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Sophie Chese-Msowa Arts Correspondent —
Philanthropist and Afro-jazz musician, Dereck “Green Ambassador” Mpofu is set to release his fourth album which features Pah Chihera and Cynthia Mare next month.

Titled “Godobori”, the album carries 11 tracks that include “Mari”, “Ndinokakama”, “Ngirozi”and “Mweya wechiZimba”. It will be released on February 17. Mare features on the song “Dzoka Kumba”, which was released as a single last year, while Pah Chihera features on “Dzefunde” that was done recently.

In an interview, Mpofu said he has decided to work with Pah Chihera since they are in the same genre.

“Our musical genres of preference match, we are both Afro-centric. Secondly she is unique as an artiste and it would prove to be a great decision to combine our forces and expose each other to new audiences.

“Another thing is we are both of the Mhofu totem and have considered each other relatives that are working together in the same industry. I believe the combination was overdue. So, it had to be done eventually and from what we have done in the studio so far with Mono (Mukundu, music producer) everything looks good,” he said.

He added that he worked with Mare since she is one of the most focused artists in the country. “Cynthia is an award-winning, hardworking and focused artiste with a loyal following. It made sense to engage her for greater mutual exposure,” he added.

He said he has named the album “Godobori” after getting encouragement from one of his clients. “The new album is called ‘Godobori’, meaning expert. It is a nickname a client gave to me in the studio as I was assisting them write songs, play instruments and on vocals. They were surprised at the multi-faceted gifts that I possessed and said ‘uri godobori’ and to me the title represents the years of hard work it took me to get refined enough to get to where I am. I am now ready to unleash my polished self to the world,” he said.