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Sipepisiwe Moyo

UMSHELI Wentombi is a Maskandi music group that has been making waves with their single track “Ama2000”, which addresses the issues and challenges faced by the young generation born from the year 2000 onwards.

The group was formed in 2020 in Bulawayo by Mfundo Nyathi and nine other members, who share a passion for Maskandi music, a genre that originated in Zimbabwe in the 1920s as a non-guitar based form of music and later evolved with the influence of Western films.

The group has released two albums and two single tracks so far, and has been performing in various venues around Zimbabwe, attracting fans from different age groups and backgrounds.

Nyathi, the founder of the group, said that they are motivated by the love and support they receive from the people.

“We have performed our music in different places around Bulawayo, also in Tsholotsho and Mberengwa. People love our music, and we entertain almost all age groups, they understand our music, we also have a lot of shows lined up for our fans this year, on the 9th of March we will be performing at Plumtree, ko Madlambuzi. Our fans should not be that much worried if we have not yet reached their place to perform, we are on our way to them,” he said.

Umsheli WeNtombi group members

However, the group also faces some challenges, such as transportation to their venues, especially when they get shows from faraway places. But they are determined to overcome these obstacles and achieve their goal of becoming one of the best in the industry. Nyathi said that they love their fans and they use their music to spread a message of love, discipline and perseverance, as well as to raise awareness on issues such as substance abuse and gender based violence among the youth.

Nyathi explained more on their track “Ama2000”, which he said was an alternative way to send a message to the young generation, who are the leaders of tomorrow.

“We realised that the 2000s kids are dominating in almost every social media platform and scene therefore we have to show them the way, some parents are crying because of the behaviour of these kids born from the year 2000, whilst a few are happy with the 2000s generation, therefore through music we try to show them the right path to follow,” he said.