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Janet Manyowa

Leroy Dzenga Arts Correspondent—

Janet Manyowa (31), is arguably the best female gospel in Zimbabwe at the moment, a lone star carrying the feminine torch against renowned male acts. She is competing up there against gospel artistes like Reverend Chivariro and Matthias Mhere among other male artistes dominating the local scene.Her recent multiple nominations at the Permican Awards took them to more than 20, an impressive figure for an artiste who has been professionally making music for two years.

Despite the progress she has made, Manyowa’s journey has been a turbulent one with a fair share of highs and lows.

In an interview recently, Manyowa opened up on her recent success and her thoughts on the recognition she has been receiving.

“It surely is the grace of God, we must be doing something to get all these nominations.”

Besides the accolades, she said, the testimonies people have been giving her serve as assurance that the music is serving its purpose.

“Since I began releasing music I have been meeting people who

tell me that my music helped them go through situations they were facing in life, that is enough reason for me to keep making music,” Manyowa said.

The success of an album she released last year has motivated her to begin working on her sophomore project which she says will be released early 2017.

“We have completed the planning part of what the project is going to sound like and what is left is the execution process which we are going to do, one calculated step after another,” she said.

Manyowa said she will not be enlisting any artistes for collaboration as she intends to galvanise her sound on the local scene.

“On this upcoming project I am not planning on having collaborations at all, my efforts are on consolidating the Janet Manyowa sound so that those who like the music can identify with the sound,” she said on roping other acts to her project.

Manyowa said she has shelved plans of hosting her own concerts as commissioned performances have taken up much of her schedule.

She has proven to be a favourite with local gospel listeners with her song Kune Muponesi which she did with Minister Michael Mahendere, being the flagship of her rich discography.