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father’s legacy alive.
“I still cannot come to terms with the death of Tongai. He was a friend and brother and I saw it fit to honour him with a song. I will continue to assist his son,” he said.
Somandla, popularly known to his fans as Mafia, said he missed the days when he worked with Tongai saying those were the best days of his career.
“We worked together for a long time as one band, and played together from track one to six. There is nowhere I did not go with Tongai. We held shows throughout the country together and that was the most enjoyable time of my career,” said Soma.
“We shared ideas. He would advise me that I was playing a fast beat when a slow beat was required. He told me not to rush to the studio. That is exactly what I am doing right now as I work on his tribute album,” he said.
Somandla features Peter Moyo and Suluman Chimbetu on his 21st album.
On the album, Somandla revived the original Denda Brothers flair that made him a household name back in the day.
Some of the songs that promise to catapult him back to stardom include ‘’Ma Degree’’, ‘’Mutsa’’ and ‘’Simbarashe”.
Speaking at the launch, Deputy Director in the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity Collins Mungate said the album digs deeper into the creativity of Zimbabwean artistes.
“This is a great album and the way it was put together will certainly make people enjoy it.
“There is a lot of creativity and this should be emulated by all artistes and musicians. It is a special production that was done with effort and passion,” said Mungate.
The launch also gave music promoters and record companies an opportunity to sample the songs. It was a celebratory event that saw collaborations by various artistes such as Shiga Shiga, Joe Kasamba and Spencer Khumulani.
In a career that spans more than two decades, Somandla has churned out hits such as ‘’Ngatifare’’, ‘’Marwadzo’’, ‘’Kuvaka Musha’’ and ‘’Mwoyo Wekurera’’ that he did with “Muchina Muhombe”.
Online Reporter