Zimbabwean Gospel artist Tembalami has finally launched his long awaited album called The Fight. The album was released at a very elaborate dinner launch that was held at the Celebration Centre on the 10th of February.
We managed to have a sit down with him to talk about his new album and this is what he had to say.
Radiant Culture: It’s been 3 years since your last release, why the wait?
Tembalami: Well it usually takes me two years to produce album. I like to take my time with every song to make sure that I get the quality sound that I want and good work takes time. For example the song Sawa Ft Evelyn Wanjiru took me about two months to make because I had to go back and forth to Kenya to record both the song and video. The other reason why it takes so long is the challenge of balancing between touring and getting time to be in the studio recording.
Radiant Culture: What was the theological thought process behind the title and theme of the album?
Tembalami:One of things that pushes me is my desire to make the music relevant. When I’m writing I try to think of a specific person or situation and then speak to that. When I was writing this album I was looking at the demographics of the people that follow my music. Most of them are between the ages of 18 and 40. With me being in the same demographic I can relate with some of the challenges or situations that come with being in the Middle Ages.
There is pressure to become financially stable, to buy cars, pressure to build your own house, to be that person that can help out others, and also pressure to get married and many other things you feel you want to achieve. With all this pressure it’s very easy to fall into the wrong things so as to try and compete with what we see on social media.
Like I’m also I’m thinking of my young sisters who just finished their degrees and they don’t have a job yet, they are just sitting at home and when they go on Instagram and they are seeing slay queens showing nude pictures and their getting endorsement deals and this might just push them into thinking this is the way to go.
With all this in mind you realize that staying on the straight and narrow is a fight and that’s why I called this album The Fight. When you are faced with all sorts of economic challenges it’s going to be a fight to keep your faith in God and to not get caught up in doing shady deals and other such things in order to get money to survive. I wanted to give something that would inspire people to continue following God in faith regardless of the situations.
Radiant Culture: So it sounds like you’ve invested a lot into this album with the trips to Kenya, the videos and all the other studio costs, how did you expect to get a return or is it that you`re just sowing a seed with no real expectation of getting any profit?
Tembalami:Well in terms of the funding, about 90% of the money used to make the album came out of my own pocket and then the rest came from well-wishers who wanted to help see the project come to fruition.
Thought it would be good to get a return but my main goal with my ministry is not primarily to make money but to sow a seed and grow. God has given me a message to put out and so for me it’s not about how much I can make from it because for me it’s always been about faith. Like I remember with my first album I didn’t have enough money to make but with faith I worked on it over time and God came through.
Radiant Culture: So you are a full time musician or if we step in to some bank’s manager’s office we can expect to find you behind the desk? How you do to sustain yourself?
Tembalami: I have always been an entrepreneurial person even from when I was young so when I started music I had a few projects I was doing but eventually I had to let go of all that focus on the music. Sometimes I would go on a tour for about 6 months at a time and because of that I couldn’t really do my other business and keep clients so in the end doing both wasn’t a viable option. So yes I’m now a full time artist.
Radiant Culture: How are you distributing the album, like how are fans going to get the album?
Tembalami:There are very few companies now that sell music so we are selling it mostly through the internet. It now up on most online music stores and streaming services like iTunes and so forth. We also put up a number on Facebook where fans can contact us if they want to buy a copy and we will have it delivered to them.
Radiant Culture: How are you dealing with piracy?
Tembalami: You see my music is tailored to a specific audience and the people that listen to it really want to support and so they mostly but the album. So piracy for me hasn’t really been a huge challenge.
During the interview he also spoke about his desire to work with other artists and grow the christian music scene in Zimbabwe. He has been nominated twice for awards in Kenya and this has opened new doors for him and he intends to also make sure that other gospel artist can take advantage of the same platforms and push Zimbabwean music to other African countries and eventually the rest of the world.
The Fight is definitely one of those albums that will bring a solid message of hope and faith to everyone who will hear it. If it’s something you are into you should really go and check it out on iTunes, spotify etc or contact his team on
Mobile: +263 774069069, Email: Info@tembalami.com
