MUSIC superstar Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi has released a new single, Holiday, which is set to be the soundtrack for the 2017 International Aids Day commemorations on December 1 as airliner Fastjet and Aids organisation, RED, launch a new partnership. BY LIFE & STYLE REPORTER
The proceeds from the track sales will bankroll RED’s efforts to fight the global pandemic in Africa.
The sing-along song’s video, with its catchy melodies and beautifully choreographed dances, is already trending on YouTube.
The song is available on short code as a caller tune in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique as well as on iTunes.
Tuku expressed hope that the song, which combines modern dances and the musician’s powerful vocals with traditional guitar riffs and beats, will have the impact they intended it to have.
“The appeal in the song lies in the cross-generational impact that I hope it will have,” he said. “The more sales we have, the more funds we can generate to continue spreading the word about HIV prevention.”
Tuku has admitted in the past that he lost people who were close to him to HIV — including his brother Robert and four band members in the 1980s — and that inspired him to adopt the pandemic as an enduring theme in his music.
“We have all been impacted by the disease in some way or another, and a continued concerted global effort to support prevention efforts has to be sustained,” Tuku said in a statement that accompanied the release of the latest song.
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Long recognised for his commitment to HIV awareness and prevention work, Tuku penned his first song on the subject, Stay With One Woman, during a World Health Organisation (WHO) campaign in 1986. He has since released more songs on the subject including Tapera and Todii?
He was also one of the first artistes in Zimbabwe to be approached by the WHO as they sought to work with him in their campaigns.
Fastjet chief executive officer Nico Bezuidenhout said partnering with Tuku and RED was their “first step as a brand towards contributing to an Aids free generation.”
The campaign was developed with one of Africa’s largest mobile content providers, Content Connect Africa, which will manage the track’s distribution and royalty collections.
RED was founded in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver to harness the power of people and companies to help fight Aids.
