers Sports Club will be three hours long.
“The first show in Bulawayo will be at Archers Sports Club on September 26 and will involve live poetry fused with music and dance.
“Those who will attend will be able to watch the initial video and congratulatory messages from the cast members of the original music video.
“The next performance will be during the Intwasa Arts festival closing ceremony but that one will just be 30 minutes long,” he said.
The Harare-based poet said jazz artiste Prudence Kathomeni-Mbofana who was one of the lead vocalists on the Senzeni Na video will perform with him at the Harare celebrations.
Kathomeni-Mbofana will not attend the Bulawayo events but Jeys Marabini who was one of the backing vocalists on the song will stand in.
Nyathi said he was hard at work rehearsing as he wanted to relive the making of the song which he described as timeless.
“It is a song that united a lot of artistes from different ages and a whole cross section of the arts industry.
“It involved people like Jeys Marabini, Mathew ‘Mateo’ Kaunda, Naomi Makwenda who was the girl who was crying and Prudence Kathomeni-Mbofana who provided the vocals for the chorus,” he said.
He said some of the artistes featured on the video were now scattered around the world. Naomi is studying in the United Kingdom, Mgcinumuzi “Muzi” Mangena of the Tombofara fame is pursuing music in Austria while Mateo is now an evangelist with a church in Harare.
Other artistes who contributed on the song included, the late Douglas Domingo (bass), Thomas Domingo (rhythm), David Domingo (lead guitar), Moses Bhekizulu Kabubi (keyboards) and David Moyo (drums).
Nyathi said he was planning to travel across the country auditioning people in different provinces who wanted to sing Senzeni Na in their local languages.
“My desire is that when we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we go around the country finding the best performing artiste to sing the song in their local languages,” he said.
The poet was motivated to compose Senzeni Na in 1993 after Hani was shot dead while jogging outside his home.
“I wrote that song the day Chris Hani died. Zapu worked with Hani in the early 1960s, and I met him in Zambia at the Zipra camps. When he died, I was deeply moved.
“He had spent over 30 years in exile, and in a matter of months after coming home, he was dead. Senzeni Na was for Chris Hani in particular, and all those who fought for their freedom in general – from Nikita Mangena, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X through to Joshua Nkomo,” he said.
However, Nyathi said he believed Senzeni Na was not one of his best productions as there were other songs on his CD, The very best of Albert Nyathi ,which were not hits compared to Senzeni Na as they were not given the same airplay.
“There are tracks on the album like Iphi Nkosi uMzilikazi, Nozindaba, Siyinqaba Ngenkani and Tribute to Joshua Nkomo which I feel were way better productions than Senzeni Na – a touching song, which was not my best production that became the most popular,” he said.
Online Reporter