A year ago Nisha Ts was a hitmaker still waiting on her first album. Now she has a NAMA on the shelf, a second album in the shops, and a slot on one of the biggest bills outside Harare this weekend. Tsigamugobo is the record that has to prove the first one wasn't a one-off.
Carrying the load
The title is a Shona phrase about bearing your cross, carrying whatever weight life puts on you. Greedysouth points out that the artwork makes the idea literal: Nisha Ts walks with musical instruments balanced on her head, music as the load she has chosen to carry.
According to its Apple Music listing, Tsigamugobo came out on 17 September with 10 songs and a running time of about 30 minutes, released under her own Nisha Ts Entertainment. That's a tighter record than her 12-track debut, Gender iiH (Woman King).
She didn't wait for streaming to do the work. The Daily News reports that she launched it at Pfupajena Stadium in her home town of Chegutu on Saturday 12 September, drawing a big crowd and bringing out Holy Ten, Bling 4 and others. The paper called it one of the year's notable female-led shows outside Harare. Two weeks later, Hurumende reported, she headlined the closing Peace In The Hood concert of Shoko Festival in Chitungwiza.
What's on it
Greedysouth's Album in Focus review walks through the tracklist. It opens with "Shasha", a love song with Holy Ten over a Ghost Magician beat. "Kuredza" uses fishing as a metaphor for chasing opportunity, "Padare Guru" brings in Jnr Spragga, and "Ndanzwa Mhere" features Da Ruler. "Reuben" leans on a jiti rhythm and is built for a good time.
The standouts are the heavier songs. "Shuramatongo", a mbira-led duet with Sylent Nqo, deals with HIV and the risky behaviour that keeps it spreading, and the reviewer calls it the album "at its most beautiful". "Gender Iyi" tackles gender-based violence and is written as a second chapter to the song of the same name on her debut, which took on the gender roles that hold Zimbabwean women back.
Not every verdict is glowing. Greedysouth scores it 6.9 out of 10 and argues it lacks the lustre of Gender iiH, a decent record living in the shadow of a stronger debut. That's a fair test for any second album, and worth hearing for yourself.
About that NAMA
Some coverage, including Greedysouth's review, credits Gender iiH with the NAMA for Outstanding Album. The official winners list tells a different story. At the 24th NAMAs on 28 February, Gender iiH was nominated for Outstanding Album, but the award went to Jah Prayzah's Ndini Mukudzeyi, his fifth. Nisha Ts won Outstanding Female Musician, her first NAMA, and Bulawayo24 describes her receiving it with her grandmother beside her as one of the most emotional moments of the night.
Why it matters
Zimdancehall is still a scene where the biggest names are mostly men. Nisha Ts now has two full albums in two years, both built around songs on gender, violence and health that most chart music steers clear of. That gives her something many of her peers don't have: a body of work rather than a run of hits.
The way she's releasing it matters too. A home-town stadium launch, her own imprint on the release, and a festival headline slot show an artist building her own audience outside Harare rather than waiting for one. The streams over the next few months, and whether "Shuramatongo" or "Gender Iyi" break out beyond her core fans, will show whether the message is landing as well as the beats.
Where to see her this weekend
Nisha Ts is on the Most Wanted: Bindura Edition bill at Bindura Country Club on Saturday 17 October, with Jah Prayzah headlining and Blot, Seh Calaz and Hulengende also performing. It's 18+, with general, VIP and VVIP tickets. Full details on our events page. It's also a neat bit of symmetry: the man who took the album award she was up for, sharing a stage with the woman who won the musician award.
Sources
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