Alick Macheso (born 10 June 1968), is a

Zimbabwean Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Moza ...

musician. He came onto the music scene as a solo artist in 1998, with his debut album ''Magariro'', which carried "Pakutema Munda ", probably the least noticeable from that album. From the first album he received recognition from fans, he did the album Vakiridzo the following year. His third album was Simbaradzo which made waves across Zimbabwe. Simbaradzo was and still is the best selling album of all time in Zimbabwe with hits like Mundikumbuke and Amai VaRubhi. He was to follow on the success of Simbaradzo with Zvakanaka Zvakadaro. He can dance, sing and play the guitar - a rare combination of skills among musicians. Zvakanaka Zvakadaro was followed, in 2003, by Zvido Zvenyu Kunyanya. In 2011 he initiated the popular Zora Butter dance which has come to be known as Macheso's initiative. Macheso was born in 1968 in

Shamva Shamva is a town in the province of Mashonaland Central in the Shamva District of Zimbabwe. It is located in the Mazowe valley about 90 km north-east of Harare. The area was called Abercorn by Rhodesian colonizers. The present name is deriv ...

, 90 kilometres to the north of

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, to parents of Malawian origin - a fact that was to inspire him to be able to speak and sing in five languages -

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * S ...

Chichewa Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for l ...

Sena Sena may refer to: Places * Sanandaj or Sena, city in northwestern Iran * Sena (state constituency), represented in the Perlis State Legislative Assembly * Sena, Dashtestan, village in Bushehr Province, Iran * Sena, Huesca, municipality in Hue ...

Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of t ...

and

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree i ...

. Growing on a farm, especially before

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozambiqu ...

's Independence from

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in 1980, the environment did not offer him many opportunities. In 1983, at the youthful age of 15, he left the farm compounds of

and headed for

. Arriving in the capital at the invitation of a relative, who had been inspired by Macheso's guitar-playing prowess at the farm compounds, the two went on a music-inspired journey, joining several bands, mostly

sungura Zimbabwean music is heavily reliant on the use of instruments such as the mbira, Ngoma drums and hosho. Their music symbolizes much more than a simple rhythm, as the folk and pop style styled music was used as a symbol of hope for Zimbabweans l ...

-playing outfits. In 1997, he broke ranks with the Khiama Boys fronted by

Nicholas Zakaria Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and i ...

, to form his own Orchestra Mberikwazvo. He is well known throughout

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

as one of the most successful singers and ranked among the best bass guitarists on the continent. He is Zimbabwe's best-ever selling artiste with his album Simbaradzo being the highest ever sold album in Zimbabwe. Macheso is arguably the best sungura artist to ever emerge from

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. In recent years Macheso has risen to become an advertising face for many corporations that include the country's leading bakery Bakers Inn, paint company Nash Paints and humanitarian organisation

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. Macheso's recent achievement was his appointment as ambassador for housing company, which deals with Enhanced Mortgaging and Housing, which targets low-income earners and self-employed clients. Macheso has also used his role to assist fellow artists acquire residential stands at affordable rates. He has ventured into charity and humanitarian work, for instance in May 2019, he started building two classroom blocks at his former primary school in Shamva; Enterprise Primary School. He also offered to pay school fees for 105 less privileged pupils at the same school. On December 4th, 2020, Alick Macheso released the single "Zero Ndizuro", On June 10th, 2022 he released his 12th Album Tasvitswa Nashe.

Personal life

Alick MAcheso is married to Nyadzisai Macheso who is also popularly known as Mai Sharo. He described his wife as the pillar of strength at her birthday party in March 2021 when she turned 50. He has five children with his first wife, Nyadzisai Macheso, and two kids with his second wife, Tafadzwa Mapako. Macheso divorced Tafadzwa in 2014. Tafadzwa's marriage to the musician was her third failed marriage. She demanded $7,130 monthly to cater for her children, Maneesha and Alick Junior, but the court sliced the divorce settlement to $1,030 per month. In 2013, Tafi Phiri from Chipinge claimed to be the artist's father but never did a DNA test. Moreover, he left Chipinge after his marriage collapsed.

