Zimbabwean music sensation Jah Prayzah, who is known to have collaborated with some of the biggest names on the African continent has just dropped his latest single, Angel Lo. The singer teamed up with Jamaican reggae star Jah Cure and, on his recent press tour in South Africa, spoke to us about the single and his career.
“I started working on this single about three months ago and it’s a love song. It’s about a guy showing his girl appreciation for everything she does for him. It’s one of those feel-good love songs that I think everyone will enjoy. It’s also a mix of genres, which is fun. It has reggae and afro-pop beats,” he said.
“I wanted to work with Jah Cure because I think he is amazing at what he does. I sent him the song and he liked it - and for me, apart from him just liking the song, music is about chemistry and when you have that chemistry with someone it’s so important to honour that It’s been amazing working with him and making this connection. I like to call this a Jah squared,” he said.
The music video was shot in Barcelona, Spain, took just two days to complete and has had more than half-a-million views on YouTube. “Cure likes Spain and he invited me over to Barcelona and we decided to shoot the video there.
“It was a very spontaneous move but we had fun shooting it,” Prayzah said.
The award-winning musician has also produced songs with South Africa’s afro-pop duo, Mafikizolo. Their song, Sendekera, was a hit across the continent and led to them working on more music together.
“Earlier this year they released another collaboration, Mazuva Akanaka. Nhlanhla Nciza and Theo Kgosingwe are very good friends of mine.
“We started doing shows together about three years ago and that led us to forming a friendship and then making music together,” he said.
Prayzah, whose real name is Mukudzeyi Mukombe, said his collaborations with Mafikizolo had all been about being happy in life.
“I like working with people who have a similar sound to me and make authentic music. The songs I have made with Mafikizolo are all happy songs because we are happy people, and our sounds are similar.”
The star’s most notable work is his collaboration with Tanzanian musician Diamond Platinumz, who was featured on Watora Mari.
“My work with Diamond opened me up to a whole new market and really broadened my horizons. I hold everyone I work with dear to my heart, but my connection with Diamond is one I really cherish.”
Prayzah has won numerous awards, including Outstanding Male Artist at the 2016 National Arts Merit Awards in Harare and an MTV Africa Music Awards statuette in the same year.
“To this day, I regret not going to the Mamas because winning a Mama is such a huge accomplishment for any African artist,” said Prayzah.
He said he was not putting pressure on himself to release a new album but would be working on a number of collaborations.