Pastor G - Inspiration (2008)

Pastor G is no stranger to the music industry in Zimbabwe having worked with numerous artists and made a great success of his singing talent. For those who might have forgotten he burst on the scene as part of Delani Makhalima's Shamiso Studios a solid 9 or so years ago with songs like Count Your Blessings, Hande & Walk Alone to name a few.

Inspiration is the latest offering from Pastor G and it is a 14 track sizzler! He has always made somewhat danceable gospel music more inclined to the younger souls. I can describe his music as a mixture of RnB and Afro-Pop where the pastor does enough justice vocally. The title track, Inspiration, is one smooth jam. The instrumentation on the song sounds like a soft rock/pop ballad and it is so well executed i could not help but notice. The lyrics are uplifting and focus on how we find our inspiration from the Lord especially when times are hard and we feel like there is no way out. I have to say the backing vocalists on this song did a superb job equally matching the pastor himself in making the song a gem. Haya Haya has been doing awesomely well on the PowerFM charts and from the moment i heard it i knew why. It is a praise song (rwiyo rwekutenda) where Pastor G proclaims authority and dominion through Jesus Christ. I can see enough people getting down to this one mudzimba and kumaChurch uko. It is a wonderful song that has a feel good 'thing' about it. I listened to it with a smile on my face!

There are some songs which from the moment you hear the intro your expectations are raised. Mubairo does just that! When the beat sets in and you listen to the chorus you get that 'wow' feeling. The beat is simple with an amazingly catchy melody and Sharon Manyika sings this so beautifully. Vakomana Sharon anoimba zvinodadisa! I know Haya Haya is already a hit but people are sleeping on Mubairo! Of the album this is definitely my pick, the best of the lot hands down! (lol). Its another inspirational one and the duo sing about kushinga (being strong, perseverance) encouraging us all never to get tired because God is faithful. Not much i can say except that this song is great. Mandipa is another one that touched me given its very well done vocals. Pastor G has really upped a notch or 2 on this offering. While listening to this album i realised that it really focused on establishing God as the centre of people's lives to give them hope. Considering all the things Zimbabwe has gone through i really connected with this album on that note.

I cannot take anything away from Pastor G on this one, the music was beautiful so was the singing. The collabos added so much versatility to this album, were very well done and you could feel the chemistry between the artists. Other songs to watch out for on this album are Jesu, Ndamirira featuring prince Mafukidze and Turura featuring Gorden Taurai Nzira. Pastor G fans of old will love this and i recommend it to anyone who wants to listen to Zimbabwean music with a difference!

Music - 7/10
Technical Sound - 7/10
'I Like Factor' - 7/10

Various Artists - Walala Rewire (2009)

******Review coming soon!!!******

Acoustic - Sanii Makhalima (2008)

One of the most successful Urban Grooves artists of all time is back with a sizzling album in 2008 after the widely popular Ndofefeterwa. Sanii Makhalima needs no introduction at all following the footsteps of older brother Delani with a very colourful musical career of his own. In recent years we have witnessed his dynamic touch as a producer, sound engineer, song-writer, instrumentalist and singer.

Acoustic is Sanii Makhalima's third album which he mostly produced himself. The title of the album is influenced by the dominance of the acoustic guitar in most of the songs, in a way as a signature of the whole project. This project is a testimony of Sanii's amazing talent both as an artist and producer. Sweet Lady featuring Leonard Mapfumo opens up this piece and it is a song which will go far. With lyrics like 'Maziso ake anopenya senyeredzi' ladies will simply drop to their knees with love after giving this song a listen! Leonard's verse was one of the best he has ever written and he adds weight to this collaboration. Iwewe is a very beautiful song and Sanii picks up from where he left off on Ndofefeterwa. This song is enough for me to call him the king of ballads when it comes to Zimbabwean R'n'B . This does come with stiff competition from artists like Taku Paradza and Alexio Kawara.

One of my favourite cuts is Ngiyakuthanda, it is heart stopping and the rich Ndebele lyrics are mind-blowing. Handimbokusiya has a lovely piano and this song can make your lady cry once the lyrics sink in. I think the great thing about the music on this album is it is not far fetched or too experimental. Sanii has kept his formula and has improved on the quality of his production together with his vocal delivery. It is working well for him. For love songs Sanii is definitely the go-to man. I was surprised by 12 Minute Prayer which portrays Sanii in a very very different light as he talked to 'The Man upstairs'. He asks for forgiveness for all his sins and actually mentions a bit of what he has experienced. It is touching. Even though i have heard Pauri Ndaperera for a while now it still sounded fresh and it's a great inclusion to the album.

I think this is one of the finest productions i have heard out of Zimbabwe. This album can compete internationally by all standards and i would love to see one of Sanii's videos make it on Channel O to open doors for him. For the level of talent he possesses we have a lot more coming our way. I was surprised by the inclusion of Vulela & Usadaro which helped him rise to fame. I love these songs but comparing the quality of his new songs and these, unfortunately they don't quite match up. I do understand that he most likely did it for fans who might have missed these earlier hits. Maybe remixes would have been better, at least that is my opinion. All said and done, Acoustic is a beautiful album, possibly Sanii's best release yet.

