FakeAno pays tribute to late musical giant Oliver Mtukudzi

Afro-pop singer FakeAno is on a quest to shine a light on the late music giant Oliver Mtukudzi’s legacy through his new music.  

The Zimbabwean-born artist, who was raised in SA, says he grew up in a family church and this is where he honed his musical knowledge and skills, which shaped him into a musician and writer.  

He has returned to complete his African Boy Trilogy with the long-awaited EP titled African Boy 3 – parts one and two were released in 2021 and 2022, respectively.  

“I chose to pay tribute to the late musical giant Oliver Mtukudzi on my single Mwari Anewe,  which comes as a tribute to the original version Neria,” says the 28-year-old singer.  

“What inspired this song is that Oliver is encouraging Neria, telling her that God is with her, so her heart should not be troubled. This is something my aunt used to hold dear to her heart before I lost her to Covid-19.  

“We lost the biggest music legend to ever come out of Zimbabwe at a time when I was conceptualising my trilogy project in 2019. Although he and I got to perform at the Oppikoppi festival in 2018, I never got to speak to him.

“So, I wanted to give him a moment in my story as he played such a huge role in what I wanted to do in the music scene and why not pay tribute to him with one of the biggest songs that the whole world knows,” FakeAno says.

He says he has  cleared all rights to the song.

“I actually give him the majority of the copy [right], which will go towards his estate.” 

Born Anotidaishe Makunike, FakeAno’s musical journey started in high school when he and his friends started church group Africa Sing.

At the age of 14, his music career started taking off form when he collaborated with Michael “Taku” Ngulube to record and release their first song Higher.   

The dynamic duo continued their musical journey, performing across the country in what became over 200 live shows on big stages such as Oppikoppi, Vodacom Durban July, Back To The City, Cotton Fest, AKA’s Orchestra On The Square, Enter The Woods and Bacardi Holiday Club.

The success of the performances sparked a movement and subsequently birthed the music label, Blank Space Records.  

“My mom told me that I’ve always been in love with music since I was a little kid... we’d walk into a store and I’d always be fascinated by the keyboard toys. So, when I went to high school, I started learning how to play a few instruments and how to write a few songs – with this passion, I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and I haven’t looked back since,” says FakeAno.

“My solo act as FakeAno officially started in 2019. The journey has been rather terrifyingly scary because I had to move in a tactful manner, especially in how I make my mark in the music industry. However, overall, the journey has been quite fulfilling in the last few years because my music was received very well by my fans.” 

FakeAno has since made it his mandate to continue to evolve a modern indigenous sound that is influenced and informed by his home and his people. 

“I believe there are seven certified bangers on my latest project. I worked with Sauwcy, 2woshort and Henwood. My last offering from the trilogy is delivered in Shona and English because this is where I see myself in the African diaspora, I believe that as Africans, we all can relate to one another,” he adds.  

“The melodies and instrumentals are inspired by Nigerian stars Burna Boy and Wizkid, which highlights the much loved Southern African Afrobeat sound that I refer to as Southy Beats.” 

The singer, who plans to dominate the charts, details that one of his memorable career moments to date was working on Sho Madjozi’s albums during lockdown in 2020.

“Sho Madjozi took us away on a writing camp to her home province in Limpopo at some resort. We spent a couple of days making music and trying to figure out how to capture her sound. Some of the songs are yet to be released and I can’t wait for people to hear them.”

seemelam@arena.africa