Local actress and singer Maduvha Madima will be releasing a song on the 23 January 2020 to give tribute to the late Zimbabwean musician Dr Oliver Mtukudzi and the late singer and composer Hugh Masekela. The 23rd marks a year and two years, respectively, since they passed.
Speaking to Move! Maduvha says she is obsessed with legends and believes mentorship is important in the industry, for her this is in loving memory of the two legends.
“For you to know where you are going, you need to know where you are coming from,” she says.
With similarities between Tshivenda and Shona languages, the actress pursued the late Oliver and had a conversation about it.
They both wanted to explore the two languages through songs. “That’s what inspired me to work with him. And where I come from, if you can mention 10 influential artists around the Limpopo area, Oliver Mtukudzi is definitely dominant.”
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Maduvha says she brought him on board and started working on songs in 2016, they did two tracks together but never got an opportunity to release the songs. Last year when she was ready to do a follow up song with him, he passed on. For her, it became personal because their relationship wasn’t just about music. “I became the daughter; I know the family like I am a daughter. I wasn’t ready to release and thought let me mourn and release it later, in loving memory of his legacy.”
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The song is called Nyarara which means do not cry.
“When you listen to the song it says wipe your tears, no more crying. Where he comes in, he is comforting me to say my daughter do not cry do not weep,” she says. The concept behind the music video comes from people living artificial lives. “It is scary and unhealthy and as a result we are losing a lot of people in our industry. So, I am saying can we deal with matters, whatever it is.”
