NYASHADZAISHE RUSHWAYA
CHIVHU-Upcoming Chivhu based artist Washington Mugabe aka Washer Vibes has joined the fight against drug abuse through music by penning a song which discourages the youth from taking dangerous substances.
Washer Vibes (23) takes every opportunity while on stage to encourage the youth to find something to occupy them and desist from taking substances that will leave them in a worse condition than before.
“It is our responsibility as the youth and entertainers to spread the gospel against drugs and substance abuse.
As for me I will take every available opportunity to preach the gospel of drug abuse to the youth, through songs and performing on stage. “The scourge has taken a toll on our generation and if we stop talking about it. we risk losing a whole generation to drugs,” said the soft spoken afro fusion singer.
The Nyika, Bikita born singer based in the farming town of The Kingdom of Enkeldoorn now Chivhu also talks about early child marriages which became more pronounced during the deadly COVID-19 disease induced lockdown from 2020 to 2022.
Washer Vibes has one album to his name entitled, Hope Dzangu and is planning to release more, funds permitting.
His first single was recorded in 2020 called Sei Zvichidaro after the death of his father and the song received fair airplay on local radio stations and grew his fan base quite substantially and he is happy about the project.
Washer Vibes’ love for music began at a tender age of 12 years.
He learned at Liebenberg High School in Chivhu and says his music is inspired by Kelvin Kusikwenyu aka Killer T and his dream is to share the stage with him one day.
The afro fusion (which is a musical style that blends traditional African music with elements of western pop, R&B, hip hop and electronic music) singer is doing some live shows in and around Chivhu town and also performs at private functions.
Washer Vibes is experienced enough to have faced some challenges and setbacks and this is a great age for his character, because it leaves room for him to develop and change the course of his story to suit the situation.
“Some of the challenges that we face as upcoming musicians from outside Harare are; we are not being given enough time to show case our talents on the big stage…not having enough airplay from DJs even if I submit my work to local radio stations. We are also being overcharged by record labels and after paying a lot of money they don’t even market you….unogona kusatopiwa song yacho yawabhadhara even US$100,” said Washer Vibes.
