Jah Prayzah

Jah Prayzah, real name Mukudzeyi Mukombe, is a popular Zimbabwean modern musician and frontman for the band Third Generation. He is known for his signature band uniform of military regalia.Jah Prayzah has done successful collaborations with local musicians of various genres such as Oliver Mtukudzi. Soul Jah Love, Sulumani Chimbetu, Progress Chipfumo and African artistes such as Slizer , Yemi Alade, Diamond,Jah Cure to mention a few. Jah Prayzah continues to break barriers and his latest video Mukwasha directed by Vusa Blaqs has just broken the record of most viewed video in 24 hours in Zimbabwe. The record was previously held by Winky D who hit 171 000 in 24 hours with his video MuGarden featuring Gemma Griffiths and Jah Prayzah has surpassed that to land on 172 000 in just 21 hours. He was born and raised in Murehwa, a small town about 95km from Harare.Jah Prayzah was born on the 4th of July 1987 at Nyadire Hospital to parents John Mukombe and Shirely Savanhu. He is the last born in a family of 5 children; in order of birth: Joe, Chamu (who passed away in 2005), Simba, and his only sister, Lydia. Growing up, the young Mukudzeyi dreamt of becoming a soldier. This dream later inspired his band's performance costumes. The name Jah Prayzah evolved mainly from his first name Mukudzeyi, which in Shona language means Praise Him (God). His love for Reggae music led him to adopt the Jamaican name for God which is Jah. He then fused these two meanings to come up with his artistic name Jah Prayzah. He attended Musamhi Primary School and later Musamhi High School in Murehwa in Mashonaland East Province. He then relocated to Harare where he stayed with his uncle Savanhu , he eventually completed his 'O' Level and 'A' Level education in Harare at Kuwadzana High 1 School. Mukudzeyi's first experience with creating music was when he was in form 2; "In form two there was a teacher who played the mbira and I was so in love with the instrument.We would ’dub’ the music in the era of cassettes and listen to it," he said. Later while schooling at Kuwadzana High School, Mukudzeyi bought a Mbira music instrument from a close friend, Tichafa Matsika. In Budiriro Jah Prayzah started to record dancehall and reggae tracks with his friends with some tracks creating a vibe in the suburb but failed to hit the national music scene. He later decided to venture into his longtime hobby of music Afro-jazz.He recorded tracks with DJ Thando and other local producers, releasing hits such as Sorry Mama and Seiko, these tracks received better publicity than the previous ones he had recorded previously.Mukudzei was encouraged by a cousin keyboardist Simeon Mukombe, to record a demo with him. They recorded an album titled I Love Reggae unfortunately the album didn't do well but they got a encouragement from friends who listened to it. Later in 2007, he recorded another album Rudo Nerunyararo which wasn't successful either. The album had the track, Zororo, which became popular much later in his career. His music became more popular after the launch of Sungano in 2012. The album included songs like Sungano Yerudo. and the album earned him the much-needed attention, catching the eyes of one of Zimbabwe’s biggest music promoters, Patson Chimbodza, known to many as Chipaz.In the same year, he released Ngwarira Kuparara, which contained club hits such as Gotchi Gotchi, Maria, Ngwarira Kuparara and Dande, a track which featured the late Chiwoniso Maraire. Ngwarira Kuparara became the breakaway he had always dreamt of. It quickly put him in the spotlight and he became a household name as fans rocked to the tracks in-house, in clubs and at parties as well. He fast became a must get the artist, and was quickly offered a contract for the Wednesday slots at the then popular Jazz 105 joint." In 2013, Jah Prayzah released the album Tsviriyo whose title track was very popular. The first CD copy of the album was reportedly bought for US $12,000 by businessman Philip Chiyangwa at an auction conducted at the launch. Jah Prayzah is a brand ambassador for the Zimbabwe Defense Forces and it was rumored that he had the privilege to put on the uniform. However, it was reported that his regalia is tailor made in South Africa with some of the material coming from Germany.

Jah Prayzah

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