Empress Ruru conquers Zimdancehall turf
THE streets in the ghetto are talking. And, the message is, “ooh, hail the new queen of Zimdancehall, the voice of the voiceless, the new conqueror!”
Empress Ruru, real name Tsungai Mufari, has entered the Zimdancehall music scene with a strong message of compassion, love, and hope.
“I came to conquer, not to bow,” she says with a smile.
With rare vocal clarity, heavy lyrical content and resilient energy, Empress Ruru’s music is all over the ghetto. She has ventured into the male-dominated genre and is already attracting considerable attention.
“I am in it full time. Everyone must get this message clearly, the queen has arrived.”
But it is her trance–like stance in her videos, that has left fans awe-struck.
She seems to be inspired by unseen forces, but she still delivers.
Songs like “Don’t Leave Me” and “Uchindinyepera” are real hits, dipping into the intricacies ghetto love affairs; their fascination, their matrix and the pain of breaking up.
Then the most touching of them all is “Taitambura”, a rare rendition of a life from abject poverty to a long arduous climb into decent life. Here, Empress Ruru’s voice, takes the listener into an emotional journey of how poverty dehumanises people, of how poverty corners and captures lives of many and then of how some resilient people break from it and make it in life big time.
Born and bred in Masvingo, Empress Ruru attended Chikava Primary School and Mapakomhere Secondary school but poverty made it impossible to finish her studies.
“I grew up singing in church. I was passionate about singing, and that is when I started playing with other singers in my church.
“I sing gospel as well as dancehall,” she said.
Empress Ruru does not write her songs, but just got into a studio to listen to beats and sing. That explains her untapped talent.
“I sometimes go into the studio and work on something with my producer. It comes naturally.”
The most interesting thing is that she is just a freelance singer, and her inspiration comes from dayto-day events.
Empress Ruru has recorded 18 songs within 4 years and is working on another three songs that are set to be released next month.
She said her song expresses emotions, compassion, and hope.
“My first song was ‘Don’t Leave Me’. It was inspired by someone appreciating his or her love for being caring. And he or she is telling her love not to ever leave him or disappoint her because trust and love are more precious, and he is afraid of losing her love,.
She believed that her music has an impact on people and can positively change their lives by inspiring them to have love and hope in whatever they face in life.
“Uchindinyapera”, is a song that defines a person who is immersed in true love, wholeheartedly in this love, and she is telling her love never to cheat her.
‘“Taitambura’ reminds me of my upbringing and struggling in life, I used to sleep eating maputi, and I could hear the rumble in my stomach, but there was no option.
“I didn’t even finish school because my parents couldn’t afford it, so that’s why I sang the song, sharing my life experiences. “
She feels the upcoming artistes are not considered important in Zimbabwe, and marketing is simply poor.
“I wish promoters who are popular musicians will also support us as upcoming artistes.”