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Mthabisi Tshuma, Showbiz Correspondent
AXE-wielding musician Madlela Skhobokhobo recently partnered with Centre for Innovation & Technology (Cite) Zimbabwe, an online news site, for an awareness song on the Covid-19 pandemic.

Madlela composed the song that was commissioned by Cite while the video was recorded by Cite’s founder, Zenzele Ndebele and produced by Wellington “Ceejay” Sibanda.

The video which has scenes of worldwide news headlines on the pandemic including some from Chronicle, was released on Friday on the Cite Facebook page.

Madlela said when he was invited to compose the song, he gladly jumped on board as he saw it as a noble idea.

“When Zenzele spoke to me about doing a song for them, I accepted because it was for a good cause. What motivated me was the idea of raising awareness, especially to those in rural areas who do not have access to the other forms of media,” said Madlela.

He said he had to use a more soft genre to relate to the devastating period that the world is going through.

“We used a slow beat in order to capture emotions. We used afro-pop with a bit of reggae in order to relate with this pandemic and send a message out there,” said Madlela.

Ndebele said the song and video were released timely as the country is approaching the winter season with chances high that there might be a spiral in Covid-19 cases hence the need to sensitise people about the pandemic.

“Interacting with Madlela at one point, we realised that a few artistes locally have done songs on the pandemic although awareness is still important.

“Also, we are going towards winter and chances are high that we might have more cases and therefore we need to continue with the awareness messages,” said Ndebele.

The scenes on the video and the song’s lyrics emphasise the need to maintain personal hygiene by constantly washing hands with running water and sanitisers and to also exercise social distancing. Staying at home is also encouraged. — @mthabisi_mthire.