FRANCE-BASED Zimbabwean Afro-pop sensation Queen Mashie said resilience had made it possible for her to push Zimbabwean music to crack the international airwaves.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
The songstress, born Tatenda Sandra Mashiringo, started singing at the tender age of four before she turned professional in 2000 when she joined her late brother Andy Brown as a backing vocalist.
After about six years under other artistes, Queen Mashie, recorded her debut album titled Higher Heights in 2006 before she moved to Nairobi, Kenya.
She now boasts of five albums as part of her discography.
In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style yesterday, Queen Mashie said her style was influenced by a number of international musicians and producers and it enabled her to penetrate the international scene.
“I started singing at the tender age of four and professionally in 2000 when I joined Andy Brown as a backing vocalist. I later joined the Vintage Band with the veteran guitarist Mudhara Timi Makaya where I became a lead singer,” she said.
“To be the musician I am today, I was groomed by Andy, this is why my music reflects his influence. I do that so that his legacy lives on.”
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She attributes the huge strides she made in her musical career to determination.
Since she became solo, Queen Mashie has shown her preference for traditional instruments, particularly mbira which is salient in her compositions usually laden with social commentary messages.
“With my productions, I always seek to put together something that will help me sell the Zimbabwean sound all over the world and push a proud legacy of Zimbabwean music and be able to crack the airwaves anywhere in the world,” she said.
Meanwhile, Queen Mashie has released a single titled Unbreakable that seeks to celebrate womanhood as an appetiser to her forthcoming sixth album Let The Music Play.
The song, that will have an accompanying video, is already available on different digital platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and SoundCloud.
“With this Unbreakable song, I want to celebrate with every woman who has passed that stage which you say, if I come out of this alive, nothing in this life will ever break me. I am unbreakable,” she said.
“I wrote this song Unbreakable because this is what I am, unbreakable, go getter, fear tackler and woman of steel. There are also so many women out there who have gone through the worst moments in their lives, but did not break down, instead they stood strong.”
Queen Mashie, who is also a fashion designer, actress and beautician said people should not be afraid to stand up for what they believe in.
“As they say, “what does not kill you makes you stronger’’, that moment you felt like there was that dark cloud covering you, which you thought was never going to pass, but you put your foot down and stood firm,” she said.
“The reason to live is for one to have courage, determination, confidence, positivity, not to be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, recognising your importance, recognising your mistakes and learning from them and having mental strength.”
Some of Queen Mashie’s albums are Kare Kare released in 2008 that was followed by Queen Mashie Collaboration in 2009 with her fourth one Mbijana Mbijana coming in 2011 before taking a break only to return in 2015 with her fifth production titled Time.
She has performed at big stages and festivals around the world that includes, the SautiZaBuzara Festival, Harare International Festival of the Arts and at Afro Sonido in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Follow Winstone on Twitter @widzoanto
