Bulawayo-based dub poet Dumisani Mhlanga, who recently performed in South Africa, said the tour had opened great opportunities for his growing career.
Mhlanga yesterday told NewsDay that the tour was highly successful.
I performed at a popular restaurant in Yeoville, Johannesburg, called KwaGumede. It is a place that is patronised by Zimbabweans.
They liked my performance and I also noticed that they knew some of the songs I have recorded, said Mhlanga. Mhlanga said he would soon be returning to South Africa to meet up with that countrys veteran poet, Mzwakhe Mbuli, who became a symbol of the struggle against apartheid using the spoken word.
My manager has organised that I work on a few songs with Mzwakhe (Mbuli) and I should be going back soon to work with him, he said. During his tour Mhlanga also had the opportunity to work with South African storyteller Eddy Ndaba.
We did a poetry project together and the audience appreciated it so much.
Last year, Mhlanga released a debut eight-track album entitled Uzulu Omnyama. Having started off in year 2000 doing poetry without musical accompaniment, Mhlanga has now gone a step further and introduced instruments that give his music a maskandi music feel. He said his second album, Uzulu Omnyama Part 2, will be released this year.
