SINGING gospel is part of a success-filled journey for Mthandazo Nyoni, an alto singer at Bulawayo-based acappella-cum-isicathamiya-cum-imbube gospel music group Men of Influence (MOI).
gospel music sermon with The Master
The group has released a nine-track album titled Ngomhla Wenjabulo with musical influences by South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I urge gospel fans around Zimbabwe to take time and listen to this masterpiece.
The word mbube means “lion” in Zulu and the world-acclaimed South African group, formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1960, sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya, being the traditional music of the Zulu people and mbube.
Nyoni (MN), who grew up in Esigodini in Matabeleland South province to become a prominent journalist shared his inspiring journey with The Master (TM). Below are excerpts from the interview.
TM: Who is Mthandazo Nyoni, may you give a brief account of how you became a gospel singer?
NM: I am waiting for the second-coming of the Lord Jesus while at Brethren In Christ Church, Lobengula branch in Bulawayo. I am from Nkayi but grew up in Esigodini. I am 29 years old. As a born-again Christian, I thought of other ways of spreading the gospel of God, hence singing became a better option. I started singing at church in 2008. I later got a job as a teacher at Dula Secondary School where I was appointed school choir master. My wish to become a singer grew more. In 2011, I enrolled at the National University of Science and Technology for a Journalism and Media Studies degree programme. That is when I decided to join a group called MOI that performs acappella-cum-isicathamiya-cum-imbube music, singing alto.
TM: What inspired you to be a gospel artist?
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MN: My main duty is to preach the gospel of God to others. Some do it through preaching directly, some through writing books, others through poetry and so forth. I decided to preach through singing.
TM: You have a lot on your hands. How do you manage all this?
NM: I am a man of principles and a goal-getter. Usually, from Monday to Friday I will be at work looking for diaries and then during weekends in the evening I join other bandmates for our routine singing practice. We practise three times a week (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). When we have shows during the week, I usually do my stories and send them in advance.
TM: How many albums have you produced? How have they fared? And are there more coming?
NM: As MOI, we have a one nine-track album titled Ngomhla Nenjabulo. We are working on the DVD and second album to be released later this year. The first album did well in the market. We were overwhelmed by the responses we received from fans.
TM: What is the theme that comes through your songs?
NM: Our message to people is “make Jesus your personal Saviour now and live forever or else you perish in hell”. All our songs talk and preach about Jesus. For instance, the album title, Ngomhla Wenjabulo, talks about the second coming of Jesus. The time is now to accept Jesus as your Lord. There is no tomorrow.
TM: Do you use any instruments to back your vocals?
NM: We are singing acappella-cum-isicathamiya-cum-imbube music. We focus on vocals and dancing. No instrument is used.
TM: What lessons can you give to other upcoming gospel artists?
NM: As an artist, you must know your vision or goals. Don’t just sing for the sake of singing. Aim for the best and produce excellent stuff. Work on your skills and perfect them. Surrender everything to God. Never ever do God’s thing without involving Him. Nothing about God without God. Let Him lead you in everything you do.
TM: How do you plan to overcome piracy?
MN: As MOI, we decided to market and sell our albums on our own. Our music is affordable. If you realise, those who are pirating are selling a CD for $1, if you want to beat that, sell it for a dollar also.
TM: What are your most memorable moments as a gospel musician?
MN: It’s when we shared the stage with experienced artists/groups like Takesure “Zama” Ncube and Worship Addicts as well as with Impumelelo Shining Stars, Vocal X, Crème Voices and others.
TM: Who are your favourite gospel musicians locally and internationally?
MN: My favourite gospel musicians locally are Takesure Ncube, Innocent Nyoni, Knowledge Nkiwane, Sebastian Magacha, among others. Internationally, there is Sipho Makhabane, the late Sifiso Ncwane, Timothy Myeni (Ncandweni Christ Ambassadors), Sinach, Joseph Shabalala (Ladysmith Black Mambazo) among others.
TM: Should singing gospel music be taken as a commercial venture?
NM: I don’t think it’s wrong for gospel musicians to sing for a living. They are preachers or pastors. They are preaching the word of God through singing. In as much as pastors are being taken care of by the church, so musicians should be supported. To produce an album needs money. Some of them are not gainfully employed and for them to do that for free I don’t think it can work out for them. They need to survive. However, gospel artists should also do some charity work. There are people out there who are poor and dying in sin. Preach to them through a song even though they don’t have anything to offer you.
TM: Would you like to share your testimony on what God has done in your life?
MN: That I was nothing but God picked me up and made me something. If it wasn’t for His grace I wouldn’t be alive now. My parents died when I was very young. Because of that I had difficulties in accessing education. I dropped from school more than thrice but God picked me up. He picked me from being a backward herd-boy to a brilliant journalist!
TM: Where is gospel music heading to?
MN: Gospel music is currently going through turbulent times. Many people have realised that Christians are supporting gospel musicians, as such, ‘bogus’ gospel musicians have sprouted, flooding the market. Their aim is not to preach the word of God but to amass wealth. Some of their songs are somehow belittling Jesus Christ or playing down the wonderful works He did for people. However, with the advent of new information technology, marketing skills have improved. You can now market your music through social media like WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter.
You may contact the columnist, Albert Masaka on e-mail: [email protected] Cell or WhatsApp 0776963414.
