Final album for local artist

A well-known Tshivenda-speaking musician, Tshidino Ndou, says he has finally decided to leave the music industry as an artist.

The Tshakhuma-born musician says he will officially "drop the microphone" after spending nine years trying to make it in the music industry. His fifth album, scheduled for release this year, will be his final offering.

Tshidino says he is planning to distribute the album for free at his farewell show at a venue to be announced before the album is completed.

“Most people told me Venda people are very few, but I hold a different view,” he says. “Regardless of minority, fans prefer buying fake CDs from the street vendors without realising that they are destroying their artists’ careers. As a result, shops don’t want to stock our CDs because there is no market.”

Tshidino says that he fails to understand why fans don’t support gigs that do not have big names from Gauteng and that this is one of the reasons why promoters do not book local musicians.

The multi-talented artist from Tshakhuma has four albums under his belt. He entered the industry with albums such as Ndi do fa na inwi, Nne ndi nne, Ri kho phusha life and Vivho li a ondisa. Tshidino has proven his talent through some of his hit songs such as Ni songo nyadza zwine vhanwe vha tenda khazwo, No mu malelani, Khundu dza Shakira, and Vivho li a ondisa.

Two of his albums, Nne ndi nne and Ri kho phusha life, were nominated for Tshima Awards in 2012 and 2014.

“I am leaving the music industry as a singer and I will focus on the management of artists, which seems to be a big challenge to local artists,” he says.

Entertainment - Date: 27 August 2017

Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Email: [email protected]