Born Nigel Musa on the 7th of March 1995, Mystery is an upcoming artiste from Zimbabwe‘s eastern border town of Mutare. As his stage name suggests, Mystery, is yet to break into mainstream Zimbabwean music industry, let alone the African plateau. Alas, his lyrical and vocal prowess is very powerful and his latest single is creating a buzz amongst Zimbabwean music lovers. His latest compilation project Manzwiro looks likely to catapult his career to dizzying heights. Renowned Germany based Zimbabwean arts journalist Plot Mhako took to his Facebook page singing praises of Mystery’s art.
While relatively new to the industry, the Mutare born singer and songwriter has been working on his art for almost 5 years with a music catalogue dating back to as far as 2017. Mystery took an early interest in music as he has been writing his own music since the age of 18. He has been part of his church’s praise team which has seen him getting opportunities to perform at a few weddings and parties. The Southern African Times caught up with the artiste who had a lot to talk about his music career.
Surprisingly, Musa thought he could have a career in soccer and so did many who grew up with him.
“I used to play soccer and I was pretty good at it. Everyone in my neighbourhood thought I was going to turn pro but when I started making music, it was a mystery to many. And that is how the name Mystery came to be”
In Mystery’s offering, Manzwiro, you can hear echoes of Urban grooves which basically form the basis of urban music as far as Zimbabwe is concerned. His sound, which he refers to as UrbanRoots, veers away from traditional R&B sounds heard from the Genre’s pioneers and it incorporates a fusion of traditional mbira and international pop music. The song is refreshingly unique as it presents a modern approach to Zimbabwean music at large. If Mystery can maintain the standard he has set for himself, he could become the next household name from the city of Mutare Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is generally a tough market for music as many promising artistes have faltered as they failed to conform to the demands of a very sophisticated people- with much of the mainstream chart impact coming from neighbouring South Africa or as far as Nigeria. However, the past few years has seen a rise in popularity of local hip hop, dancehall and RnB with artistes like Holy Ten, Nutty O and Garry Mapanzure, respectively making waves in their genres.
As for new music he has been working on, yes, he says, new music is definitely on its way and his video for a track called “Zvawaenda” which is also on the Manzwiro compilation, has given him the momentum to get more music on his catalogue.
“I will never take momentum for granted. For any endeavour, you initially have an idea and it is exciting, but inevitably you are going to meet challenges and that is what makes it really hard to build momentum. That’s why people who are passionate and really love what they do are always going to win, because they love it so much and they push through the challenges” said Mystery
Mystery’s music is now available on all major streaming platforms.
