Langalakhe Mabena
It’s a listening session that can’t be missed!
Bulawayo actor-cum-poet Prince Ncube otherwise known as Mazilankatha in the local showbiz, is planning a bus trip for his fans where they will enjoy a listening session of his maiden album.
The title of the 12-track poetry collection is called Sise Njeni which translates to we are in trouble.
The launch will be on 1 July and Mazilankatha’s trip will be to Cowdray Park’s Empompini and back to town.
The concept, a first of its kind after the government banned public gatherings due to the upsurge of the covid 19 pandemic cases in the country, will see revellers parting with US$1 and 60 bond that will be paid to Zupco for the trip to and from Empompini.
“This is my first album and I always wanted to release and launch it physically to my fans. Unfortunately, gatherings were banned meaning I can’t do a show in an arena.
“As artistes we survive from income we get through our craft and it’s not a secret we are starving and hungry for money. On the other hand, people are also hungry for entertainment.
“Zupco buses carry a capacity of 75 people and they play music inside the bus, so it also came to my mind that I launch my album inside the bus with no passengers standing, and people are loving the concept,” said Mazilankatha.
He made it clear that the launch “will be a listening session” and Covid-19 protocols that are done by passengers on buses which are sanitising and wearing masks, would be followed.
“Covid-19 is real and the protocols will be observed, we will accommodate 75 people only, there won’t be any standing revellers.
“People should start buying tickets now because we won’t be entertaining anyone once we sell 75 tickets. By the way, so far they are selling like hot cakes,” he said.
Mazilankatha was bred in Mzilikazi but he prefers to be identified through his ancestral roots which are in Matabeleland South’s Gwanda district, Ematshetsheni.
He is an Amakhosi Theatre graduate and he has featured on various stage plays and television series as an actor, writer and director on some of the productions.
In 2016, he featured on Raisedon Baya’s series Ensukwini Zokucina, the following year (2017) he also featured on Ekhoneni which was a series created by Vincent Ngwenya.
In 2018, he wrote his own 13-episode series titled Golden Belt, which also featured on ZBC-TV.
The production was shot in Gwanda and it narrated the life of a gold panner in that region.
