Chiwoniso, known warmly as "Chi," is a young and brilliant African singer. Born in Olympia, Washington, where her famous father Dumisani Maraire lived and taught traditional Shona music, she spent a good deal of her life in Zimbabwe. There she was exposed to Shona musical traditions. It was at the 1998 Decouverte RFI Afrique (Radio France International Star Search) in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), that she came into prominence. On Ancient Voices, Tinder records, she melds the conventional and modern, sings in English and African languages, and uses contemporary instruments and traditional African instruments such as the Mbira. She learned how to play the instrument despite the fact that traditionally, women in Zimbabwe were not permitted to play the instrument. The mbira, she says, "Is like a large xylophone. It is everywhere in Africa under different names: sanza, kalimba, etc. For us in Zimbabwe it is the name for many string instruments. They are many kind of mbiras. The one that I play is called the knuwga-knuwga, which means brilliance-brilliance." The consistent rhythm of the mbira are throughout the album and provide a very authentic background to Chiwoniso's songs of her people.
In an NPR review, Afro pop Worldwide editor Banning Eyre points out what an important new inspiration Chiwoniso's music represents for Zimbabwe, "A young singer like Chiwoniso is able to take the music and messages of her ancestors and turn them into a pop sound that young people can really get. Chiwoniso is more than a promising new African star, she is a voice of hope and a guiding light for a society in crisis." (http://chiwoniso.calabashmusic.com/)
References: Nouveau Africana
