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Entertainment Reporter
Gospel musician Ephraim Patai of the Voice of Prophecy has delivered his Christmas message to fans saying Christmas is a time to love and share with one another. Patai also known as Baba Patai also called on families to unite and celebrate the life that came with the birth of Jesus Christ. “Fellow Christians I wish to congratulate you in the name of our Lord Jesus for the gift of life. May the good Lord bless you all as we celebrate yet another Christmas. Let it be a celebration of life, happiness, achievement not death, sorrow or hunger.

“God bless those who love to give and this festive season may those with enough share with those who don’t have. Give love and be merry this Christmas which is a time to unite families and friends,.

“I wish to thank my fans for the support and hope that God will continue to bless them in the coming year. This is a time to celebrate and be there for one another,” Baba Patai said.

He, however, said he was hopeful that his comeback album will be out early next year after he pushed forward the release date to January.

This, he said, was meant to give ample time for the mastering of the album and to put in place logistics for the launch.

“The album is work in progress and we are not in a rush to put it out there. Firstly, we want to allow for enough time to master the album and then ensure that all the logistics are in place with regards to marketing and distribution of the album.

“We have read cases of artistes who have released ghost albums and this is the sort of thing that we are trying to avoid. The new album is now due for release at the end of the year instead of the beginning of the last quarter,” Patai said.

Patai who sings together with his wife Respina said the couple was working on a fresh sound that should excite their fans.

It has been nine years since Baba Patai released an album, but he remains confident that he still has what it takes to make it in the industry considering that he has been in touch with trends from other countries.

He left Zimbabwe in 2005 and settled in Namibia where he says his music is popular in the Caprive region from where he operates. Now a devout member of the UFIC, Baba Patai hails from Gweru and he studied theology at Mt Hermon. The Voice of Prophecy burst onto the music scene with the release of their debut “Ane Nzeve Ngaanzwe” which was followed up by “Shoko Seshoko.”

These did not do well on the market owing to lack of promotion. But he was not deterred. His fortunes changed as he learnt the ropes and dynamics of the industry.

He, like the proverbial phoenix, rose from obscurity to a top selling gospel artiste, spurred of course by his wife who has been providing the vocals on popular songs such as “Mazambara”.

He caused quite a stir on the music scene with the release of his third album “Rumbidzwai” in 2005, from which he picked the title track for the video. So superb was the choreography that for some time it was a regular feature on national television.

The duo was credited for raising the profile of gospel music, hitherto regarded as a solemn genre, to one of the popular forms of entertainment and spiritual healing.

Added to this, the group pioneered the “Butterfly effect” dance that many tried to imitate but failed to match the master who at his zenith had his songs considered for awards in the most popular song and best video of the year categories.