Manyeruke ropes in Sipho Makabane

 
The grand patriarch of local gospel music, Machanic Manyeruke, has enlisted the services of South African psalmist Sipho Makabane for his new album, Kubva Muhuruva, which is slated for release on September 24.
The Big Fish, as Sipho Makabane is fondly known by his regional hordes of fans, fell for Baba Manyeruke’s bait and will feature on a track entitled Uyeza Ujesu.
“We have already finished packaging the album and we are good to go. My promoter Dickson Mutswairo, however, felt that it will be a sound idea to defer the release of the album to September when I will stage a show at HICC,” Manyeruke told Herald Entertainment.
The seven track album features the title track Kubva Muhuruva, Ruregerero, Baba Vedu Vari Kudenga, Ndigariswe Pakanaka, Mai veMuponesi Wangu, Nemufananidzo Wake and the duet Uyeza Ujesu.
Duets have become staplefare in the gospel fraternity, with such gangly alliances as Solly Mahlangu and Keke Phofoolo commanding double impact each time they take to the podium together.
Baba Manyeruke himself features on the song Tinoenda Kure off Sabastian Magacha’s latest offering Back to Sender which is currently enjoying heavy rotation on local radio stations.
Makabane last partnered with a local artist when he featured on Elias Musakwa’s 2004 album.
“Kubva Muhuruva is a reflection of the journey than the Lord has seen me through. It is a musical response to God for elevating me from my days as a garden boy in the city to a household minister of the Gospel,” Manyeruke said.
“Ndigariswe Pakanaka is another track that is immediately personal. However is not a look backward like Kubva Muhuruva but a look forward.
“I will be pleading with the Lord to secure a place for me in heaven when I have finished my journey here. It’s a prayer-song in which I ask for the Jesus’ help to finish well and be with Him in heaven when all is sung and done” he said.
Interestingly, Kubva Muhuruva, literally translated out of the dust, resonates with the legend of the mythical phoenix which soars out of its ashes and flies back to the summit after a long absence.
After the lukewarm response to his previous studio effort, Muchandiziva Here, which he says was scuttled by piracy Kubva Muhuruva is poised to reclaim Manyeruke’s stake as one of the foremost psalmists of our time.
Baba Manyeruke returns to the arena at a time when the gospel fraternity is now being commanded by emergent firebrands such as Mathias Mhere, Agatha Murudzwa, Blessing Shumba and Sabastian Magacha.
However he has not been wholly inactive as he has done fresh renditions of his timeless classics, Mozisi, Madhimoni and Ndofara with Zimpraise, the homegrown version of Joyous Celebration who are currently perched on the crest of a wave with their recent offering It’s All About Jesus also staged at HICC last month.
Manyeruke, who is also the patron of Zimpraise, has also been performing overseas and has made sustained appearances at national celebrations much to the delight of revellers.
 The granddad of gospel music wows revellers with nimble footwork which he punctuates with his trademark statement “Guspy is the one who is old, I am still a youthful performer” in reference to his son Guspy Warrior.
Manyeruke said his long absence from the arena was occasioned by the scourge of piracy which he says has condemned artists to operating at a loss.
“I had taken a long absence from the studio because piracy has dealt a body blow to our profession.  However, when you have a vocation you can never inhibit it for too long, hence my return with another album,” Baba Manyeruke said.
The Mukombe Wapfachuka hitmaker has been at the top of the game for decades and confessed to Herald Entertainment that he has lost count of his albums as he has been recording for a very long time.