AFTER unfruitfully embarking on a career as a reggae musician, Norah Thelma Kapisa seems to have reached her true destination as a jazz musician.
Tinashe Sibanda Entertainment Reporter
The 22-year-old vibrant musician, with several reggae-themed tracks under her belt, seems to have finally cut her teeth in the industry under the tutelage of renowned dancehall producer Shelton “Shelthang” Masiwa of Sunshine Studios fame.
The musician, who seems to be working really hard to get her talent known in the country and beyond, was inspired to keep her groove on by other big talents such as the late Chiwoniso Maraire and South African songbird Zahara, real name Bulelwa Mkutukana.
“Those two lady singers gave me hope, energy and confidence to continue pursuing a musical direction in my life,” she said. During her tertiary studies, Kapisa recorded her first single titled Rasman, which was a dedication to her extreme love for reggae music.
She later did other tracks such as Party All Day Long and Party All Day, both of which she sang while at the University of Zimbabwe where she studied a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in English.
“At one point, I even delved into the hip-hop scene where I joined other popular artistes such as Xlay, TrickyJ and Cracdollar, among others, on a collaboration titled Nhodo which is a fast-paced party jam with an international flavor,” Kapisa said.
It was only after she recorded her track Nokutenda, which was dedicated to her late sister Mercy and her child Nokutenda, that she realised she had now found her true musical taste and destiny.
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Kapisa said recording this song had not taken her much time and since then, she has had Afro-jazz music running through her veins.
“Together with my manager Cynthia Duringo, we then took the music to someone we felt was a top producer, Willard “Slimaz” Magombedze of Slimaz Productions, who then fully introduced me and made me comfortable with the world of Afro-jazz music,” she said.
She said since then, she had not looked back and has since worked on her debut six-track album which was launched early this year with a compilation of a strictly Afro-jazz sensation.
Kapisa said on her debut album, she also decided to feature one of Zimbabwe’s most talented musicians, Ba Shupi, and so far, she has been happy with the journey.
“I was raised in Cranborne, Harare, where I lived with my parents and two sisters who always encouraged me to live my dream of pursuing a musical career despite growing up a shy and quiet kid,” she said.
She said her family always knew she had what it took to go far in the music scenes locally and beyond, and although her begging has been very humble, she knew that one day she would reach the top.
