Oliver Mtukudzi’s advice for young people chasing their dreams
When I am asked what advice I can give to youths chasing their dreams or goals I do not restrict myself to the guidance that I offer them. When I advise youths, I seek also to counsel parents because they turn the goals of their children into pipedreams when they want to impose talent on their children. Yet only God gives talent and God takes it away. That is how I view life.
My first advice to youths chasing their dreams is to build the very difficult but achievable culture of self-discipline. Have respect for yourself first then everyone else will respect you. How you carry yourself amongst other people, how you engage others and your humility defines a well rounded youth in the context of self-discipline.
No one is born a squeaky-clean character. Self-discipline is a process that is cultivated or is inculcated. Our environs at family level, the parents, the peers, the school and social environment all have immense influence and bearing on discipline and parents are central in ensuring that children are not only raised to fear evil but to love, to learn restraint and to tolerate others who may have different views to life. Read more
Happy birthday Tuku!
I can’t remember what year it was. I was at a Tuku concert in the wee hours of the morning.
That infectious Tuku beat was in the air. All around me people were dancing and singing along. The song being performed was all time favourite “Tozeza Baba”.
A group of happy acloholically tipsy women was very enthusiastically chanting their own words to the song.
One of them, a big woman who must have been at least 100kg, suddenly saw someone- a man- she knew, just come into the venue.
She let out an ear piercing scream of joy and bounded across the room to him. He too seemed happy to see her but was not at all prepared for what was about to happen. Read more
Poem dedicated to Oliver Mtukudzi
HURRY, TUKU IN CONCERT!
If you had been with me
You too would have seen Tuku at Yoshi’s.
Premier jazz stylist, giant of Southern Africa,
Tuku has a voice that rouses the dead,
a consciousness that slaps one from
the sleep of forgetfulness.
He lit sparks of memory;
then as we swayed to songs about aging
and not aging, about going away and coming back
(especially coming back),
about stunted love, betrayal, Limpopos of tears,
stories of learning to forget, about forgetting to learn,
we coalesced with the stone soul, the pride of our homeland. Read more
From Tuku to the fans- 56 years on
By Oliver Mtukudzi
AS I celebrate my 56th birthday in the same year of the production of my 56th album, I pay special tribute to my fans across the world, the corporate sector for the invaluable support and all the friends of Tuku Music for making things ever possible including my family for being there for me always.
I value and cherish you forever on this my 56th birthday — September 22. Read more
5000 Attend ZimFest 2008 in London
The 2008 Zimfest has enjoyed a record turnout, organisers said. The annual festival held at the Prince George’s Playing Fields in Raynes Park, London, drew 5000 Zimbabweans of all colour last Saturday. The event, organised by the UK-registered charity, WEZIMBABWE, climaxed with an hour-long performance by Oliver Mtukudzi and his Black Spirits band. Read more
