ZVIITO Murairo, whose stage name is Chris Mora, is the new entrant on the music scene. Mora hopes to make a name with his brand new sound he calls Bongo263, a fusion of Tanzanian Bongo Flavour and Zimbabwean traditional sound.
The 34-year-old musician is gifted as he can sing in four languages Shona, KiSwahili, Chewa and English.
Although he is now pursuing a solo career, Mora had a stint with Allan Chimbetu where he did the backing vocals. Chris Mora (CM) speaks to The NewsHawks’ Jonathan Mbiriyamveka (JM) about his promising music career. Read the excerpt:
JM: Introduce yourself: real name, age and where you are based.
CM: My name is Zviito Murairo aka Chris Mora born on 6 August 1987. I grew up in Mvurwi and I am currently based in the high-density suburb of Rugare in Harare.
JM: At what point did you decide to go into music?
CM: I’ve always wanted to be a musician since I was very young. My father used to own a guitar and would play for neighbours at the farm where we grew up; that’s when I fell in love with the guitar and music.
JM: Who was your inspiration?
CM: Tanzanian music
JM: What type of music are you into?
CM: It’s a new sound we call Bongo263, a fusion of Tanzanian Bongo Flava and Zimbabwean traditional sound.
JM: Tell us your background?
CM: I grew up in Mvurwi and Guruve. My parents were working at a farm in Mvurwi then I came to Harare in 2018 doing part-time jobs till now. We are five in our family, that is three older girls and two boys.
I am the second from the last one. I started by writing sungura, I have a couple of unrecorded sungura songs but chose a different path. I once did vocals for Allan Chimbetu. I can speak Shona, Swahili, Chewa and English as demonstrated in my songs.
I was actually thinking of quitting music as I was failing to get a breakthrough, then I met Mudhara MontyG (Montgomery Katiyo, his manager), then the rest is history.
JM: Tell us about your latest project. Do you have an album out?
CM: We currently have three singles out, namely Vabereki, Maria and Tears of a woman. We are working on releasing our first album soon.
Vabereki is about a child appreciating the role played by the parents in raising him and wishing he could do more for them. Tears of a woman is a song against gender-based violence. Maria is party song about a husband complaining about the wife’s wayward behaviour.
JM: How do you compose your music?
CM: My music is mainly social commentary. I write about the things surrounding me; our everyday life, especially we the youth in the ghetto.
JM: In terms of videos, how have you evolved as a musician?
CM: We are currently seeking funding for the videos of the three singles.
JM: How has Covid-19 impacted on your work as an artiste?
CM: As an up-and-coming artiste, the restrictions in showbiz have affecting our breakthrough as we were hoping to take advantage of live shows to do opening acts for established musicians and enhance our visibility, so we are just taking advantage of social media.
JM: Are you a full-time musician and why?
CM: I am currently juggling between part-time jobs and music as the music is still to produce monetary returns.
JM: What has been your most memorable moment?
CM: I sold my guitar and was thinking of returning to the rural areas, when the heavens smiled at me and I mate Mudhara Gwededza aka MontyG who took me under his wing and started promoting my music. I am very grateful to him and his partner who is based in South Africa, Mudhara Nesto
JM: What are your plans for the post-Covid era?
CM: I plan a tour of Harare and then the whole Zimbabwe marketing Chris Mora the artiste and our Bongo263 sound.
JM: Who is in your management?
CM: I am currently being managed by MN2K Entertainment, with Montgomery Katiyo aka MontyG being the local manager and Netsai Kunjika aka Mudhara Nesto who is based in South Africa being the international manager.
JM: What can fans expect from you?
CM: Fireworks. We are going to change the face of local music. The future has just arrived.
