Music
and each and every show. He has never disappointed his legion of fans. In an exclusive backstage interview, the 60-year-old granddad of Zimbabwean music said t h e guitar i s his best friend and he is not going to trade it for anything soon. “No, I am not going to retire from music. I still have a lot to offer to the people. I still have the ability and am raring to go. Take for example the President, he is still going and going, why? Because he has something to offer and he feels that he needs more terms to deliver, and likewise I still have to deliver and I am going to deliver. Some people have approached me about the retirement issue, while rumours have been circulating that I am about to drop music, but that is not true. I am still vibrant and will continue performing,” Tuku told The Parade. Mtukudzi began performing in the 1970s when he joined the Wagon Wheels, a band that also featured following across Africa and beyond. A member of Zimbabwe’s Kore-Kore tribe, Nzou Samanyanga as his totem, he sings in the nation’s dominant Shona language along with IsiNdebele and English. He also incorporates elements of different musical traditions, giving his music a distinctive style. After what has essentially been four decades as a top performer, the world-acclaimed artiste has seen it all in entertainment circles with gongs garnered over the years at the Kora, NAMA and ZIMA awards ceremonies merely serving to confirm his status as Zimbabwe’s music superstar. He has over 60 albums to his credit and cannot remember the number of awards he has won. “I don’t know the number of my awards, what I know is I have received many accolades. “I always change my guitar and the current one is one year old which means it’s still new therefore I still have to make it old, through playing it,” he said. A gifted performer whose talents go beyond just music, Tuku has featured in films like the awarda n d winning Neria Shanda.
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Chimurenga guru Thomas Mapfumo . Their single, Dzandimomotera, went gold and Tuku’s first album followed, and was also a major success. Mtu kudzi is also a contributor to Mahube, Southern Africa’s “super group”. With his husky voice, he has become the most recognised voice to emerge from Zimbabwe and he has earned a devoted
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Unlike m o s t musicians who achieve their greatest success in their formative years, Tuku’s stock has gradually risen, with much of his acclaim coming over the latter half of his career. And with the music granddad showing no signs of easing his foot off the accelerator, the question still remains, ‘what is it that drives this music legend?’ “My fans keep me fit, focused and inspired because I have a purpose for them. I walk for an hour with my wife Daisy . . . sometimes for an hour and half daily. She is a huge source of strength and a pillar in my life and work. She makes me happy,” he proudly said. Although Tuku was recording massive musical success at the time, the year 2010 was probably one of the darkest years in the music guru’s life as it is the year that his son Sam Mtukudzi, the heir apparent February 2013 Page 11