Dino Mudondo back with some 'Rasta Loving'

By tawanda ngena

With an endless list of hits to his name, from 'Maidei', 'Paidamoyo', 'Bhazi', 'Shugamutape', 'Handirambe Ishe', 'Makoikoi' and 'Jatropha' to mention but a few, Dino Mudondo is a man who is spoken for, he needs no introduction whatsoever!

Who can forget that timeless chart-topping song and virtual love anthem, 'Ndichakumirira' or how he and erstwhile 'partner in crime', Willom Tight held the local music scene spellbound and had crowds eating out of their hands, churning out hit after hit?

Though the last couple of years have been relatively 'quiet' for someone of his stature, Mudondo is back to rekindle his long love affair with the local music fans again with the release of an 8-track reggae album titled, 'Rasta Loving' this coming month (April).

"I have been in the studio since June last year working on my first all-reggae album and I can now safely say that the album has been completed and will officially be launched in April after I am done with the two accompanying videos that I am working on.

"I have always been a true 'rasta' and the album, 'Rasta loving' is my way of expressing love to my legion of fans as a Rastaman and say to them that, Yes! I have been listening and I have heard your calls for me to get back in the studio. I am back to give you what you have long been waiting for and here is my love, hence the title 'Rasta Loving'", said Mudondo, speaking from his new base in Cape Town, South Africa.

Given the 'rasta kwasa' musician's track record, the fans surely have a lot to look forward to when April comes. The 8 track CD will go a long way in not only reacquainting him with the fans but reestablishing his presence on the local scene as well, something of which a lot of people felt was way overdue!

The 8 tracks on Dino's album include, 'Manjenjenje', 'Happy Birthday', 'Musombodhiya', 'Mwanangu', 'Mumoyo Mangu', 'Ndafunga Iwe' and 'Dzandarota'.

"I would like to think that through this album, I have touched on almost every theme out there that is based on our everyday livity/way of life. The first track, Manjenjenje, is another wedding song since I have always made it a must to do a wedding song on each and every album that I record. So, for all those looking to exchange vows this year, then the song Manjenje is your perfect wedding song and as such, the instrumental to the song also made it on the CD.

"The song, 'Musombodhiya' on the other hand is based on a true story. I once dated a certain beautiful girl who left me saying she was going abroad to 'study' and coincidentally I bumped into the very same girl selling her body in foreign land", said Dino, as he is affectionately known to his multitude of followers.

 

Mudondo went on to breakdown a few more tracks that he thought held the album together,

"There are quite a few other tracks that I feel will connect with the fans, one of those being, 'Mumoyo Mangu', which talks about a young couple going through some hard times in the beginning of their relationship and through this song, the guy is trying to reassure her that in his heart there is a place for her to stay and that one day he will go build a home for her far away from all the problems they are currently facing.

"Ndafunga Iwe, is more like a 'part 2' to my classic hit, 'Ndichakumirira',and it focuses on a long distance relationship where I am simply telling my loved one that even though she is far away, I am thinking about her and that she should come back home. 

"Last but not least is the track, Dzandarota, a track I did as a tribute to my late great mentors, Andy Brown and Lucky Dube for all their inspiration and also to pay hommage to all the other musical heroes whom I grew up listening to", he said.

The album was recorded at Maselo Productions by Tapiwa Maselo and mastered in Capetown, by X-Factor studios.

Including Rasta Loving, Mudondo has 18 albums to his name and titles like 'Makorokoto', 'Makoikoi', 'Dino', 'Divisi', 'Wining & Dining', 'Mhemberero', 'Rastakwasa' and 'Sando' among others, quickly come to mind.

We sought to find out from Dino the reason behind his absence from the scene in the last few years, we are sure a lot of people and music followers alike would like to also find out.

"�I have never really hung-up the microphone, I do still record an album every year , but in the last couple of years it is only that I scaled down because I had lost a lot in my life. I lost someone close to me who was doubling as a father and manager.

" It put mé under a lot of pressure, but I am glad to say that I am back and going straight to the top to reclaim my rightful place on that big stage.

�"Rastakwasa muzik is back and here to stay because it is the 'muzik fi di pipo'. I give thanks to all my fans back home and all over the world for always being there for me and I promise to give them nothing but the very best of me ...... Look out for more new albums, music shows and brand new videos coming out soon", he reassures.

The 'Maidei' hitmaker said that in the last couple of months he had also been working on relocating to South Africa, where he is now based, before he eventually moves on to the United Kingdom.

"The Lord has blessed and opened doors for me, I recently signed a massive recording and performing contract here in South Africa and I have so far had a number of big shows and I am recording with some of Lucky Dube's former band members.

"I have found a new base, a new place to explore my full potential and I am giving it my all in an effort to penetrate into the new market. I have plans for an English reggae album and with God's blessing, it should be out by December. Things are looking great and we got plans to come back home and introduce the new album, Rasta Loving soon after its launched here in capetown", said Mudondo.