Chiwoniso Maraire
Chiwoniso Maraire ( born March 5, 1976 in Olympia, Washington, USA, † July 24, 2013 in Chitungwiza ) was a Zimbabwean singer, musician and songwriter. Their music is mainly influenced by the playing of the mbira.
Life
Maraire was born as the daughter of Zimbabwean mbira player Dumisani Maraire and singer Linda Nemarundwe Maraire in the U.S., while her father taught in Olympia at Evergreen State College.
It was introduced early on by her parents in the traditional Shonamusik. The age of four she could play the mbira, though traditionally women in Zimbabwe this is not allowed and nine years old, she took along with her parents, her first piece on.
At age eleven, she played in the band Dumi & Minanzi III. her father, with 14 along with her brother Ziyanai, her sister and her father Tawona quartet Mhuri yaMaraire.
1990 returned Maraire and her family back to Zimbabwe, where she attended Mutare Girls High School. In 1991, she joined the band A Peace of Ebony, a group composed of members of different nationalities and looked settled in the African rap. With the group she could win the award in 1994 as best young band from southern Africa at Radio France Internationale (RFI ) Festival. After the separation of A Peace of Ebony Chiwoniso started her solo career.
Her first solo album Ancient Voices was published in 1996. On this she combines modern and traditional, sings both in English and in Shona and plays both a variety of contemporary and African instruments. The album was a success, being the prize was awarded for best young artist of the RFI 1997.
In 1999, she appeared as a singer with Andy Brown and The Storm on among others the MASA Festival in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. In addition Maraire was nominated in the Best Female Vocals of Africa at KOMA Award category 2001.
Since 2001 she has participated in various projects. She was the front woman of her acoustic group Chiwoniso & Vibe Culture, was between 2001 and 2004 a member of the multinational women's group Women's Voice and also wrote soundtracks for Zimbabwean film productions.
In addition Maraire has, inter alia, with Sinéad O'Connor or Habib Koité from Mali, worked.
In September 2008, published Chiwoniso another album Rebel Woman, which also represents their first international release.
On July 24, 2013 Chiwoniso Maraire died of a lung infection in a hospital in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe.
The situation in Zimbabwe
During her tour in 2007 in Denmark, she spoke out publicly against the violence and brutality in their home:
"To beat people, to threaten people, to put a person in a situation where theyhave to think for the next five hours about whether or not They are going to be okay - is a very, very bad thing to do ".
Discography
- Ancient Voices (2001)
- Timeless ( released 2004)
- Rebel Woman ( 2008)