Have you heard the story of Hard Work and Talent? According to legend, Hard Work met up with Talent for a deadly duel; Talent had all the death-dealing weapons and all Hard Work had was one move. Hard Work had worked on that particular move for a whole year and when it was time to use it against the infamous malicious Talent, she mopped the floor with Talent’s face (not a metaphor!). This was back in 600BC (give or take), but Hard Work’s spirit still lives on inside the few people always willing to go the extra mile.
Evidently, the same spirit resides in Ti Gonzi, who somehow managed to be part of more than 25 collaborations in a single year, which is obviously a big deal. (Quick disclaimer: not all songs have been mentioned in this account but if we are anything close to accurate, there are about 27 Ti Gonzi gems scattered across the internet, just for us).
Not many artists can actually say they have done so much as half of what Ti Gonzi did this year, or any other year for that matter. This is one man that has been very hard to miss this year, and considering the way he frequented the radio stations you might have heard some of his songs. It’s even possible that you heard all of his songs but probably only remember those that resonated with you. Ti Gonzi featured in some of the songs we are sure to be getting down to this December, such as Ex-Q’s Zuva Rese and Ishan’s lionized Kure and Kure Remix.
In all these songs he proved his worth as he did not disappoint whenever the ball was passed to his court. True to type, he came through with his distinct storytelling kind of rap and some of these songs did really well. The list of songs he featured in this year includes N.T.A’s Good Mood, JJ Vibe’s Ndozvida and Gary Tight’s Zviroto. Basically, we should all take a page out of this man’s book and just learn to do the work. I am quite confident that at this point a sizable portion of the Zimbabwean population can recognize Ti Gonzi’s voice without being told.
Ti Gonzi went on to prove those genre boundaries are just a mere figment of the imagination of the uninspired. He jaywalked across genres like a boss; from soulful Hip Hop (like Calie Bonce’s Dreams) to R&B, to Dancehall (particularly Stunner’s Huruwek – for the hardcore die-hard Zimbabwean Dancehall fans). He even went on to ensure that the Urban Grooves flame remains vital in his collaboration with Looga Diamond, in a song called Uri Speshari and in Ngoni Kambarami’s Mamoyo.
We have certainly grown to appreciate Ti Gonzi’s peculiar style of rapping, some people might even go on to describe it as quite humorous (making it fairly easy on the ear). Hands down no contest, 2019 has been Ti Gonzi’s year and here are some of the songs in which he appeared; Willis Wataffi’s Ring On A Finger, Tasha Kays’ Dzoka Kumba, Quonfuzed’s Mundirangirewo and R. Peel’s Moto. And we certainly cannot imagine Johnny K’s Twabam without him.
In one of his songs, he even described himself as a shooting star, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the true definition of baking your cake and then having it.