By Staff Reporter
Rising Sungura musician Mark Ngwazi narrated his rough road to stardom including how he would run shirtless like a madman to trick thieves after playing at a local bar for a pittance.
The Njanja Express frontman was speaking on Star FM’s On the Spot programme on Wednesday.
After playing solo in small pubs, late up to 11 pm or later .He would ask to leave his guitar behind and walk home to Mbare where he rented. Not to be mugged by thieves, he walked in his birthday suit clutching his clothes
“I have a grim background, just imagine I would play guitar at Jimmy Jimalo Bar in Highfields and imbibers would throw a few dollars on me.
“Most of the time I would then fail to check my time to leave the place only to find the bar being closed in the wee hours.
“During those days I stayed in Mbare I would then walk from the bar because transport will be no longer available and so to trick thieves I had to take off my shirt and run like a madman,” Ngwazi said.
The ‘Taurai Madzoka’ hitmaker also revealed that he at one time worked as a gardener in the leafy suburb of Borrowdale and would walk on foot to work from his Mbare lodgings.
“After coming to Harare after I had finished my O levels,I got employed as a gardener in Borrowdale and would walk to work from Mbare where I was staying.
“The money was so measly that one month my salary failed to service a credit for muffins I used to borrow during lunchtime and lost my job after being flimsily accused of stealing a wheelbarrow,” added the youthful Sungura musician.
According to Ngwazi, through the interactions with fellow musicians, he was able to participate in the Chibuku Road to Fame competition which he claims then catapulted him to stardom.
“One of the first artiste I interacted with was Simon Mutambi before I met many of the big musicians in the industry.
“I asked Mutambi how I could participate in this famed competition and he kindly helped me with the process,” narrated Ngwazi.
He would later win and left his job as a guard.
“I won around US$1 500 from Chibuku Road to Fame and by that time I was working as a guard at Bhadella Wholesalers where I was getting around US$150 a month.
“I lied to my wife that I had been relieved of my duties and had no choice but to focus on music since we now had a considerable amount to sustain ourselves,” he said.
The musician says he remains indebted to his rural upbringing and is already constructing a homestead there.
Ngwazi’s new offering ‘Nharo neZvinenharo’ has been hailed as a polished product such that it has been pitted against Sungura giant Alick Macheso’s latest album.
However, the musician is not reading much into the rivalry that is being created by Sungura genre enthusiasts saying he remains respectful of Macheso and is willing to meet him privately so he can tap into the experience of the veteran musician.
