Janet Manyowa is a remarkable contemporary gospel singer with an iconic voice. She is mostly known for the hit song Amazing God known to lift many and her voice gives you goose bumps and reverberates from her soul.
With her powerful voice and weighty lyrics, she was named Zimbabwe’s best female musician last year and is now reaching out to scoop the SABC Crown Gospel Awards later this month. The Standard Style’s reporter Abigail Matsikidze (AM) caught up with the award-winning gospel sensation Manyowa (JM), who shared her four-year experience as a female artist in the industry. Below are excerpts from the interview:
AM: Who is Janet Manyowa and how long have you been in gospel music industry?
JM: Janet is a gospel singer who loves spreading the good news of Christ through song. I have released one album, King of Glory and I am working on my second album. I ventured into the music industry in 2015 after the release of my single Amazing God and I was crowned Zimbabwe’s Best Female Musician last year, among other accolades.
AM: People are still fighting inequality, especially women. In your experience, do women have that equal treatment in the industry?
JM: I believe there has been a marked improvement in the music industry in terms of opportunities and the treatment of female musicians compared to past years. My wish though is to see more females rise up and venture into music as our numbers are way less than our male counterparts. This will provide a wider preference for shows and promoters.
AM: So how do you balance being a mother, accountant and a musician at the same time?
JM: It is not easy to balance all these tasks, but I have learnt to prioritise and manage time in order to keep afloat. I seek assistance whenever I can and I always try not to overload myself. An essential aspect as well has been eliminating unnecessary social media chats. I’m learning to manage the scarce resource of time and save energy for the more important aspects of life.
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AM: What inspires you to come up with good, inspiring sounds?
JM: I find my inspiration from the Word of God. I believe lyrics for gospel music should emanate from the Bible either directly or indirectly. On the musical side, regular practice keeps creativity alive and flowing, so it’s a very important part of my life
AM: How are you overcoming issues like piracy?
JM: The piracy issue is a tough and painful one; we have not yet overcome it. From our end, we try by all means to make music accessible on online platforms so that people can get the music on the go, at a reasonable price. We are also making CDs available at reasonable prices in all major music-selling outlets. Because I believe that regular music buyers place value on good music, we are aiming to produce the best quality music we can so that people who love our music can find justification to buy original copies. The appeal is to our authorities to intervene so that the music industry can survive.
