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Writes Marlvin Ngiza
Zimbabwe-based award-winning Afro-Jazz singer, Victor Kunonga, is set to unveil his new seven-track album titled “Induna” on 1 March 2024 (today) at 1830 hrs at Sherwood Golf Club in Harare. The project is a birthday gift and also a reflection of the artiste’s childhood experiences and journey.
Speaking at a press conference held in Harare recently, Kunonga revealed that 2004 marked his first release of polished work. Since then, a lot of improvements happened, giving birth to the well-packaged and outstanding seven-track album.
He said that some of the songs carried by the album were developed years ago, and have been played in different places before but they have evolved, matured, and have been polished to become exceptional and meaningful pieces that can bring indisputable positive impact to the audience.
Kunonga expressed that “Induna” means chief with the storyline being of a young man who grows up having big hopes and dreams about the future to become a chief and an influential leader.
“I can say that a lot happened before and after 2004. I have been exposed to a lot of things including arts and creatives and also designing among others so all these made me acquire some skills and also the exposure and all the time helped me to shape and polish up my art.
“Looking at this forthcoming album, for example, I started working on the song ‘Induna’ more than five years ago. The song is very special to me because as I was developing the idea, my mother would dance to the song. Induna also takes me to my childhood, to the roots, and tries to unpack and present that side of me when I was growing up so you would find out that I sang in Shona and Ndebele,” said Kunonga.
Meanwhile, unpacking more about the new project, Kunonga revealed that he collaborated with Jah Prayzah and other vibrant instrumentalists who gave an extraordinary taste to this new project.
“When we talk about collaborations, people have their expectations and usually they think about prominent artistes but I believe that collaborations go beyond that. Collaborations are about adding value.
“On my upcoming album, you can expect collaborations with Francis Juma on Hushamwari, Jah Prayzah on Vakuru, Joyce Warikandwa, and Mary Anbel on Zuva,” he added
Victor Kunonga was born in Shurugwi but grew up in the rural area of Hwedza. Victor’s family later moved to live in the country’s second-largest city, Bulawayo, and later to the capital city, Harare, where he discovered his musical talent.
The self-taught acoustic guitarist first appeared on the Zimbabwe music scene in 2004 with the launch of his debut album Such Is Life – Ndanyengetedzwa (Persuaded). Since then, Victor’s star has risen and he has firmly established himself as one of the leading Zimbabwean artists.