Masvingo gospel artiste releases DVD album

Standard Style
Masvingo gospel artiste Ratidzo Wekare has released her debut six-track DVD titled, Living Proof, Video Collection One.

Masvingo gospel artiste Ratidzo Wekare has released her debut six-track DVD titled, Living Proof, Video Collection One.

by Sukuoluhle Ndlovu

The DVD, which was released last month, has a collection of songs from two different albums and a single. It consists of songs such as Idombo, Ngandirarame, Ndasunungurwa, Makatendeka, Ndinoshandira Mweya and Vamwe Voenda.

Wekare told The Standard Style that the songs minister her life.

“On the DVD one of my best song is Idombo. This song gives a sermon of my life. I have seen God’s work in my life, career-wise as a musician, personal life as well as my business,” she said.

Wekare, who started recording her first album in 2015, said as she grew up she never saw herself venturing into the music industry.

“Sometime in 2014 I had a prophecy that I was supposed to record music and listened to my music and the more I had to listen to my music, the more it was going to minister in my life. At the same time, the music was going to minister in the lives of other people, especially my fans, and it became a dream come true in 2015,” she said.

“My career as a musician started in 2015 when l started recording. Being a musician was not part of my dreams. Even at church, I was just an usher and I did not even take part in praise and worship or the choir team.”

Wekare, who attends Harvest House International Ministries, said the career needs one to be strong as there are a lot of challenges in the industry.

“We face a lot of challenges, but for one to thrive you have to be strong. Believe in yourself and mostly put God first and the other things will run smoothly,” she said.

The gospel artiste has two projects under her sleeve — Handiparare, an eight-track album, and Timunamate.

Besides music, Wekare operates a small business which helps market and finance her music.

“Whether I get money or not through music, I can still survive and l am happy. l can preach the Word of God through my music,” she said.

Wekare has joined forces with other musicians, doing collaborations with the likes of Moreen Nengomasha, Fulton Bemhe and Gamuchirai Magadzire, among others.

“In future I am ready to do collaborations with any artiste whether big or small who is willing to push the word of God,” she said.

On live perfomances, she said her music has the support of the Masvingo community. She performs at weddings, schools and other events, but she hopes to perform at national and international gospel events.

However, she lamented piracy, saying the malpractice was destroying the music industry in the country. She also took a swipe at national radio stations, accusing them of playing music from mainly Harare-based musicians.

“Mostly artistes in Harare are the most considered on national radio stations maybe because they are closer. The fact that we are far away from the capital means our music gets little attention. The issue of piracy has affected our work. You find out that some people opt to buy a pirated CD for $1 and do not buy an original which might cost between $5 and $10,” said Wekare.