Zimpapers Logo

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
MAN on a mission, alternative musician Hwabaraty has gone the Amapiano route by releasing a sizzling party track titled Salibonani.

The single that was released early this week was accompanied by an impressive music video on YouTube with the artiste saying all this was done to announce a new direction he wants to take with his music.

Known for his afro soul, mixed with afro jazz sound, on this track, Hwabaraty used his deep raspy voice to ride delicately over a soulful Amapiano house beat while making it easy on the ear and danceable.

The track was produced by the renowned DJ Cooperman through his Bulawayo Knights label and recorded at Shakers Records in the Matshobana suburb. The music video’s visuals were done by Keaitse Films with the house party scenes shot at Ascot suburb in Bulawayo.

In the music video, Hwabaraty sheds off his traditional garbs and outlook and puts on a modern hip look while partying in the affluent suburb. He tries to capture the party scene in Bulawayo which for the past year, has been dominated by Amapiano hits and dances. It’s a simple music video of people partying and seemingly being hosted by Hwabaraty.

Commenting on the video and song, Hwabaraty said he had deliberately gone the Amapiano route as he wants to stay relevant in the local music industry while also penetrating the South African scene. He said with the reception the video is getting, it is clear he is headed in the right direction.

“People have known me for singing a certain type of music and with this song and music video, I wanted people to see how versatile I was as an artiste. I’m not confined to a certain genre of music and it seems that people are accepting this type of music as they’re loving the track,” said Hwabaraty.

He said the new track has pre-empted an upcoming album which will appeal to everyone. However, he said he was not ditching his traditional sound which people love.

“Doing Amapiano doesn’t mean that I’ve abandoned the type of music that made people love my music. This is more like a marketing strategy to make noise about my music.

“The upcoming album is going to cater for everyone, the young and old and soon, we shall be telling people what it’s called, but for now, they should enjoy Salibonani and the next new tracks,” said Hwabaraty.

The next step in his quest to penetrate the South African market, Hwabaraty said is to collaborate with big artistes there.

“I want to penetrate SA through this sound. If I can continue doing such a sound then there’ll be more chances for me to get collaborations there. I’m 100 percent sure that I can do so as I’ve been in conversation with artistes there who I can’t mention now,” said Hwabaraty.

To further promote his music in the neighbouring country and across, Hwabaraty said he was working on having the Salibonani music video played on international channels such as Trace Africa and Channel O.

Explaining how the song came about, the producer, DJ Cooperman said: “I’d visited Hwabaraty at his Njube neighbourhood and realised that people just pass each other without saying Salibonani as common courtesy or tradition. I then realised how our culture of respect has been eroded.

“Hwabaraty who had also taken note of this then suggested that we come up with a song as a way of encouraging people to start greeting each other. He then came up with lyrics and we started working on the song.”

With the video, DJ Cooperman said they went all out as they wanted to prop up Hwabaraty and celebrate his achievements in the music industry.