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Pamela “Gonyeti” Zulu

Robert Mukondiwa
WHEN Pamela Zulu, popularly known as Gonyeti, left her past life and said she wanted to be an artiste in her own right, people were sceptical.

They had to be. Many of these artistes who want to go it alone after having been in more prominent outfits tend to crash and burn. Yet the full house present at her album launch last week made it clear how the road to perdition would start for the musician.

She appeared at the event, with her dreamy eyes; eyes that tell a story. Perhaps a million stories past and future that carry her huge dreams. Eyes that those who watched the legendary Safirio Madzikatire’s Mukadota Family drama would remember being the same kind of eyes Mai Phineas had.

And so when she erupted into the title track One Day, those stories were borne out. “I’ll not forget you although I just saw you one day. But what you did to me, will last forever,” she says of a ‘lover’ in her past, one that went on to love her after the epic one day.

She sings a tale of love and disappointment and also hope, perhaps to marry her “one day” lover. Whoever he is, he probably made a lasting impression on her.

While the track is not phenomenal in its recorded form – the live performance of the song is one that electrifies and shows the showmanship of this Amazon who fittingly calls herself “war vet”.

Her thick voice, heavy with dripping honey and cinnamon, is one that tones well with her bass accompaniment and happens to splendidly tell her tale with profound emotiveness that makes the song a great effort.

But somewhere along the way, the studio recording failed to capture that magic of her genius. Clad in a T-shirt that read “WILD”, Gonyeti got into a wild groove showing that her driving force in the fresh career will probably be her perfection at live show performances.

That always pays the bills afterall. Her duet with Sulumani Chimbetu, while not the best of collaborations, also touched on a topical issue and proved that she intends to be in the industry for a long time and was performed perfectly.

Tabata Bhande, she sings with Sulu, defiantly saying she will not fall not go back, presumably to her past.

While the art of song-writing is always said to be based on observing society, one can’t help but think Gonyeti is drawing upon her own personal experiences to pen her songs.

She sings of loss and being targeted by jealous people and relatives in Chiwoniwoni. In it, she asks for eyes that help her see who is behind her bad fortune so she can avert crisis. In true African spiritualistic style, she plays mirror-mirror.