This year has seen more and more artists releasing albums far more than I have seen on the Urban Grooves circuit. From my recent trip to Zim I made it a sure point to stack on CDs. I bought this album based on the advice of my friend Akili and I surely want to thank him right now. Having never heard of Cindy Rufaro Munyavi ever before, I was a bit skeptical about her abilities. That feeling did not last, rest assured. She is a good singer and I found it hard to believe that she hadn’t topped charts yet. Some people just need a chance. Call it Urban Grooves sure but this lovely lady is straight Zim R’n’B. Some really hot R’n’B at that! The main concept about the album is love. She handles so many issues through her music one might end up being convinced she really went through this stuff!
Ruva is a gem I tell you. It features one of the genres most refined artist, Alexio Kawara. Their collaboration is just beautiful and they both sung very well. It might not quite compete with Tinodanana by Alexio & Teererai but it will leave you with goose bumps! The production throught the album was generally good and not monotonous and I managed to listen to every track. I appreciate it when artists acknowledge their religion and Praise You does justice. It has a bouncy beat and talks about praising God because he is the one who makes everything happen. My song of the album is Dhindindi and the title says it all. No Zimbabwean party can be complete without this tune. Take 5ive really produced a quality tune to rip through the speakers. Wreckless totally murdered his verse; he did himself a favour by switching from Hip Hop to Ragga. Other songs to watch out for are Handidi and All That I Am.
The album has the potential to do very well, some good songs and lovely singing. The let down comes in the production. Some of the instruments were not very clear and the vocals were not properly mixed and/or mastered. You can tell that some songs were recorded, mixed and mastered at different studios by different people. I think quality should be emphasized in her next project.
Kukuda/Loving You is a good album and many fans will enjoy it. I think it is worth a buy. This lady is going places and I give her 1 year tops to become Urban Grooves hottest female artist.
Cover Art – 6/10
Music – 7/10
Mixing & Mastering – 5/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 7.5/10