BULAWAYO house troupes Djembe Monks have been appointed as one of the 10 brand ambassadors of this year’s Shoko Festival edition. SINDISO DUBE OWN CORRESPONDENT
This year’s festivals will run from September 25 to 28.
The troupes have been appointed along with Hope Masike, Ammara Brown, Tehn Diamond, Dadza D, Ba Shupi, comedian Clive Chigubhu, disc jockeys Ray Dizz, Jason Lé Roux and social media activist Sir Nige.
Speaking to Southern Eye Lifestyle Emmanuel Nkomo, aka Rootz, said they were humbled by the offer.
“We are excited to be representing Shoko Festival. It’s a big festival and we embrace the opportunity to get more people in Bulawayo to know and support it,” Nkomo said.
Quizzed why Magamba Network, the organisers of the festival had chosen them, Nkomo said: “We had a great collaboration last year with Sista Flame, Willis Wataffi Afrika and Magamba has a keen interest in our brand of house music.
“They thought we have something interesting and with our following in Bulawayo we could play a role in making the festival known to people in Bulawayo,” Nkomo said.
The group is expected to be Shoko’s “eyes” in Bulawayo in terms of identifying new forms of creative art and emerging artistes.
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“Through our music and experience at last year’s festival our main objective will be to popularise culture and contemporary music coming out of Bulawayo and Zimbabwe,” he added.
“We will be drumming up interest in the festival among youth and art lovers.”
The band, formed in 2010, consists of Emmanuel Nkomo (Rootz), Ndumiso Tshuma (Black Cee), Ngqabutho Ncube (Slimzar Wa-Afrika) and Khotso Nare (Torturedrum).
Djembe means an African drum and forms a huge part of their sound.
Monks indicates that the troupe is a conscious movement which thrives on African identity.
The band has an album DeepLove Drums which was released in 2012.
