14-year-old pens prose and poetry book
UKRAINE-BASED Zimbabwean music maestro Courage Dhuku aka Ceeblazer is one of the fast rising stars based in the diaspora.
The 23 year-old rose to fame through his hit song with Stunner, a track entitled Jibilika and also with Tocky Vibes in Mazezuru, since then he has not stopped pushing his career to the next level.
In an interview with Sunday Life, he said despite being a musician he is also a student of University of Wales and Alfred Noble.
“Besides doing music I am also a student studying towards my Honours degree in International Relations with University of Wales and Alfred Noble,” said Ceeblazer.
The artiste said he ventured into music at a very tender age and he gained momentum at high school.
“I started music when I was still a little boy, at high school. I used to sing in Scripture Union and in the school choir. I remember at A-level when I was in Oriel Boys’ High I formed a school choir as the school did not have one and I did my first recording in 2013,” he said.
His hard work has seen him attract some big names and many promoters but he always turns offers down.
“What I can say is that I have received a lot of invites from different promoters, but unfortunately I did not agree due to work and school,” he said.
He recently dropped a well-worked video for his song Zhebelebe which is already making waves online.
“My new video is called Zhebelebe (dance like never before), I felt like people need to dance and relieve their stress and this song has been well received and in only five days it had 75 000 views, he said.
He added that fame is not his primary mandate in music.
“Basically, I don’t sing for prominence but my target is to be international and connect people of different backgrounds through music,” said Ceeblazer.
The Afro-pop artiste also hailed the support he has received in the foreign land.
“My music is loved here and I am actually currently working with one of the best Russian artistes on a collaboration which will be out soon,” he said.
@_sizibanigel AT the age of 14 most pupils would still be thinking of a career to pursue and struggling with their composition in English class, but a Christian Brothers’ College Form Three pupil has already published a book and another one is four months away.
Mukudziishe Madzivire’s passion for the arts and young people has seen him aim at using the craft to address issues affecting the youth.
In his 87-page book that is a mixture of prose and poetry, Madzivire talks about child marriages, youth advocacy and child abuse.
Despite being young, the pupil said he was not deterred in penning his book as it came natural to him.
The book, Inscriptions was inspired by the need to reach out on issues affecting the youth and hopefully contribute towards their extinction.
“I think we need creative ways in solving problems that affect the youth. I think it is easier for young people to become involved in issues affecting them if they are presented in a creative manner that engage them.
“I was looking at these challenges and asking myself how youths can be made aware of them at an early age and then also playing a role in solving these problems.
“I hope the book inspires the youth to become more involved in finding solutions to the challenges they are facing,” said Madzivire.
His passion for the arts developed at a tender age when he joined the school choir at Masiye School where he was doing his primary school education. After featuring as the lead character in a school musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Coat, he won a British Council-funded scholarship to study at the Academy of Music in Bulawayo where he studied piano, vocals and the trumpet.
His year of musical study nurtured the creative being in him and saw him also write more as he developed love for writing.
While he still plays the piano and is a music composer, he has become more focused on writing poetry, prose and plays.
Inscriptions was published by Billionaire Publishers and contains a foreword by Primary and Secondary Education minister, Prof Paul Mavima.
“He (Madzivire) tackles topics ranging from child rights, environmental protection, sustainable development for eternity, the rights of women, family, religion and a lot more.
“He engages these issues sometimes with a playfulness that is reflective of his age, but most of the time with a deep philosophical sense that says here is a young man to whose talent, even the sky is not the limit,” reads part of the foreword.
The book contains five short stories, 22 poems and a motivational piece.
Madzivire said he is inspired by the support his parents have given him in pursuing the arts since he won the scholarship and would be releasing his next book, which focuses on the effects of genocide and conflict on children around the world, in April.
“I am yet to decide on whether to pursue the arts as a career after school but it will be between the creative sector and being a diplomat.
“The book is available at Book and Bean bookshop in Bradfield while those seeking huge orders can contact me,” he said.