Meet Noma Nkwali Gagisa, our own female star musician who reminds me of that era when everyone wanted to hear Busi Ncube’s voice. Nkwali is her stage name. Once you hear her voice, you are musically enticed and glued to it. Nkwali’s real name is Nomathamsanqa Treatie Mkwananzi. She is the founder member of iYASA and is currently working with Mother Africa, a German based circus which consists of 45 artists from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Kenya.This is a work of musical gods. Zimbabwe is blessed to have such young musicians. Nkwali hails from Bulawayo. She attended Sobukhazi secondary school in Bulawayo/ and was introduced into music by Bulawayo’s music and performance guru Nkululeko Dube and her parents played a prominent role in nursing and encouraging her singing till she was involved in the formation of iYASA performance group.
On the 13th of November 2015 Nkwali the singer and performance artist came of age as the City of Kings and Queens, Bulawayo, witnessed the prestigious launch of her first solo album, Sithokozile. Sithokozile is an eight track album beautifully packed with a unique genre of traditional and gospel songs. It is the type of music that will forever make you appreciate our African heritage, and how blending it with gospel music suits everyone in our morden society. Blessed are parents who help their talented children achieve their dreams and aspirations, Nkwali dedicated one of the album’s tracks to her own parents.
Her type of music is called mbube, African Accappella. It oozes with a rich melodious captivating voice accompanied by the great Zulu/Ndebele dances that Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Iyasa, and a few others are known for. It has been dominated by men, but greatly talented women like Nkwali have broken that tradition and brought their sizzling solo voices to the uniquely southern African genre. To get a taste of Nkwali’s great music, please visit her website, and listen to the available track, Nyawo Lwami. Her website is www.nkwali-noma.net