JØY RUKANZA embodies a true soulful and artistic character evident from her voice in every song she sings. It is the very character that has moulded and made a lot of great musicians in the world, one I hope will carry her through as well.
I was doing a late night show at Capitalk 100.4FM in Harare and the newsreader for the day was a young man called Nyasha. We hadn't really talked much before that day because the common understanding within Zim radio stations is that readers are wiser and the music dj's or presenters are not knowledgeable of the current affairs and so there is very little interaction with each other. This time though, it was different because the young man is also different and cool.
He decided to ask about my show and how he would be willing to share with me some cool music he had that would fit perfectly with that segment. I agreed, thanked him and he came and shared with me the music. Amongst the few songs that he gave me was one called "Shingirira". I had never heard it before but it spoke (rather, sang) to me and since that day I was hooked.
Fast forward to the start of '21, I am busy prepping to have my own show, well podcast, and I am busy getting back into terms with social media, who is hot and who is not, that kind of thing. Who to follow, who to un-follow, etc. I bump into Joy again and this time she has a brand new single out! The rest is history as they say.
JØY's music productions, as she started her career could have been marketed and promoted better but there is no crying over spilt milk. Today, she celebrates her perseverance and her tenacity and as we spoke during the night about her journey, it became evident that her lessons had made her stronger and that she had a plan of getting it all done right, this time around.
Zimbabwean artists are so talented but lack proper marketing structures that support their acts. For the 14 years I have been a media practitioner in the country, I know so well that artists and their work chose who they speak to, when they want to speak and how they speak. There is everything wrong with such a mentality and is a sharp contrast with artists from other countries. It is a well known fact that our music discography and artists population is lower than that of S.A, Nigeria, U.S.A. With this in mind, every artist should be grabbing (without hesitation) a chance to market themselves on whichever platform that comes knocking.
The success of Oliver Mtukudzi, The Bhundu Boys, Thomas Mapfumo, etc cannot be attributed to how good their music was at their prime but also through the countless marketing efforts of their teams. Without proper marketing structures, they would have been just Zimbabwean or African artists and never break the World Music scene. Understanding this is moving in a direction that will create more opportunities for recognition. A social media account alone does not substitute an interview or a public appearance for your fans. That it is why even to date, with all his money and success, Jay Z, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Coldplay, Kanye, Nas, Eminem, still pick up the phone to market their work. It's not rocket science.