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Nyasha Zhuwao

Swagga T
To those who love the cartoon strip “Superman”, a super-hero who is out to save the world from the bad guys through his might and intelligence, brace yourselves for another “Superman in music”. Zimbabwe has it’s own version of “Superman”, thanks to young, but talented rising urban grooves star, Nyasha Zhuwao, whose name “Superman” comes from one of his songs.

So popular has the song and others like “Mawinners” and “Kana Ndiripo” among others, on various radio stations including Star FM and Zim Online Radio, become that one cannot doubt that the “Superman of Zim youth music” will soon blossom into a fully-fledged Zimbabwean version of United States artiste Lil Wayne, who happens to be one of his idols.

“He is the next big thing,” said one local dj.
To add to this feat is the fact that Nyasha is based in Marondera, which is detached from Harare where everything happens and where the cream of the music industry and other social and artistic sectors are also found.

But that fact does not deter him, instead it actually stokes the fire of his music passion and drive.
The 20-year-old has even started his own fan page, boasting more than 2 000 fans, making him one of the first few artistes in Marondera to achieve that!

“Yes, my fan page has 2 100 fans as we speak and I decided to come up with the page after my Facebook account was inundated by fans who wanted my music,” he said.

No wonder two of his songs, “Ngatitambe” which is a party song, and “Pari Tricky” – which features Victor D — are enjoying a fine run on Zim Online Radio’s Top 20 charts.

But how did he venture into music?
The budding artiste said: “It all started in 2011 after being inspired by Alexio Kawara’s songs which I think tackle a variety of relevant issues affecting people and the nation at large.

“For example, I think his song ‘Shaina’ expresses pride in one’s nation and urges people to project that pride and never lose hope in whatever they do in life.

“As a youthful artiste and also a young man who is learning the ropes of life, I think this message is very positive and everyone, both young and old, should take heed of it and adopt it as a guiding principle and philosophy of life.”

Nyasha’s love for music further deepened when he decided to form his own group called LG05 (which stands for the Five Little Goodies) at Cherutombo High School in Marondera.

This group would take part in music competitions, which saw its membership growing after some students were impressed by the talent.
“This opened up avenues for me as I was lucky enough to hook up with prominent rapper Maskiri whom I collaborated with on my first single called ‘Zvipo Zvinosiyana’ in 2012.

“The song received airplay on Zim Net Radio, although one big challenge was that other radio stations didn’t give it the attention it deserved and I think this is one big challenge that some artistes are currently facing and this should be addressed if we want to promote local talent,” he said. Currently, the Upper Six student at Early Bird College is basking in glory as tracks from the  album titled “Zvinoita Love” are receiving fair rotation at Star FM.

But how does he balance music and school work?
“I do music during the weekends while the weekdays are dedicated strictly to school work. I hope to start holding live shows once I am done with school and I also want to venture into marketing,” said Nyasha, who is studying Commercials.

He paid tribute to his family for the support they give him. “My dad is very supportive and he is the one who finances my music career. Recently, I shot three videos for the tracks “Superman”, “Mawinners” and “Kana Ndiripo” with his support. So far, the tracks have garnered over 1 000 hits on YouTube.

“I am also grateful to my teachers at Early Bird College for their encouragement and with their blessing, I have since started a music club to support others,” said Nyasha, who enjoys watching movies when he is not doing music.

His talent has seen him scooping an award called the Music 263 Award which he won last year in the Best Song category of an anti-HIV/Aids showcase, with a song titled “Stop HIV and Aids”.

To date, Nyasha has collaborated with some of the country’s established artistes like Stunner, Xtra Large, XQ and Victor D.