Coke Studio Africa set for ZTV premier

THE much-awaited Coke Studio Africa's 2019 edition is set to premier this Saturday on local television ZBC-TV from 7pm to 8pm and other television stations across the continent.

Coke Studio Africa is a non-competitive music collaboration show produced in Kenya, which seeks to bring together, and celebrate the diversity of African music and talent.

Zimbabwe's sole broadcaster ZBC-TV will be screening the show every Saturday for about eight weeks, while the radio version will be aired on Power FM every Friday from 5:30pm to 6pm.

Zimbabwe will be represented by dancehall "president" Winky D and Afrofusion songbird Thamsanqa "Tamy" Moyo, on the show that also gives upcoming artistes the opportunity to work with some of the best local and international music and production talent.

The Kasong Kejecha singer will be featuring on the non- competative music collaboration show  alongside famous Mozambican singer Messias with production from Nigerian record producer, GospelOnDaBeatz, while Tammy will team up with Lourena Nhate from Mozambique and Abush Zeleke of Ethiopia in the special episode.

Coca-Cola brand manager Vee Chibanda said the Coke Studio Africa show creates unique and melodius African sounds that can exhilarate anyone who loves music, adding that the 2019 season was full of thrilling moments.

"At the heart of the show is sharing, representing and celebrating one's African pride. It is about every artist, viewer and participant bringing his or her unique African flair and expression to the table, unapologetically," she said.

Chibanda added that as Coca-Cola, they were glad to be offering local artistes another platform to collaborate with other artistes.

"Coke Studio brings together a range of different cultures, backgrounds, languages and musical styles from across Africa in the spirit of collaboration," she said.

Speaking on their debut Coke Studio Africa experience, Winky D and Tammy said the platform provided them with great experience that would help them to widen their networks.

"It was really a great experience, I get to meet and exchange ideas with people from different backgrounds, genres, cultures and vibe. Coke Studio Africa is a good platform for the interaction and integration of different music industries in Africa," Winky D said.

Through the Coke Studio Africa opportunity, Tammy is optimistic that she is going to grow her career and audience.

"Coke Studio has been an amazing platform for me. I got to learn more about the industry. I had a chance to meet interesting people as well and I definitely hope that this opportunity is definitely going to grow my career and my audience," she said.

"Working with many creatives with different perspectives and backgrounds under one roof taught me patience, endurance and most of all tolerance."

The Coke Studio Africa's artistes are drawn from different genres, eras and regions and put in pairs to create a modern and authentic African sound through musical fusion.

Some of the southern African artistes to feature on the 2019 showcase include celebrated top African rapper Laylizzy, Lourena Nhate and acclaimed diva Shellsy Baronet all from Mozambique, Chef 187 (Zambia), Lioness (Namibia) and high-flying rapper Boity (South Africa).