Victor Kunonga (born October 25, 1974) is a Zimbabwean award-winning Afro-jazz singer and songwriter. Though having come to light in 2004, Victor quickly rose to fame with his first two albums and was a household name by 2007.

Biography

Victor Kunonga was born in Zimbabwe's

Shurugwi Shurugwi, originally known as Selukwe, is a small town and administrative centre in Midlands Province, southern Zimbabwe, located about south of Harare, with a population of 22,900 according to the 2022 census. The town was established in 189 ...

but grew up in the rural area of Hwedza. Victor's family later moved to live in the country's second largest city of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

and later to the capital city

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

, where he discovered his dormant musical talent. Self-taught acoustic guitarist, he announced his arrival on the Zimbabwe music scene in 2004 with the launch of his debut album Such Is Life – Ndanyengetedzwa (Persuaded). Since then Victor's star has risen and he has firmly established himself as one of the leading Zimbabwean artists.

Musical career

In 1999, his dream of enrolling with the college of music in Bulawayo was shattered when he was told he ought to have an instrument or two to be accepted by the college. Since he did not have one it only followed that he failed to enrol. He then moved to Harare to join a designing interest having completed a commercial designing course majoring in graphics. In the early half of 2001 Victor started attending music workshops at the college of music in Harare where he first handled a guitar to learn how to play the strings for the first time. Victor derives inspiration from the masters of Zimbabwean music namely

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and from general traditional rhythms. Through working with non-governmental organisations, Victor has been vocal in fighting social ills such as gender-based violence and drug abuse.

Debut album: ''Such is Life: Ndanyengetedzwa''

His first album released in 2004, became a hit based on the songs "Maidarirei", "Ndanyengetedzwa namai" and "Tigere". The album sold very well and music video for "Maidarirei" also did very well on Zimbabwean TV music video charts. "Such is Life: Ndanyengetedzwa" song list: *1. Mayidarirei *2. Umazenza *3. Usacheme *4. Ndanyengetedzwa *5. Tigere *6. Peace *7. Usacheme Mix *8. Mayidarirei Mix

''Uyo''

On Victor's second album, "Uyo", released in 2006, big names in Afro-Jazz appeared, this includes celebrated drummer, Sam Mataure, female jazz vocalist Prudence Katomeni, bassist Kelly Rusike, keyboardist Manasa Mujawo, Guitarist Zivanai Masango, percussionist Adam Chisvo, Richie Lopez on saxophone. His second offering made an equally big success on Zimbabwean music charts and is still very much popular to date. "Uyo" Song list: *1. Mandirasa *2. Kana *3. Kure (The Prodigal Son) *4. Mamurega *5. Munyamai *6. Next *7. Nzara *8. Zivanayi *9. Uyo in 2010, Victor released his 3rd Album Handinete.

''Peace''

Victor formed the group “Peace” in 2004 and since then, they have been a part of every major festival in Zimbabwe and a regular feature at premium Zimbabwe functions and Jazz clubs. Victor and Peace have also performed alongside musical greats like

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, Habib Coyete,

Jabu Khanyile Jabu Khanyile (28 February 1957 – 12 November 2006)Lusk, John (2006), ''The Independent'', 16 November 2006 was a South African musician and lead vocalist from the band Bayete. Life and career Khanyile was born in Soweto, and was forced to ...

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, and

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

. The group is known to give spirited performances at annual arts festivals like the Harare International Festival of the Arts ( HIFA), the Zimbabwe Jazz Festival among others.

References

External links

Zim Audio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunonga, Victor Living people 1974 births Zimbabwean jazz musicians