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Given Siyabonga

Danisa Masuku, Showbiz Correspondent
Up-and-coming gospel musician Given Siyabonga whose first album – Stepping Up – failed to make an impact has given it another try by releasing a second album which he has named Stepping Up Two.

With 13 songs, the album that was released on Sunday is being sold for $2 at Kingdom Life Ministries International – a church where the artiste fellowships.

Siyabonga said the first album did not perform well likely because of the lack of funds to market it.

“When I released the first album, I didn’t perform much, something which probably killed its visibility. I only held shows at churches and that was not enough to promote it.

“As such, I recorded low sales and with that, I can safely say I made a huge loss,” he said.

On the new album, the artiste has corrected his mistakes and has gone all out as he wants it to outperform the first one released in January this year.

He said he spent six months in the studio working on the fresh album that was produced by Neshville from Keyness Records. From time to time, he has been performing at key locations around the Bulawayo C.B.D such as the eGodini bus terminus and markets which are always a hive of activity.

“After releasing my first album that didn’t perform well, I learnt that this industry is not for chancers and had to dedicate a lot of time and money to perfect my latest album.

“Rushing to produce a half baked album or single doesn’t pay but is costly as you’ll realise that you’ll have wasted a lot of money and resources,” he said.

He said one of the tracks, Bambelela, off the new album, inspires people never to lose hope and believe in the Lord at all times, despite the challenges that they face.

A Cry for Restoration is a dedication to Zimbabweans as it gives them hope that God will resuscitate the economy.

Ngcwele is a praise song that inspires people to always keep praising the Lord in good and bad times while Wadiwa Mamo is a love song.

After realising that domestic football has been marred by violence, Siyabonga composed a track Stop Violence to warn football lovers to shun violence. The song also encourages football fans to tolerate each other.

The artiste said songs such as Ngcwele, Wadiwa Mamo and Tudiki have been playing popular at promotional tours around the city, giving him hope that this time around, his album will likely strike the right chord with fans.

Not slowing down, Siyabonga is now working on a DVD for the album which he hopes to release next month.