By Innocent Mujeri
Artists should be ambassadors of the Zimbabwean culture and must always thrive to portray the true Zimbabwean story when they perform outside the country’s borders.
This was said by Mathius Muzaza, lead vocalist of Mokoomba, a Victoria Falls based group, which performed at the 6th African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) here in Victoria Falls.
Muzaza said they are proud ambassadors of their country when performing outside the country and urged other artists to emulate them.
“We have toured many countries such as America, Canada and Australia and in all our tours we try to sell the brand Zimbabwe to our audience. That’s why you always see us performing with the national flag beside us so that the audience will identify us with our country of origin. If all artists who went and performed in other countries carry with them the Zimbabwean spirit, our country will not be negatively labelled”, said Muzaza.
The Mokoomba band leader said they could sing in entirely English Language if they had wanted but they chose to compose songs using local languages such as Tonga, Nyanja and Lubale because they are proud of their origins.
“We are able to compose songs in English but who would then sing in Nyanja and Lubale? We need to preserve our local languages and one way of doing it is composing songs using those languages,” said Mokoomba vocalist.
The group performed during the dinner which was hosted by the Government of Zimbabwe at Elephant Hills for delegates who were attending the forum of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and belted hit after hit to the amusement of the delegates.
Mokoomba is a Zimbabwean internationally acclaimed and award-winning Afro-fusion group which sings in a number of languages including in the Tonga, Nyanja and Lubale language.
Mokoomba combines traditional and modern instruments with a rich blend of rhythms, creating a vibrant sound consisting of not only traditional Tonga music but embracing the diverse cultures of Southern Africa.
