Charma Gal charms Zimbabwe
| Tuesday May 27, 2014 14:11
The deal will see the company recording and marketing the artist’s music in the neighbouring country.
For the next three years, they will be recording an album each year while also marketing and distributing her music in the neighbouring country.
The deal is a result of a link-up with high riding contemporary musician Jah Prayzah (Mukudzei Mukombe).
Charma Gal got connected to Diamond Studios through Jah Prayzah in Bulawayo earlier this year.
The Chika hitmaker is excited by the development.
“I am so happy and grateful to Diamond Studios for choosing me, considering that there are many talented musicians in Botswana. I believe this deal will take my music to greater heights both in Zimbabwe and Botswana,” she told Showbiz.
Her music will hit the Zimbabwe market courtesy of the new deal.
“I am sending my mastered CD to Zimbabwe next week. The plan is to have the album on the shelves next month,” she said. Diamond Studios artist and marketing manager, John Muroyi explained why they settled for Charma Gal.
“Some might wonder why we chose her, but it is because we saw how gifted she is yet her music is not well distributed in Zimbabwe. Our aim also is to engage other regional artists in order to improve our music industry in the southern African region,” he said.
Before signing the contract, Charma Gal charmed Bulawayo fans during Jah Prayzah’s album launch. Their collaboration track Dali Wami, is featured in Jah Prayzah’s sixth album.
“I had the best time in Zimbabwe. Those guys are nice, they genuinely love Botswana music,” she said.
She could be returning to Zimbabwe for shows in August as her new associates are in the process of arranging that.
“I was thrilled by Bulawayo people. I met some of them in town and they spoke to me in Setswana telling me they liked my music. Bulawayo people like to think of themselves as Batswana,” she said.
The 31-year-old artist initially stalled on doing a duet with Jah Prayzah, who has won four musical awards in his country.
She revealed how she was sceptical about collaborating with him when he first approached her in 2010.
“But after that he made three more visits to Botswana trying to convince me to collaborate with him. Unfortunately, I knew nothing about him then. I only knew Alick Macheso, Tongai Moyo and Oliver Mtukudzi,” she explained.
After finding out that he was a popular artist in his own right, she then agreed to collaborate with him.
Jah Prayzah also admitted that convincing Charma Gal to feature on the track was not a stress-free mission.
“It is a dream come true. I have always been a good fan of her although she did not know that.
I went there (Botswana) several times after having been connected by a friend trying to convince her to be part of my new project. Finally she agreed and I am happy that we actually did a powerful collaboration,” Jah Prayzah was quoted as saying in the Harare Daily.
Now that her duet with Jah Prayzah is out of the way, she has set her sights on a duet with music superstar Mtukudzi.
“Mtukudzi is such a popular and seasoned musician. I met him in 2009 and I also met him at Jah Prayzah’s album launch in Harare, but I am yet to engage him,” she said.
Before her recent appearance in Bulawayo, Charma Gal had previously performed in the neighbouring country a couple of years ago under the band, Culture Spears.