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Motherhood, COVID-19 lock down Maneni

Life & Style
THE pressures of motherhood following a splashy wedding to her United Kingdom-based husband Ricky Mayer and the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic have indefinitely locked out Jennifer Maneni-Mayer’s new songs, but the gospel songstress remains upbeat that the projects would see the light of day.

THE pressures of motherhood following a splashy wedding to her United Kingdom-based husband Ricky Mayer and the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic have indefinitely locked out Jennifer Maneni-Mayer’s new songs, but the gospel songstress remains upbeat that the projects would see the light of day.

BY ALBERT MASAKA

Maneni-Mayer, who recently gave birth to a son, Ishineri, also revealed to NewsDay Life & Style that the uniqueness of his name was that her husband joined two names to make them one.

“They’re both biblical names, Ishi means my salvation, Neri means my light,” she said.

The gospel diva said she had been silent to make room for motherhood. “One should balance the two, career and marriage. Being pregnant, going for shows, dancing for hours, it wasn’t easy for me, that’s why I ended up cancelling all my shows last year, especially after my doctor advised me to rest more,” she said.

Maneni-Mayer recorded a single titled Blessed during her pregnancy, but her producer, Blessing Mchenga, kept delaying the project.

“He took long … Each time he would tell me he was not in Zimbabwe or the guitarist didn’t do well. It’s only now after I gave birth that he sent me this message saying that we should resume since the ‘young boy was choking my voice’,” she said.

Music is life to Maneni-Mayer and soon after giving birth, she could not wait to get back into the studio.

“I wanted to release the two singles Munopenya and Blessed on Easter, but this COVID-19 affected us as well because we are no longer ministering at Easter conferences,” she said.

“Blessed is a continuation of my message from my last single, My Testimony, which talks about how God has blessed us beyond measure.”

Munopenya, she said, was a praise song that celebrates God’s greatness.

Apart from the singles, Maneni-Mayer said she was also working on a six-track album.