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1. Mkhiwa Omuhle – Amaqhawentaba 

2. Maggie SoulBird – A Chance

3. Bella feat Mkhonto – Phumelela

4. Lil Swxe feat Persy B – Ubambo Lwami

5. Dj Addizza x Dj Clxtos – 1.2.5

6. Primacy – Kanjani

7. Oxzy – Layinela

8. Ma9nie & Enzo Ishall – Chimuti

9. Sbhev – Uptown

10. Zhezhingtons – Impendulo

 

This week, Mkhiwa Omuhle’s Amaqhawentaba track is topping the charts. Below is a profile of Mkhiwa Omuhle. 

Question: Please tell us about yourself.

Answer: My real name is Zibusiso S Ncube. I was born in Lower Gweru and went to Mkoba Primary and Emakhandeni Primary (class of 1997). I did my high school education at Emakhandeni Secondary School, Nhlangano Mkoboli, and Maboleni High School where I completed my A level.

Q: The song Amaqhawentaba, what inspired it? 

A: The song was inspired by a young man, DJ Wabonunuza, who was instrumental in appreciating my music. It was a song thanking the online radio station, Amaqhawentaba FM (a station run by the DJ) for recognising me. On the song, I worked with the likes of DJ Sango, Wandie, Mr Gold and Mthabisi Moyo.

Q: How long have you been in the music industry?

A: Well, I used to write songs for certain Seventh Day Adventist groups and later on started to produce my own songs. The first were Africa and Xola in 2019 on my birthday. 

Q: Which artistes have you worked with?

A: I previously worked with Churchtainment and we produced a song called Ngiyabonga. Dr Prince Gasolo as well as Ziduli are featured on my up-and-coming album whose release is scheduled for between April and August. I’ll be grateful if I can work with the likes of Jeys Marabini, Albert Nyathi, Madlela, and Cingi.

Q: Who inspires you?

A: Lovemore Majaivana, Vusa Mkhaya and Mhlomuli Ncube.

Q: Which music genre do you specialise in?

A: Afro-classic jazz fusion.

Q: What do you think makes a good song?

A: We have different tastes as individuals, but for me, properly arranged lyrics and live instruments (live drums and guitars mostly) do it. I prefer the real voice over an auto-tuned one.

Q: What do you think artistes from the city should do to be recognised?

A: I think the first step is to unite, uplift each other and always be there for one another. I am not better than anyone and no one is better than another so the spirit of humbleness should live among us. Above all, we need to support each other and maybe, stick to our local Bulawayo sound.

Q: Do you think that music from Bulawayo needs to have its own unique sound? 

A: Indeed. We fuse everything and now our sound does not have an identical sound like before. The reason is we are close to South Africa and everything that goes that side, goes for us too so in the end, we don’t have our sound. On the other hand, music is vast and I don’t have a problem with different genres as long as the lyrics are local and relatable.