Awards and Charity work

The celebrity's humanitarian character is praiseworthy because he built two classrooms and sponsored 105 students at his former primary school. Red Cross made him its Zimbabwe Ambassador in 2013 because his annual Chitungwiza General Hospital Charity show helped many sick people. He has won the Best Song of the Year Best Live Performer (ZIMA) award, Best Sungura Artiste (ZIMA) award. He was also honored by Nash Paints and given an award in recognition of his work, talent and contribution to the music industry. Macheso worked with Nash Paints since its inception, he has been their brand ambassador and is part of the story of Nash Paints. Alick Macheso is an ethical artist, unlike many musicians today who tarnish each other's name for fame. In June 2019, the musician pledged to pay school fees for 109 pupils who are not covered under the government’s Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM). He also pledged that he would build a new academic block for the ECD learners.

''Discograph''y

* Magariro (1998) *Vakiridzo (1999) *Simbaradzo (2000) *Zvakanaka Zvakadaro (2001) *Zvido Zvenyu Kunyanya (2003) *Vapupuri Pupurai (2005) *Ndezvashe-Eh (2007). *Zvinoda kutendwa (2010). *Kwatakabva Mitunhu (2012). *Tsoka Dzerwendo (2016). *Dzinosvitsa Kure (2018). *Zuro Ndizuro -Single (2020). *Tinosvitswa Nashee (2022).

Album Tracks

*Magariro (1998) 1.Pakutema Munda 2.Baba Namai 3.Gogogoi 4.Sarah 5.Kushungurudzwa 6.Mwana wamai vangu *Vakiridzo (1999) 1.Tariro 2.Kumuzi Kwatu 3.Shedia 4.Yave Tinotenda 5.Chitubu 6.Raramiro *Simbaradzo (2000) 1.Amai Varubhi 2.Kunyarara Zvavo 3.Nguva 4.Kusekana kwaana kamba 5.Mundikumbe 6.Petunia *Zvakanaka Zvakadaro (2001) 1.Monalisa 2.Chisoni 3.Kumhanya Kuripo 4.Chara Chimwe 5.Mwari Wenyasha 6.Zvimiro *Zvido Zvenyu Kunyanya (2003) 1.Madhawu 2.Wemakonzo 3.Kukwereketa 4.Parudo 5.Ziva Zvaunoda 6.Charakupa *Vapupuri Pupurai (2005) 1.Makandidana 2.Upenyu Hwemunhu 3.1940 4.Teererai 5.Baba Vasandy 6.Amakebhoyi 7.Murondatsimba *Ndezvashe-Eh (2007) 1.Madhuwe 2.Chikopokopo 3.Amuna Wangu 4.Chengetai 5.Murume 6.Ndiwe *Zvinoda Kutendwa (2010) 1.Tafadzwa 2.Nguva Yekutenda 3.Zvinoda Kutendwa 4.Chimoko 5.Kudzima Moto 6.Chaungada Chose *Kwatakabva Mitunhu (Kure KweKure) (2012) 1.Chirimumawoko 2.Samasimba 3.Macharangwanda 4.Kutsvaga Chiremba 5.Zvipo 6.Cynthia *Tsoka Dzerwendo (Aaayaya) (2016) 1.Baba 2.Kurarama Inyasha 3.Wandirangaridza 4.Munyaradzi 5.Gungwa 6.Mude Mude *Dzinosvitsa Kure (2018) 1.Chikuru Kurarama 2.Pfuma Yacho 3.Ndakakutadzirei 4.Kudzwai 5.Madzitete 6.Vane Zvavanoda *Single Zuro NdiZuro 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macheso, Alick Zimbabwean musicians 1968 births Living people People from Mashonaland Central Province