MARK NGWAZI: MAHOBHO WHO BECAME A PRINCE
EIGHT years ago, this pint-sized and left handed guitarist was an internal security guard tracking those with ‘sticky’ fingers frequenting Bhadhela Wholesalers in the capital.
He toiled at the warehouse for three solid years doing one of the most ‘ridiculed’ but yet professional jobs known in street lingo as a mere mahobho.
Despite tracking unrepentant thieves and flushing out serial shoplifting addicts and beginners, his heart has always been somewhere else. He knew that his calling was: to entertain the masses with his wondrous voice, and humourladen and yet powerful lyrics.
After gathering courage, he hung up the handcuffs and the baton for the microphone to pursue his love for music which started way back when he was still a rural boy in Njanja.
To date, some of his former workmates at Bhadhela Wholesalers are still missing his services owing to his eagle eye when it comes to tracking thieves while others are surprised at why he was sitting on his talent.
He tested the sungura waters with his debut album
Zvandigumbura
in 2016, which was expertly done but let down by poor marketing.
It was followed by three more albums - Gudo Muriwo released in 2017, Charger Yekatsono
(2018) and
Mudzimu Wabudira Pambeveve
released in 2020 - as he continued navigating the train.
On November 25 last year, he struck the right chords.
This followed the release of his fifth album Chamugwegwedu Chamatindike, which carries the hit song Taurai Madzoka which topped the charts on Radio Zimbabwe 2020 Top 50.
His English verse “don’t blame people for disappointing you” has become a hit with fans and even on TikTok.
To be precise, this aptly sums up the evolution of this short and yet talented musician, meet Mr Mark Ngwazi;
FAME
So popular is Ngwazi that he has managed to win hears of fans on either side of Samora Machel Avenue.
Here we talk about well-to-do people, slay queens and kings who have embraced him
The new fan base he has garnered now adds to those from back of beyond, mines and farms who have always followed him.
However, fame is not easy to handle and many would want to know how Ngwazi will manage it.
“I’m still the same jovial Mark Ngwazi who is determined to whip people in line using music and I wouldn’t say I have reached the zenith of my career.
“I’m not yet there at the top despite carrying the ‘man of the moment’ tag in sungura with pride.
“I’m grateful to fans who have always supported me and I will continue doing my best for them,” he said.
ZIMA DISAPPOINTMENT
Despite missing on the 2020 Zimbabwe Music Awards nominations where many are convinced he was short-changed, Ngwazi said the missed opportunity won’t deter him.
He was equally disappointed as his fans.
“Well, life goes on and there are some things we can do and others we don’t have control over.
“I was told I didn’t submit my stuff as was expected and that’s why I missed out. To be honest, I wanted to enter but I could not move around owing to the Covid-19 lockdown.
“I salute those who managed to enter but some of us were unsuccessful as we followed the lockdown restrictions at home,” he said.
Ngwazi said his fans had spoken and he respects their views.
“I would like to thank my fans who showed their disappointment at the miss but there is nothing we can do.
“As it stands, the awards organisers did their job and next time we hope for the best,” he said.
COVID-19 EFFECTS
Like most of his peers, Ngwazi said he was not spared of the effects of Covid-19 but life matters most.
“I’m just praying that a cure for the Covid-19 pandemic is found so that we can resume our normal lives that we were used to.
“To be honest, I could have been somewhere judging by the popularity of my album.
“The whole country endorsed it and live shows were going to make me a real prince.
“It’s every artiste’s wish to meet their fans but I couldn’t due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
“We will wait for the right time to do so,” he said.
MACHESO COMPARISONS
Ngwazi who draws a lot of inspiration from top sungura artistes like Madzibaba Nicholas Zakaria and Alick Macheso said it was premature to compare him with the Orchestra Mberikwazvo boss.
“I have noted that some people already compare me to Macheso but to be honest I am just Mark Ngwazi who is itching for a breakthrough.
“The likes of Macheso are greats who paved the way for us and I will always respect them for putting sungura on the map.
“My focus at the moment is to compose new songs with depth guided by the likes of our elders like Macheso and other pioneers of the genre.
“I will always remain down to earth and I won’t let fame get into my head since this has destroyed other musicians’ futures,” he said.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Despite all the fame he has won, Ngwazi said he is also grateful for what he has achieved.
“I’m now a proud owner of three residential stands that I am developing and a Honda Fit.
“I have also managed to build my name from scratch and that alone is quite an achievement to me as a person
“Regarding my band members, I can brag that I am now an employer paying 10 people who have never been shortchanged or fleeced when we make money,” he said.
BRIEF PROFILE
With all the fame, many would want to know who this Mark
Ngwazi is?
“I was born on Independence Day in 1988 in Njanja to a family of seven - three girls and four boys.
I happen to be the third born son to Boas Ngwazi and Rudo Kashiri.
For my primary education, I attended Mutengwa Primary before I enrolled at Mudawarima Secondary School where I wrote my Ordinary Levels in the year 2005.
“In short this is the Mark Ngwazi many of you got to know with the hit song Taurai Madzoka,” he said.
Love or loathe him, Mark Ngwazi is destined for the stars if he keeps
his cool.
A TWENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD commercial model has criticised the abuse suffered by young women in the modelling industry.
Lucia Mazhou, known as Lucy Bardie in the modelling circles, is also a video vixen.
“Being a woman in the modelling industry is not easy. I have been labelled a prostitute quite a number of times because of my profession, but it never put me down.
“I have also worked without getting paid and at one point I went for an event where we were starved and there was no payment.
“We had to organise our own transport from the camp site and we were promised to be reimbursed, but that never happened.
“We could not report the issue as we had not signed any contracts and that is when I realised the importance of a contract.
“I have also joined agencies which failed to deliver on their promises, this made me opt for freelancing,” she said.
Lucy Bardie said abuse is rampant in the industry.
“Abuse has been rampant in the industry, but people just do not talk about it. I have come across young women who are sexually abused because they were given a job opportunity.
“Most of these young women do not talk about it because of fear of judgement, while others do not know who to tell.
“In modelling agencies, the issue of abuse is common where some even go to the extent of opening agencies just to get ‘mababy’.
“If modelling is run the right way, it helps the girl child to increase her confidence.
“It has helped me regain my confidence and be more comfortable with my body. Despite the downsides of it, young women can earn a living and are able to support themselves,” she added.
The 21-year-old also blasted young women who rush to call themselves models.
“Well, in Zimbabwe if someone does a photoshoot, he or she automatically considers themselves a model.
“This has ruined the industry. People who have no knowledge of modelling get into the circles and models are now being looked down upon because of this.
“When it comes to music videos, freelance models are often used as they are given little to no money for the music videos.
“There is a mantra which I learnt about when I first joined the industry: ‘First build a name for yourself then you can start earning.’”
“However, I feel this is wrong. Why should I provide a free service for something which you are going to make money from.
“I was a victim of this when I did not have a manager. My advice to my fellow upcoming models is, ‘first secure the cash, the fame will come after.’”
Lucy Bardie started professional modelling last year in August and is currently managed by Kievxom of XO Model management.
To date she has done three musical videos, one with Beav City, another with Kayslie, and the last one with D Flexx, Simrose and Nyasha Timbe.
She also took part in the Fashion Fusion Designer competition which was held in October 2020 and has also worked with an online clothing store called Charlees.
Lucy Bardie has also graced the covers of the 9th edition of the Zim Mhansii online magazine.