MUSIC producer Russell “Russo” Chiradza’s demo song was yesterday unveiled as the 20th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly theme song.
Report by Melissa Mpofu
The event, being jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia, will be held from August 24 to 29.
The demo song, which does not have a name yet, features Zimbabwe’s top musicians Sulumani Chimbetu, Chiwoniso Maraire, Audius Mtawarira, Albert Nyathi and Clive Mukundu.
At least 30 artistes had submitted their concepts.
Russo and other artistes were set to pocket $30 000.
The top five producers and musicians were also awarded.
Tanga wekwa Sando with the track Hakuna Matata was second and will receive $15 000.
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Jairos Hamba Hamba of Baobab Studios was third and will get $12 500, while Jennifer Muneni was fourth and will receive $10 000.
Bob Nyabinde and Rute Mbangwa who came fifth and sixth will pocket $7 500 and $5 000 respectively.
The lyrics on the songs are centred on the summit and the beauty of Zimbabwe.
The songs are expected to start receiving airplay from the country’s local radio stations as from next month.
The winning artistes were urged to work on music videos for their songs considering that the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) would pay for all the expenses.
ZTA chief executive Karikoga Kaseke said music was the universal language of mankind.
“Music has no boundaries. It is widely listened to across all sectors and provides an effective platform to have our message heard,” Kaseke said.
