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Tafadzwa Zimoyo and Tendai Rupapa

Unheralded Tonga singer Day Tawanda “Bio” Mudimba grabbed a quadruple by claiming the number one spot on four radio stations through his song ‘‘Kujatajata’’ which gained national traction last year.

The musician who is affectionately known by his legion of fans as DT Bio Mudimba, broke tradition and left seasoned musicians trailing a distance behind.

His hit song, ‘‘Kujatajata’’ whose lyrics highlight the effects of abuse of juju in families, proved hard to ignore as it was played all over, in commuter omnibuses, night clubs, pubs and little everywhere else.

In the song, the main character is Skimbo who loses everything he worked for after dabbling in witchcraft and acquiring goblins from traditional healers.

According to DT Bio Mudimba who composed and performed the song, it was inspired by real life situations he witnessed in his family and society where children suffered misfortunes as a result of a parent who used juju to prosper in life.

While not many people knew DT Bio Mudimba most would attest he delivered a scorcher in 2021.

While history seems to repeat itself especially when it comes to staying at the top, it remains to be seen whether or not DT Bio Mudimba will prove his mettle in music.

Lest we forget, only in 2020 we had another hitmaker Mark Ngwazi who topped the charts with “Taurai Madzoka”.

Another surprise came from Nutty O whose debut ‘‘Mustard Seed’’ proved quite popular on the airwaves as well as social media platforms.

The album which carries several hits including “Handipere Power”, “Peter Pan”, “Finesse” and “Safe” among others took Zimbabweans by storm.

Nutty O whose real name is Carrington Chiwadzwa went all out to ensure he delivered one of the rich albums of 2021.

Some fans thought celebrated artistes like Winky D would take the mettle after releasing his song “Happy Again” on December 17, but that was not to be.

Well, back to the charts, Nutty O cruised to pole position on Star FM music charts capping a year that has seen popular faces under the radar.

For television, Roki’s “Patati Patata” also gave him the edge over others through the collaboration that features the talents of Congolese Koffi Olomide and Rayvanny of Tanzania.

The song which broke its own record as the first song to garner a million streams on YouTube thrust him on ZBCTV Music Videos Top 50 charts.

“Patati Patata” which loosely translates to “So far so Good” breathed life into Roki’s fortunes overnight.

Although Roki is one of the talented musicians of his time, he pulled a huge surprise this time around proving that he still got his mojo.

Well done Roki.

Another creative genius who dominated 2021 was gospel musician Everton Mlalazi whose collaboration with Minister Mahendere on “Pfugama Unamate” took the number one spot on Star FM Gospel Greats Charts ahead of firm favourites the likes of Janet Manyowa, Joyful Praise and Minister Mahendere among others.

While the mentioned have done exceptionally well in 2021 there are others who also soldiered on the likes of Freeman, Holy Ten, Feli Nandi, Mbeu, Tamy Moyo, ExQ, Maskiri of Mbinga from Binga fame, Seh Calaz, Herman, Jah Prayzah, Tanga wekwaSando, Selmor Mtukudzi, Comic Pastor, Poptain, Anita Jaxson, Ammara Brown, Baba Harare, Andy Muridzo, Tocky Vibez, Killer T.

These artistes have dropped new albums if not visuals during the year under review and suffice to say, they did not sit on their laurels waiting for handouts.

While it is true that it has not been easy for the creative during 2021 with lockdowns after lockdowns due to Covid-19, they kept the fire burning minus live concerts.

Jah Prayzah took it to social media to announce his success story for 2021 despite taking home the crown on the chart shows.

“For 42 out of 52 weeks in 2021 including the last week of December we have been sitting on first place on the YouTube statistics for the Best Artiste in Zimbabwe. These lists include international artistes whose songs were streamed in Zimbabwe. This feat is only possible when you have the best and loving fan base that is constantly out there pushing the streams and views.

While we still fight this pandemic that has led to most of us losing our loved ones, I still thank God for the opportunity to continue pushing and keeping you happy in these tough times.

May God increase your territories and let’s do it all over again in 2022,” he posted.

However, a few if any, were able to stage live shows but most went into studio to record new music.

Expectations were high of every other artistes to at least release new music especially when you look at the likes of Alick Macheso, Simon Mutambi, Nicholas Zakaria, Romeo Gasa, Peter Moyo, Suluman Chimbetu and Tryson Chimbetu.

It was not just in sungura music where few excelled even in Zim hip hop it was largely Holy Ten, Kikki, ASAPH who recently signed to Universal Records Africa.

One wonders where the Stunners and Mudiwas have gone to.

Music is like a race, once you stop creating there are others ready to overtake and by the time you realise they have so far gone, it will be too late.

This is what perhaps is happening to the likes of Reverend Ivy Kombo-Kasi, Pastor Charles Charamba, Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave, Kuda Mutsvene, Blessing Shumba, Mathias Mhere and others.