News / National
Zanu-PF MP arranged Macheso, Mangethe 'union'
09 Jun 2019 at 09:46hrs | Views
BULILIMA West MP Dingumuzi Phuti was the brains behind the mega duet - Kumafaro - which featured the late songstress Beater Mangethe and sungura ace Alick Macheso.
Credit also goes to Phuti, who produced the song which became an intertribal hit of all time.
The legislator is also the brains behind Mangethe's Shona productions after he advised her to sing in that language so that she would create a national balance in her music.
Standard Style learnt that Phuti, who is a former disc jockey at ZBC and a board member of the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, convinced Macheso to do a collaboration with Mangethe.
"The album Succeed was ready for recording and Panganai Hare [Mangethe's manager] was pushing the Mangethe brand, which grew well," Edson December, Mangethe's former bass guitarist, said.
"We used to play with Baba Sharo [Macheso] and he liked to play the song Dali. It turned out to be a nice remix and the manager put everything in place.
"We went to Harare to record the album Succeed, which was successful. Dali and Africa Mama were remixed by Baba Sharo and they came out nice and I did other tracks playing bass.
"The project manager, DJ Phuti, asked Mangethe to do a Shona song as he felt the album was all Ndebele. He wanted the album to have a Shona song and this was a big task for Sis [Mangehe] in the studio."
December said in the studio Macheso showed his prowess with the bass guitar which added value to the song Kumafaro.
"Macheso added a new bass-line and lead guitar on the instrumental and it changed Kumafaro. The track changed everything and the album came out well. The album
was a bang, so was the track which was a hit," he said
However, Phuti said the late Mangethe was supposed to do a duet with Macheso on a track called Dali.
"The idea was for Macheso to excite people by singing in Ndebele. He used a bass guitar which turned out to be Maskandi music," Phuti said.
"I remember Macheso saying ‘Tavekuridza dzeku Ndazo,' meaning we are now playing South African music.
"The way Mangethe pronounced Shona lines was amazing as it displayed her limitations in the language, but it captivated the audience because of the zeal she exhibited."
Credit also goes to Phuti, who produced the song which became an intertribal hit of all time.
The legislator is also the brains behind Mangethe's Shona productions after he advised her to sing in that language so that she would create a national balance in her music.
Standard Style learnt that Phuti, who is a former disc jockey at ZBC and a board member of the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, convinced Macheso to do a collaboration with Mangethe.
"The album Succeed was ready for recording and Panganai Hare [Mangethe's manager] was pushing the Mangethe brand, which grew well," Edson December, Mangethe's former bass guitarist, said.
"We used to play with Baba Sharo [Macheso] and he liked to play the song Dali. It turned out to be a nice remix and the manager put everything in place.
"We went to Harare to record the album Succeed, which was successful. Dali and Africa Mama were remixed by Baba Sharo and they came out nice and I did other tracks playing bass.
December said in the studio Macheso showed his prowess with the bass guitar which added value to the song Kumafaro.
"Macheso added a new bass-line and lead guitar on the instrumental and it changed Kumafaro. The track changed everything and the album came out well. The album
was a bang, so was the track which was a hit," he said
However, Phuti said the late Mangethe was supposed to do a duet with Macheso on a track called Dali.
"The idea was for Macheso to excite people by singing in Ndebele. He used a bass guitar which turned out to be Maskandi music," Phuti said.
"I remember Macheso saying ‘Tavekuridza dzeku Ndazo,' meaning we are now playing South African music.
"The way Mangethe pronounced Shona lines was amazing as it displayed her limitations in the language, but it captivated the audience because of the zeal she exhibited."
Source - the standard
