Otis Ngwabi
Otis Ngwabi is a Zimbabwean Urban Grooves musician who has since jumped ship from RnB, the music genre that made him popular, to house music. Ngwabi is fondly remembered for the track Ndiwe which signalled his entrance into the music business at the turn of the millenium.[1]
Background
Otis Ngwabi was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and currently based in South Africa.
Career
Ngwabi started his career at the birth of the urban grooves revolution with the likes of Plaxedes Wenyika, David Chifunyise, Sanii Makhalima and Leonard Mapfumo. The track Ndiwe from the album Inkondlo Zothando was popular both on radio and television.
He has been resident in South Africa for the last few years and recently began to make inroads in that country’s lucrative Afro Jazz scene. With his ability to hold musical notes and the experience that he has acquired over the years in the music industry, Ngwabi has been tipped as the next big thing and looks set to follow Bekezela as the latest Bulawayo talent to crack it the South African music industry.
He made a come-back to the music scene in 2011 with a single Nomzamo which was part of the compilation CD titled Zim Stars which featured a number of local musicians. “Nomzamo is my come-back track for the compilation and it is also going to be the title track for a new album I’m working on,” said Ngwabi.
Death Threats
It has not been smooth sailing for Ngwabi in 2018 who is now managed by Nefertiti Media in South Africa, with an unnamed local artiste claiming that he stole his idea for the song Nomzamo and is now therefore demanding his due. So determined is the artiste in asking for what he believes he is owed that death threats have been sent to one of the stars of Zimbabwe’s urban grooves era. “Otis is stressed now because these guys are sending him death threats,” Ngwabi’s manager Unathi Memela.[2]
Discography
- Inkondlo zothando (2002)
- Zulu Zulu (2008)
Video
