Feature
I am my own man
Emmanuel Marambe
Sulu Chimbetu
name for himself, I believed I should not copy anyone,” Sulu told Parade. “So I just try to differ from everyone, because after all, if I am going to copy someone, I would have to do it better than that person, otherwise I am doomed. So for me it has been about creating my own brand and becoming my own man since I want to leave my own legacy,” said Sulu. Indeed, Sulu has become his own man, with his music significantly different from his late father’s and his songs blending a variety of styles. That his songs and videos have featured such artists as Tuku and Jah Prayzah is also testimony to his adventurous style. Like most success stories, Sulu has learned from the best. “I have been fortunate to work alongside such big artists as Tuku and Macheso as well as such international stars as Akon and Sean Paul and each and every time you work with stars of that calibre, you get to learn new things that make you a better artist,” said Sulu. Stardom and controversy are inseparable. And Sulu is testimony to
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nown as the late Simon Chimbetu’s son who used to sing renditions of his late father’s popular songs in his formative days, Suluman Chimbetu has undergone something of a metamorphosis, and become, in his own words, his “own man.” At a time when there has been an upsurge in young upstarts that are strumming out renditions of many a late musician’s tunes and reaping rewards (huge or otherwise) for it, Suluman stands out as one who has successfully weaned himself of the “minion” tag. In its place, “mega star.” Yes, the youthful artist is holding his own in a music industry still largely dominated by the established stars – talk of sungura maestro Alick Macheso, Oliver Mtukudzi, Leonard “Karikoga” Zhakata and Nicholas “Madzibaba” Zakaria, among others. For him, reinventing himself was the key. “As an artist who was trying to make a Page 8
that; From the many escapades written about his private life, the hullabaloo over the supposed conflict with his cousin Tryson, the discarding of band members from the Orchestra Dendera Kings troupe that he inherited from his late father to allegations of pinching band members from fellow artists. And now the latest controversy over his latest hit song “Sean Timba”. And while there has been no shortage of criticism to the song whose lyrics, at face value, vouch for barefaced sadism, Sulu is at pains to dissociate the song with the violence tag, instead, arguing that it’s merely a protest against Zimbabweans with the “Sean Timba” streak of perpetuating music piracy. In the face of such controversy, Sulu would have easily cracked, the soldierturned-artist says, if he had not had a solid grounding. “Yes, adapting from a quiet life as an ordinary soldier to a celebrity figure has been tough. You can never be too prepared for the challenges you face when you suddenly become a star,” said Sulu. February 2013
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