Black Umfolosi, Jeys Marabini takes their act to rural Matabeleland

INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed Imbube group, Black Umfolosi, and Jeys Marabini have embarked on a tour of rural Matabeleland, where they are billed to perform at various venues.

The tour, which kicked off yesterday in Sikhamaswe will see them visiting Maphisa, Tshelanyamba and Kezi for four days ending on Saturday.

Last week Jeys performed in his rural home, Filabusi.

In an interview, he said the tour was about giving back to the people in the rural areas as their appreciation of their music was inspiring to them as artistes.

"The tour is not motivated by monetary issues, but it is an own initiative to give back to the people in the rural areas who have shown great appreciation for our music. The show that we held in Filabusi where people welcomed us with open arms inspired us, as it showed us the level of love that people have for our music," said Marabini.

He said that they felt that people in the rural areas, especially those in Matabeleland were starved of good music and live performances, hence they felt it was their duty to remedy the situation.

"We feel that artistes are always performing in the cities when in actual fact the greatest need is in the rural areas. We would like to inspire the people especially young children because one never knows, the next Jeys could be somewhere in a rural audience," said Marabini.

He also gave praise to Black Umfolosi for showing concern for the people, saying although they had toured extensively overseas, they still made time even for the poor in society.

"This tour speaks volumes about the humility of Black Umfolosi, because despite the fact they have been overseas and played in front of large crowds and dignitaries, they still find time for the less privileged. They are prepared to go from sleeping in five-star hotels to sleeping in the most squalid of conditions, all for the love of music and the people," said Marabini.

He said his relationship with Black Umfolosi would only get stronger as it was built on a foundation of many years of trust. Marabini said he was grateful for the help and inspiration that they had given to him as a young man starting out early in his career in the nineties.

"I will continue working with Umfolosi because ours is a relationship built on mutual respect. As a young artiste starting out I received a lot of encouragement from the fact that they were a group from Bulawayo who had made it big, for that I will forever be thankful," said Marabini.