ON the local music turf, gospel musician Mai Banda is relatively obscure, but her rich discography and vast experience speaks volume about the calibre of a musician she is.
The United States-based musician has done so much for the Zimbabwean gospel music industry. But on the quiet and she feels it’s time she breaks out of her cocoon to bring out her full potential and help local music grow.
She said despite having been in the music industry for almost three decades, it was now time she pursued her dreams, chief being to inspire upcoming musicians, especially those in secular music through collaborations.
“Mai Banda has been mainly ministering in the church and has travelled extensively to many countries,” she told Standard Style last Wednesday.
“The last major event that I attended was in Nigeria at the RCCG [Redeemed Christian Church of God] Holy Ghost Congress led by GO [Enoch Adejare] Adeboye in December 2022.
“Recently I took a major step to go on a commercial platform with my music.
“I am working on a song titled Moyo Wangu, which I feature Jah Master.”
She believes the production will do well on both the local and global music scenes.
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Born Plaxedes Amuli, Mai Banda has been in the country where she has been working on the production of the song, which also has a video.
She has been staying in the US after leaving the country after completing her A’ Level in the mid-90s.
However, she believes her collaboration with Jah Master will open doors for her to engage upcoming musicians.
“There are many artistes whom I would love to collaborate with and these include Tocky Vibes, Ex-Q, Killer T and many others,” she said.
“My greatest targets are the young generation; especially those aged 20 to 29 years so as to encourage my 23-year-old and 20-year-old sons.
“My sons are very shy, but I was shocked when they warmed up to Jah Master.”
Married to Douglas Banda, who manages the Mai Banda brand, the gospel diva believes music in English has a more universal appeal than music in other languages.
“I might be wrong, but most of our artistes are great, but singing in English has proved to be a challenge for most of them,” she said.
“Our music needs to cross over just like other artists from all over the world.
“English lyrics will help our music industry locally and on my project with Jah Master I sang in English and Shona.”
A mother of three children aged 23, 20 and 15; Mai Banda has managed to balance her music career, family and academic undertaking.
“After moving to the United States, I pursued my studies and completed a double major in the field of business administration and I am currently working on completing a PhD programme,” Mai Banda said.
“I have always had a very strong passion for music and I have been a music director for over two decades in the Redeemed Christian Church of God.”
She said the video of the song Moyo Wangu was almost done and will be released soon.
The production of the song was done by Jamal at Nash TV studios while Ghetto Designer worked on the video production.
