Freeman

At the age of 18, Freeman got a job at an abattoir as a butcher boy and it was during this period that he met a friend and collaborator Nhubu Wemanuff who helped him record his first song which he admits did not do well. He then went on to record the song Ndokupa Rudo which many thought was a song by Trinta.^[1]

In 2012, he married Barbra Chinhete whom he dated for six years. Freeman paid three cattle and an undisclosed amount to his in-laws.^[2]

Career

Freeman entered the music scene with his hit titled "Joina City" which made the chanter an overnight star. Ever since breaking into the limelight, Freeman has never looked back. He has also released other hits such as "Shaina mwana iwe" and "Doctor wemagitare", "Handina godo" just to mention a few.

Freeman has performed overseas in the United Kingdom alongside other Zimbabwean artists such as Tocky Vibes and Nox Guni. He is also a member of the Dzivarasekwa based group of artists known as DangerZone Zimdancehall, a group of artists and records with PunchLINE Entertainment.^[3] Freeman's group is called HKD. He has done collaborations with other top Zimdancehall artists including Winky D, Shinsoman, Celscius, Lady Squanda and others.

Videos

Ngaibake feat Alick Macheso

Discography

Albums

• New Chapta (2013)
• Varidzi VeZvinhu (2014)
• Last Man Standing
• Mangoma Ihobho (2016)
• Gango (2019)

Mixtapes

• Freeman & Friends (2020)

In 2020 Freeman released a mixtape Freeman & Friends featuring a star-studded lineup consisting of Mambo Dhuterere, Tammy Moyo, Ti Gonzi, Gemma Griffiths, Daruler, Baba Harare, Mbeu, Mai Titi, Takura, Sandra Ndebele and Shinsoman.

Songs

• Kurambwa Ndaramba
• ft Cally C-Pressure
• Ft Shinsoman-Ndinomira Semukono
• Vanondigayira
• Hatikundike
• Strcture
• Kakandinyangira
• Summertime Pt2
• Kure
• and crew@ Eyespy freestyl
• Summertym
• ft Lady Squanda-Neshungu
• Havandide((Alliance riddim))
• ft Cally C-Joina City
• Unondipa rudo
• Havandide((Terminator 2 rdm))
• Maturity
• Oyee
• Sharon
• Ndangariro
• Still Crying((Goodlove rdm))

Controversy

Freeman came under heavy criticism from other musicians for his bullying tactics when it came to his relations to fellow artists in the trade. The allegations further claimed that Freeman was also stealing songs from other artists.^[4] Somandla Ndebele claimed that his son Mega Lox, had been duped of his song by Freeman. The Dancehall Doctor was at one point chased off the stage by revellers after it was alleged that he had failed to live up to expectations.^[5]

Passport Issue

In 2017, Freeman was fined US$50 for lying to the Registrar General’s Department that he had lost his passport in a bid to apply for a new one.

Freeman was convicted on his own plea when he appeared before Harare magistrate Joy Chikodzero charged with deliberately supplying false information to a public authority.

He had sent his passport to the British Embassy where his visa application was being processed. Freeman told the court during mitigation that greediness led him to apply for a second passport to use while his other one was with the British Embassy. He said:

"Your Worship, I beg the court to forgive me because I did all this out of greediness. My first passport was with the British Embassy for visa processing since I was to travel for a show there. While the UK visa was being processed I was invited for another show in Cape Town, South Africa and there was no way I could travel without a passport so I had to lie to obtain another one."

Sometime in 2011, Freeman approached the Registrar General’s Department and applied for a passport which he was then issued in February 2012.

Later in 2015, he wanted to attend a musical show in London leading him to submit his passport at the British Embassy for visa application.

As the visa was being processed, he got an invitation to perform in Cape Town.

Since his passport was with the British Embassy, he then proceeded to the Registrar General’s Department and lied that he lost his passport and applied for another one.

As a result of the false information, he was issued with another one which he used to travel to South Africa for the music gala.

The matter only came to light when the British Visa expired and he resubmitted the passport which he said was lost for another one.

When the British Embassy realised the anomaly, it impounded the passport and complained to the police leading to his arrest. ^[6]

Links To Armed Robbers

In December 2021, Freeman was questioned by the police after a picture of himself and Charles Chirara, one of the three robbers gunned down by former detective Joseph Nemaisa during a Chadcombe shoot-out circulated on social media.

The shootout occurred soon after the release of Freeman’s album “Robbery”, prompting detectives from the CID Homicide Section to summon him (Freeman) in for questioning to explain his association with the criminals.

Freeman said that he knew Chirara, a former soldier, who he said was his fan and voluntary show bouncer, but didn’t know that he was a robber.^[7]

In December 2023, questions were again raised about Freeman's association with criminals after pictures emerged in which he posed with Godknows Machingura, a suspected armed robber who was shot dead by detectives during a shootout in Harare.

Freeman’s camp said that his involvement with Machingura, who was a music promoter in South Africa, was purely on showbiz business.

Freeman, through his lawyer Dumisani Mthombeni, was cited as saying he only posted Machingura on his social media platforms as an appreciation after he sponsored one of his music videos “Unobvuma Here”, which features Nox.^[8]

Picture Gallery

Awards

• 2013 Zimdancehall Best Album Award

Trivia

• Apart from being a butcher boy Freeman also worked as a truck driver delivering sand to builders.

• In December 2011 Freeman was invited for his first show in Banket and the promoter paid him US$80 even though they had agreed on a $100 fee.

• In an interview, Freeman revealed that he does not write lyrics in a book then go into the booth. He claims that it all happens naturally when he is recording. He said that,

  "When a beat starts playing I start singing and make corrections to lyrics as I go."

References