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Godwin Muzari Arts Editor
When a wise servant leaves his master, he does not go away with nothing even if he departs empty-handed. He leaves with more wisdom.

That is exactly what fast-rising musician Baba Harare did when he parted ways with Jah Prayzah. He was a key member of Jah Prayzah’s Third Generation band and was there every time his master was doing his successful music projects.

Braveman Chizvino aka Baba Harare did not only add value to Third Generation, he also added value to himself.

Although he begrudgingly left Jah Prayzah, signs of lessons learnt when they were working together are now clear.

Baba Harare has stolen the evasive “man-of-the-moment”  tag in showbiz because of his song “The Reason Why” that has popularly become known as “Hat Dzemurara”.

The song was released last year, but it has been spurred to the top by an exciting video that went online last month.

Now, the song has become an anthem at most public places. The jiti beat has proved irresistible and the song is sounding loud at many parties.

The video was done in a way that pushed the popularity of the song. That is a good lesson that Baba Harare learnt from Jah Prayzah.

Before slumping into a pit of arrogance and becoming too busy for his local fans, Jah Prayzah used to create top notch videos.

His DVD for “Jerusarema” is laden with exceptional videos that tell fascinating storylines of the songs.

Creativity with videos is a big lesson that Baba Harare pocketed from his expeditions with Jah Prayzah.

Because of the good video on “The Reason Why”, the rising musician has pushed his career to a good take-off.

The chorus is being sang everywhere:

Hama simudzai hat dzemurara

Ini ndikashaya yangu yakadaro

Nzimbe inobvira kumusoro ichinaka

Even Alick Macheso could not resist singing along to the song when it was played on disco as he went on stage at Club Las Vegas in Southerton recently.

It was clear testimony that the song is indeed making waves. Baba Harare’s time has come and the artiste believes God reserved this precious moment for him.

The song is off the album “Minamato Yarasta” (rastaman’s prayers) and it seems the musician’s prayers have indeed been answered.

“I thank God for responding to my prayers. I know this is not only the work of my hands and my mind, it is a time that God has availed to me. Many musicians are spending many nights in studios without making hits. This is only my second album, but the impact is great. I always kneel down and thank God for raising me up through this song,” said Baba Harare.

“I do secular music and many people say some lyrics of the song ‘The Reason Why’ are mischievous. I respect God and I was only doing a song to uphold our culture. Such lyrics are common at jiti functions. There is nothing mischievous at all. Jiti songs are meant to provoke certain connotations and that is part of our culture.”

Baba Harare salutes Jah Prayzah for showing him the way to make it in the music industry. He says the confidence that Jah Prayzah showed when he recruited him to join his band gave him a clear sign that his talent could take him higher.

“Jah Prayzah discovered me when I was working with Sigma Boys. I had joined Sigma Boys because the guys were from my rural area. I learnt how to play the guitar when I was young and I joined Sigma Boys when I decided to test the waters of live performance,” Baba Harare recalled.

“Jah Prayzah was still trying to find his footing in the music industry when we shared the stage on several occasions. He did not have instruments and we travelled as two bands sharing the equipment that we had.

“Then, his lead guitarist boycotted one  show and I had to assist him. I can say I am a natural lead guitarist because I played for him without any rehearsals. The rough knowledge of his songs from our previous joint shows was enough to guide me through the impromptu sets with Jah Prayzah.

“I assisted him at about three shows and he begged me to be a permanent part of his group. That is how I became a member of Third Generation band. We had a good working relationship until i decided to go it alone. I am happy for him because I was part of his rise to fame. We made his successful music together.”

He got the nickname “Baba Harare” from Jah Prayzah who used to cheer him with the chant ‘Baba Harare musadaro’ as he strummed his lead guitar with expertise.

Baba Harare said he decided to leave Jah Prayzah for personal reasons and he alerted him about his decision officially.

“I went to see him at his office and told him that I wanted to become my own man. We discussed the issue for some hours until he agreed to let me go. He asked me to come for my last performance at Jongwe Corner and that was my chance to bid fans farewell.

“It was not a bitter separation. He agreed to feature on this current album on the song ‘Usasiye Zvinonaka’ that is popularly known as ‘Guzuzu’ and he also attended the launch of the album. We are still in good books although we sometimes differ on some issues.”

After parting ways with Jah Prayzah, Baba Harare formed City Vibration band and released his debut album “Chikwama Changu”.

Although the first album did not do well, many people are now going back to look for the previous songs because “The Reason Why” has opened floodgates for Baba Harare.

Even numbers to his live shows are increasing rapidly. Baba Harare is the man-of-the-moment.