66 Albums at 66 – Selmor’s tribute to Tuku with Ngwarai Remix

Two years since the passing of the “Super Star”, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi on 23 January 2019, the memories are still fresh. How can he fade, the man contributed so much with 66 Albums to his name and many other works. Mtukudzi built a music empire, a good name and a lasting impression. Even more his daughter, Selmor Mtukudzi among other people, keeps his memory alive. Last year Selmor’s tribute to Tuku was the mournful Mandidzimbira. This year it’s a remix of his own song; Ngwarai.

Selmor had 66 Albums to pick a song from. Ngwarai came to me as an interesting choice. Firstly because it was a song in which Tuku expressed himself as a child reminding his siblings of their late father’s words. In the remix it is Selmor Mtukudzi who now recites her late father’s words. Secondly, a day before I heard about this tribute to Tuku one of his songs became an earworm of mine. Unfortunately for me I couldn’t find it because I couldn’t remember the title. To search for it I had to type or ask about some of the Lyrics which included the words “ngwarai” and “zivai”. Turns out Tuku took this “Ngwarai” theme seriously because there were many songs with the same words. For a man of his experience and calibre it was befitting for him to want to impart wisdom.

Tuku’s legacy spans wide. His musical career developed into something more than an individual or a band.

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Tafadzwa Albert Mapurisa

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