Lead guitarist-cum-vocalist Braveman Chizvino aka Baba Harare says his second album Minamato Yarasta is what it will take for him to fully assume firm solo space in the music industry after close to a decade under the auspices of decorated musician, Jah Prayzah.
By Kennedy Nyavaya
When the famed strummer left his former paymaster to start his own career, it took him less than a month to release a 15-track album which desolately amounted to naught.
“I started writing songs after leaving Jah Prayzah and I did that for a short space of time so the time was limited and we had to make do within the period,” he told The Standard Style on Wednesday.
Perhaps to make out for the premature release in January, he is back with 14 songs which he hopes will be the breakthrough to bring his name to the fore.
“This time we were really supposed to do it because as a new band, we are supposed to build on our content until people start to familiarise with our music then we can start releasing steadily,” he said.
“We did our first album hurriedly but on this one we really set down and said it is now enough so this is our breakthrough album.”
With no significant airplay so far, Baba Harare is no sacred sheep and has to prove himself worthy to gain clout in the game and the difficult times have taught him a few hard lessons.
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“Upheavals are always there, especially with how our economic situation as a country has been; we felt the pinch but it takes knowing that everyone passed through it.”
Looking back, Baba Harare attributes his ability to stay strong to his association with Jah Prayzah in his formative stages. “The most important thing was learning to stay steadfast in the trade because it sometimes gets painful. even with Jah, we started off very low, so when you get in you now apply what you learned from then and navigate problems,” he reminisced.
On identity crisis, the 29-year-old said his is a contemporary mixture to cater for different audiences
“People now want different things so it is a case of satisfying all ages and types of people. Things are changing and that is the reason why we mixed it up. you cannot have a whole album of the traditional sound because people will be bored,” he said, adding that Jah Prayzah’s sound in his songs was minimal, if any.
“His influence is minimal in my sound but probably as someone I worked with for long, it is hard to end it completely but I tried to distance myself from it.”
Meanwhile, his new music could get the attention owing to the sober lyrical composition in some of the songs that are coupled with precise arrangement of musical instruments.
it is his prayer that pickings from his solo venture justify the unprecedented exit from Jah Prayzah’s gradually sailing ship.
