eBusiness Weekly
Taurai Mangudhla’
Sadly, the go to genre for a corporate function in Zimbabwe is jazz. The explanation is that jazz simply matches to their guests needs. And yet there are a lot of genres outside jazz that can make executives quite happy and relaxed.
Most corporate clients who are organising an event with dinner and speeches are keen to portray an atmosphere of class and sophistication. In essence they look for a mature kind of beat which can easily be enjoyed by someone in a suit.
In the case of Ignatious Mugogo, it was not YouTube that suggested I view his content, but my boss who described his music as a “mature kind of reggae,” the kind of beat that would make guests more relaxed at a corporate function and with a voice that can easily fit any genre’s play-list. In any case reggae has been known to easily turn any genre’s song into a classic beat.
Out of curiosity I went on YouTube to view his music and the first thing to pop-up was a video medley of what is called the Atom Riddim which was produced in Norton and features various little known artistes from the satellite town, about 40km out of Harare along the Harare-Bulawayo Highway.
Although the production doesn’t fall in the category of “mature”, at least to me, G’natious’ mesmerising melody made him stand out from the long list of artistes’ whose song were featured for a few songs on the medley.
This was just the motivation I needed to keep digging for more of his songs. I went through tracks like I Have Changed, Tryna Show You, Zimbabwe Unite, Mumwe Mukana and Ndiratidze.
What really caught my attention was Ndiratidze, a Shona cover of Jah Cure’s popular hit on the Cardiac Bass Riddim before I leave. In the same melody and with a voice that can be mistaken for Jah Cure’s, G’natious sings the song in Shona, proving his genius.
“So many people always said I sound like him (Jah Cure), some even call me the Zimbabwean Jah Cure but honestly, he inspires my sound, energy and love,” according to G’natious.
Ndiratidze is a love song that falls in the category of Lover reggae, indeed giving that calm and mature flavour that just runs into your veins when you are relaxed. In the song G’natious asks his lady to show him love and value the time they spend together.
Zimbabwe Unite is more on the soft conscious reggae calling for unity. The songs call for Zimbabwean and African unity to fight poverty and enjoy freedom. His ravishing voice, so captivating, charming, spellbinding, alluring, and delightful and the soul touching lyrics sure do catch one’s attention.
G’natious is currently marketing his upcoming album “Love Chords” which he says will be a blast to all the reggae lovers.
And who hasn’t encountered and actually sang to a reggae beat?
