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Langalakhe Mabena

Arts Correspondent

He knows what his fans want, he has mastered the skill to get them eating from the palm of his hand and that makes Zimbabwean music giant Jah Prayzah a one in a million creative, a special being.

Still maintaining his status as the best contemporary artiste in the country, Jah Prayzah out did himself as he successfully launched his thirteenth album, Maita Baba (Thank you God) in front of fully packed Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Saturday.

Wait, did you know? JP launched his twelfth album Chiremerera (Respect) on 12 May in Harare and dropped his thirteenth body of work on 13 May. 

All success achieved on 24 hours.

This has made JP a history maker, getting his name written in the chronicles of the country’s music scene as the first artiste to drop two albums at one-go.

He couldn’t have achieved everything without his Bulawayo fans, who made sure they geared up to support the dreadlocked chanter as they thronged the venue, with approximately 3 000 people attending the album launch.

Also, fellow creatives from the city (Bulawayo) as well as Mzansi, in the names of DJ Mzoe, Mzoe 7, Asaph, DJ Nospa,Ma9nine, Sha Sha, Nomfundo Moh and veteran wheel spinner DJ Tira endorse JP.

Opening the stage at the Bulawayo album launch was the award-winning Hip Hop rapper Asaph, who with no fail, captured and made sure revellers at the gig were treated to quality music.

Asaph performed songs including Moroi, Thebelele and the Good Times anthem.

After Asaph , Mzoe 7 jumped on stage with his signature song Asambeni, and he made sure he kept everyone on their feet as he performed hit after hit, from Kwasa Kwasa, Ginimbi and a couple of tracks from his latest album.

The show wouldn’t have been a wow without a touch of AmaPiano and Mutare bred songstress Sha Sha was the perfect fit to struck balance amongst the audience in attendance.

Abondaba, Woza, iPiano,Thembalami as well as Tender Love are some of the gems that Sha Sha performed.

Her performance was complemented by Nomfundo Moh as she took the mic from Sha Sha and laid RnB and soul joints that toned down the vibe in order to introduce the main man of the show Jah Prayzah.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered tonight for one man, who has proven to be a G.O.A.T (greatest of all time) in his generation, he is set to make history tonight and that has been made possible because of your undying love for him,” said the master of ceremony Babongile Sikhonjwa while introducing JP on stage.

Wagwizi, as JP is affectionately known, took the centre stage at exactly 12 am, a perfect time for a king to address and mesmerise his subordinates with great music.

The night was an Afro fusion session. 

Jah Prayzah opened his stage set with Tsviriyo, making a major throw back, at the same time reminding his fans were he came from.

On his two hour set, JP performed songs including, Nyeredzi, Dangerous, Dzamutsana, Mukwasha. His latest song featuring DJ Tira titled Tocheka was a hit on his performance as fans sang along to the joint which was released a week before the album launch.

“Bulawayo, inini nemi tabva kure (we come a long way). Today is a great night to be back in my favourite city to launch my thirteenth album Maita Baba. This offering is all about giving glory to the Almighty for the blessings he bestows to us each and every day.

“The album has thirteen songs and I have worked with talented creatives both local as well as South African, my sisters Nomfundo Moh and Sha Sha are present tonight to endorse this project as they are also featuring acts on the album.

“The great man with an open heart DJ Tira is also present tonight to bless this event. I appreciate his craft as we also worked together. I pray that our musical efforts will heal and foster good human relations between our countries,” said Jah Prayzah in his speech at the album launch.

Raising the bar high, JP went on to sing Nyeredzi, Bvumbamira as well as Sadza NeMuriwo, a performance which was a classic for the night as Iyasa jumped on stage to complement the tall dread locked chanter, like they did on the song’s music video.

What kind of JP’s performance without Goto?

Like always he closed his set with Goto, a very spiritual song that always connects him with his ancestors.

After finishing his set at 2am, Makoya Bearings, DJ Tira took over the stage and the party started from the ground as he performed Durban Kwaito hits from Ubala, No Stress Umlilo, joints that catapulted his stable Afrotainment to fame.

The major highlight of DJ Tira’ s performance was playing Big Nuz’ latest song Ngeke, a hit that reminded many of the late member of the group MaMpintsha who passed away in December.

On the sidelines of the show, Jah Prayzah’s manager Keen Mushapaidze was a happy man.

“This is amazing, we put so much effort in these album launches and both Harare and Bulawayo supported us abundantly. This will go down history as one of JP’s biggest highlights of his career,” said Mushapaidze.