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Jah Prayzah

Problem Masau Arts Correspondent
Jah Prayzah’s latest DVD “Tsviriyo” shows how the singer has transformed over the years. Unlike other musicians who just look for beautiful scenes when shooting videos, Jah Prayzah (pictured) took his time to find the appropriate places that blend with his message.The singer decided to shoot the video of “Tsviriyo” in Mbare primarily because he sings about the high-density suburbs.
For the song “Machembere” he went to his rural home in Uzumba because he wanted a traditional flair.

“I was following the script that I wrote,” he said.
This shows how Jah Prayzah was determined to produce a quality product as most of his counterparts just shoot videos without the script.

In most cases, videos are used to complement the message on the songs and Jah Prayzah did just that.
In the song “Ngoda”, that talks of a down- town boy who is head over heels in love with of an uptown girl, the “Sungano” hitmaker depicts himself as a gardener in Westgate who falls for a beautiful girl who is in a different league.

It is, however, the inclusion of humour in most of the videos that gives it the edge. The hand of renowned comedian Mabla 10 is evident in most of the songs.

The humour in the videos clearly leaves many people in stitches although critics may beg to differ.
On the thought- provoking video of “Tsamba”, Jah Prayzah becomes serious, painting a picture of a neglected soul.

The song is about a mother in the Diaspora who neglects her children. The video was shot in what appeared like a desert. The quality of the videos shows the musician invested a lot to come up with a masterpiece and that is hardly surprising since he used HD cameras.

The video for the song “Mwanasikana” was shot in Chihota, “Yambuka Rukova”, on which he features Progress Chipfumo, was shot at Ngungunyani Farm while “Tsamba” was shot in Marondera.

In the video, Jah Prayzah and his Third Generation Band are clad in attire which  blends with the theme of the song.
“I was going according to the script that is why I was wearing animal skins (nhembe) on the song ‘Machembere’. The song has a traditional theme so I had to go into caves,” he said.

The level of creativity was so amazing that on the song “Mwanasikana”, Jah Prayzah turned the hands of time to the 1970s where the afro hairstyles and the bell bottoms were the in-thing.

“I am grateful to all the artistes I sing about on ‘Tsviriyo’. They supported me and I would like to thank them for that,” he said.
Musicians like superstar Oliver Mtukudzi, Alick Macheso, Suluman Chimbetu, Pastor Charles Charamba, Winky D, Peter Moyo, and Kapfupi are all featured in the video which was shot in Mbare among other sites.

“When I shot the video of the song ‘Maria’, I did not have the resources, but in this project I could foot my own expenses. I hope my fans are going to enjoy it,” he said.

His video for the song “Maria” was voted the best on ZBCTV’s “Shutdown Chart Show”.
“Tsviriyo” the song that has been a hit at live shows, is about joy, happiness and love just like the songs “Gochi Gochi”, “Sori Mama” and “Sungano”.

Jah Prayzah has proved to be one of the hottest artistes in recent times with four albums under his belt.
His third album, “Ngwarira Kuparara”, catapulted him to stardom and won him awards.

“Chirangano Cherudo” was voted the most popular song while the party anthem “Gochi Gochi” came second on Radio Zimbabwe Top 50, 2012 competition.