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Taonga K. Mafundikwa

Arts Correspondent

“Mazvita”, simply means “Thank You” in English and this is a song you can tell Draze sang directly from his heart.

Barely a week after the single was released, it caused a stir on social media, with most fans applauding the Seattle, United States-based rapper for fusing the two genres – marimba and hip hop.

In an interview with The Herald Arts, Draze, real name Dumisani Maraire, who was excited about this achievement, said he involved the whole family to come up with the masterpiece.

“From the fusion of marimbas with the 808 drums to having my mother and sister sing on it, “Mazvita” is a beautiful and important record,” he said. “I can’t wait for the world to hear it.”

The song, according to him, bridges cultures.

“It is a song that moves you from one continent, the Americas to the other, Africa, and I managed to do it flawlessly,” he said.

“I did not suffer a culture shock as I was flowing effortlessly throughout the song. It is a song I dedicate to my family – mum, dad, grandparents and all the communities that have raised me from both the Americas and Africa.”

Due credit is given to his parents and he has coined his type of music, ancestral arts, where he plays marimba on the song.

He played marimba on this particular track to honour his late great father, who was a marimba lecturer at the University of Washington.

The single which was dropped on Friday to some solid global endorsement was also accompanied by a video in which the artiste effortlessly takes listeners on a great music journey that cuts across continents.

According to Draze, Mazvita is a pure way of teasing the African American community for his upcoming album, which drops soon.

It is his hope to inspire people of the world to live as one.

His ability to marry two different styles – hip hop and afro-beats – has seen the artiste creating a sound that he can authoritatively call his own.

It is this strength that has seen him bagging an Emmy award and judging by his latest offering it won’t be surprising to see him bag more awards.

Draze said he was impressed by the airplay and buzz that Mazvita had received on a global scale and hopes the rest of the album will be well received when it is finally dropped.

He said he was an artiste going places with his music and not even the sky was the limit for his super talent, considering he comes from a rich musical family.

Renowned Australian-based Zimbabwean documentary maker Collen Magobeya said: “Mazvita, it’s a super cool song and Draze’s flow is awesome. Well done to him.”