Gulf Makina: Mutorashanga’s unsung sungura star Gulf Makina
Gulf Makina

Gulf Makina

Vongai Mbara Arts Reporter
“I was so joyous and surprised to hear my song on radio. I thought I was dreaming, but reality made me realise that I was destined for greatness” This was Mutorashanga-based musician Gulf Makina’s narration when he spoke about how he felt when he first heard his song being played on Radio Zimbabwe.

It was only normal for him to feel that way since it was the first song he had composed when he was doing Form Four at St Francis in Chegutu.

The sungura musician lost his dad at the age of six and at only eleven, he found himself in the school choir and performing traditional dance “I was raised by a single mother and it always motivated me to work extra hard. “I joined the school choir, traditional dance and I was a goalkeeper for the school soccer team. I was quite a popular guy,” said Makina.

Upon completing his O’ Level, Gulf formed a singing group in which he was the lead singer. “I formed a group with my colleagues called Mupfuri Sounds and we recorded our first single titled “Kukura Kwangu” at Gramma records. It automatically received airplay on Radio Zimbabwe,” he said.

Although their first song was successful, the group went their separate ways due to financial problems and Gulf followed his second passion, which is soccer.

From the year 1989 to 1992, Gulf served as a goalkeeper for Muriel Mine team and things took a turn when he joined Paul Matavire as a drummer. “I was so happy to be back in music, my first love, with someone I adored very much. I worked with him for five years and there was no bad blood when I left him in 1997 trying to do my own things,” he said.

That same year he left Matavire, he resorted back to soccer and then formed his band, “Chinyavada Sounds” whilst working as a length attendant at Caesar Mine in Mutorashanga.

In 2001, they recorded a six-track album titled “Nguva Yataitambura” based on his life experience and it managed to get airplay on local radio stations. It took Gulf a long time to record the second album due to financial problems. However in 2007, he emerged with a pronounced album titled “Yakabaka” whose songs are still being played on air.

Songs on the album like “Tomato” and “Yuna” are amongst people’s favourites and have videos being played on ZBCTV. He kept doing shows, but things took a bad turn for the sungura musician when he lost his wife in 2009. “I was low and it really affected me so I did not make music during that time. I then remarried in 2013 and last year I managed to record an album which is not yet released called ‘Ikapera Yabiwa’,” said Gulf.

Gulf has done combined shows with Alick Macheso, the late Tongai Moyo and Madzibaba Nicholas Zakaria. When he is not making music, Gulf plays soccer and he is currently the goalkeeper for artists’ soccer team.

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