Chiwoniso Maraire

about

Chiwoniso Maraire was a Zimbabwean singer, songwriter, and exponent of Zimbabwean mbira music. She was the daughter of Zimbabwean mbira master and teacher Dumisani Maraire. Born in 1976 in Olympia, Washington, where her father had moved his family, the song bird spent the first seven years of her life in the US. She spent a portion of her high school years attending The Northwest School in Seattle, Washington. When she moved back to Zimbabwe she attended Mutare Girls' High School and took evening classes at the University of Zimbabwe, where her father was teaching. In the early 1990s, when she was 15, she formed part of the Afro-fusion hip-hop trio A Peace of Ebony, which "was perhaps the first group to fuse mbira with contemporary beats". In 1996, she joined The Storm, a band led by guitarist Andy Brown (who later became her husband): "The Storm became one of Zimbabwe's biggest bands, touring the world and winning accolades.... Maraire's firm voice and Brown's plucky guitar made a beautiful combination." Maraire fronted her acoustic group Chiwoniso & Vibe Culture for several years. Her first album, Ancient Voices, was released to international acclaim in 1995. In 1998, she toured West Africa and Europe with fellow mbira player, Kurai Mubaiwa, serving as the opening act for Cape Verdean singer-songwriter Cesária Évora. Maraire was honoured by Radio France ("Decouverte Afrique") for her debut album, Ancient Voices (1998), and was nominated in the Kora All-Africa Music Awa

top songs

albums

Listen To The Banned

Zvichapera

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Rebel woman

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Women care

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Ancient Voices

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Across the Oceans (feat. Hans Lüdemann, Aly Keita & Chander Sardjoe)

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Tales Of The Mbira (Thumb Piano Fr Zimbabwe)

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Tales Of The Mbira

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Freemuse & Deeyah Presents: Listen To The Banned

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Women Care !

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Freemuse and Deeyah Present Listen To The Banned

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Freemuse & Deeyah Present Listen To The Banned

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