Since her debut to the Zimbabwean audience Indie-folk artist Gemma Griffiths has made it a bit of a habit to cover or rather to interpret some favourites such as Andy Brown’s ‘Mapurisa’ or Winky D’s ‘Bigiman’ (which just hit 100,000 views on YouTube); pouring out the type of soul that quite simply cannot be imitated or manufactured. The latest addition to Gemma’s Hall of Fame of insanely impressive renditions is Jah Prayzah’s Mdhara vaChauya which she partially translated into English. The beauty of this interpretation is that very little is taken away from the original song and it serves exactly as what an interpretation should, ensuring that the listener gets to enjoy the Zimbo classic, language barrier aside. A translation and a cover for that may not necessary but it’s definitely endearing just ask Stuart Taffs! It’s hardly about outdoing the artist but more so the highest form of flattery! We couldn’t get in touch with Jah Prayzah but we got a brief hold of Gemma.
According to a chat Gemma had with #ENTHUSE over the phone; the interpretation was inspired when she opened for Jah Prayzah at a Summer Concert in Kirstenbosch – South Africa.
“I opened for him at his show in Cape Town, and it was there, seeing him perform live that got me thinking about it” said Gemma
It definitely had us thinking that a collaborative romance might be in the air for starboy Jah Prayzah and indie-kid Gemma considering she’s currently recording her EP which features few collaborations. The flowerchild was rather coy with the details, more so when we asked if one of the collaborations included Jah Prayzah.
“[laughs] I can’t tell you any more just yet, only time will tell!” Gemma said.
Considering her EP will include a Zimbabwean, South African and International collaboration, our money is on a Jah Prayzah duet which features an interesting fusion of Mbira and Indie soul! Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for the EP. At least we have Miombo Magic and other festivals to look forward to for a live Gemma experience. Till then have a watch of her interpretation of Mdhara vachauya below.