Cover Art - 8/10 (Loving it)
Music - 8/10
Mixing & Mastering - 7/10
'I Like' Factor - 7/10

Nox - Chapter 3 (2007)

Nox is a household name in Zimbabwean Urban Grooves with 3 albums under his belt to date. Having risen to prominence in 2004 after a well worked single in Maria which was produced and also released on the compilation by Roy & Royce entitled New Discoveries, Nox has gone from strength to strength. Maria also featured on his debut album, Wandipengesa (2005) which did very well on the charts. He has featured on all Chigutiro compilations with hit songs like Chigutiro Anthem and many more.

Chapter 3 is the last offering from Nox which boasts of a star studded cast from the Chigutiro Family and others. The hit song of the album is Ndinoshuwa featuring Leonard Mapfumo. This song has been well received by the Zimbabwean community and the video gets regular airtime on national TV. It is a smooth song with some exceptional vocals from Nox singing about missing parental love after losing his parents. It is a touching journey about growing up with relatives and lacking that influence to succeed but otherwise leaving it in God’s hands. This song is definitely one that will go further than being a good listen. Sanii Makhalima’s production prowess is beyond phenomenal on this song.

I am particularly intrigued by the song Africa which has 2 different beats on the one song. I think Nox has a far more mature approach to music than most urban artists and can comfortably sing about other topics other than love. Africa is an influential piece about Africa’s potential which is yet to be tapped. It encourages people to get up and work hard to realize their dreams. Washanduka is a lovely song with a beat that will make you rewind the song over and over again, even though the song is a bit sad being about love gone wrong with a partner no longer interested in the other, it is still quite enjoyable. I have always maintained that Nox does not have the strongest singing voice but he knows exactly what his voice can do and he does it brilliantly and sweetly. I also liked the song featuring Urban Grooves prettiest lady Diana Samkange called Nerudo which sounds heavily house influenced. Nox also did the unexpected and engages in an RnB rendition of James Chimombe’s hit song Kudakwashe in which he features Blush and Trevor Dongo.

This album is littered with hits and it is not hard to see why. Songs like Musadaro adopt a zouk kizomba feel that has been dominant in French, Portuguese and Spanish speaking nations across the world. The gem has a Caribbean feel that is nothing short of addictive. Other songs to watch out for are Sarudzai, the TBA produced Dai Muripo featuring Alexio and the very very well done Nguva Ichauya featuring the sweet voice of Cindy Raw. This album marks Nox as one of Zimbabwe’s best urban vocalists at the moment and looks like he is not giving up his spot anytime soon! This one is definitely worth the buy if you are into RnB influenced Urban Grooves from people like Alexio, Ngonie, Sanii Makhalima and Trevor Dongo.


Music - 7/10
Mixing & Mastering - 6.5/10 (not uniform, you can tell songs were recorded in different studios by different people)
'I Like' Factor - 6/10

Seiko(2006) - Gorden Taurai Nzira

The first time i heard of this man was on the compilation by Delani and Sanii Makhalima, Urban Grooves Volume 2 which was a decent offering with relatively unknown artits in Zimbabwe. After looking for his music for over a year i finally got my hands on his debut album, Seiko which was nominated for Best Urban Grooves Album and Best Newcomer in 2006. I know it sounds misleading but Taurai Gorden Nzira is actually a gospel artist and has only one song, Ndazvipira, that talks about love and relationships (hmmm Prince Mafukidze has a love song too!). Sometimes it makes me wonder if the people at ZIMA are serious.

Produced by Sanii Makhalima and 8 tracks deep this album comes with a lot of expectation. The first track, Esethusela, is a danceable piece with the Ndebele lyrics that urge people to take up faith and believe in God despite any influences that may be set upon them by the devil. It is upbeat and very entertaining with a somewhat 'typical' gospel sound popularised in South Africa by the likes of Rebecca Malope, Lundi and so forth. The same can be said for Tarirai and most other tracks on the album. Tarirai was the first single to grace the airwaves back in 2005 as part of the compilation Urban Grooves Volume 2. It is an old church hymn revamped and has since done so well among gospel lovers. It provides a good listen on a Sunday after church.

The hit track on the album Chireurura put him on the map and was a regular on the charts peaking in the PowerFM Top 10. It is a slow song and he spreads more gospel telling people to ask for forgiveness because God's love exceeds any wrong we do. The song can surely get you in a whole different zone altogether and it got me wondering about how i have lived my life up until now. It is a beautiful song to say the least. Every song is laced with an outstanding clarity of both vocals and instruments which is a testimony to Sanii's production prowess. The album also features cameo appeareances by Otis Ngwabi and producer Sanii Makhalima

Taurai is very talented with the voice to go with. The great thing about the album is that every track is more than listenable and are all of very high quality. The downside for me is having only 8 tracks, 2 of which are remixes that aren't much different from the original songs. I felt a bit short changed in the end. Besides that, i feel he has far much more to give the fans and could do more to diversify the message to give it to us in a more interesting way. Gospel lovers will love this regardless, it's good music with a good message!

Cover Art - 5/10 (Didn't like it much)
Music - 8/10
Mixing and Mastering - 7/10 (well done)
I Like Factor -6/10