Kwaito-house musician Charity “Chets” Mpala successfully launched her debut album Z’shubile in the resort town of Victoria Falls last week.
People travelled all the way from Bulawayo while others came from Hwange to witness the launch.
“I was taken by surprise really because not even at one point did I think that so many people would come to lend me support,” Chets told NewsDay in an interview.
Another musician, Martin “Tea-Pie” Ntopha whom she featured on her album, also performed.
Gifted with a talent of rhyming fast on kwaito beat, Chets was not expected to disappoint. When delivering her lyrics, she sounds just like young South African kwaito sensation Mzambia.
Turning to her album, she said she has been working on it since 2007.
“I write my own music,” said Chets who “discovered” her talent when she was 13.
“I used to sing while imitating the late great songstress, Brenda Fassie. I joined the school choir and later started writing my own songs.”
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She said she still has great respect for Fassie and “listens to her music all the time”, drawing inspiration from the multi-award-winning musician.
Chets singled out two songs from her album which she said were about her real-life experiences. The tracks are Impilo Yami and Ushonile.
“I wrote Impilo Yami and dedicated it to people in my neighbourhood in Nkulumane suburb who were gossiping about me saying they had heard that I am a musician, but were wondering when I would release an album,” she said.
She said the song Ushonile was about her late brother.
“My brother Witness passed away in 2008, the song Ushonile recounts the experiences I went through when I heard the sad news,” she said.
Chets said she would soon stage live performances in Bulawayo adding that she last showcased her music skills in Bulawayo last year during the annual Intwasa Arts Festival.
