by Ishmaiah Travis Kapfumvuti
So this week we had a privilege to talk to one of the guys who have got the passion to make sure young people are recognized in our environment as they are soon to release their new single.
Ishmaiah Travis : Ok so first of all we’ve heard a lot more about TJP can you tell us exactly what is TJP what is it all about?
Brent : The Jesus Project is a group of young people pursuing music on a gospel tip doing different kinds of genres and trying to penetrate a market that has always been deemed an adult market , so the goal is to do music at a professional level , music that can compete with anybody else and impact people’s lives whilst at the same time delivering quality product.
ISHMAIAH TRAVIS : WHAT STRENGTHS DOES THE GROUP HAVE THAT YOU BELIEVE MAKE IT A GREAT GOSPEL GROUP?
BRENT : I think one of the main reasons that gives unveiled
s Project an edge over most of the other gospel groups in Zimbabwe and elsewhere is the fact that its not really an autocracy where you find only the leader is the one with the creative ability to make and formulate musical visions and strategies , it’s open for all members of the group who’ve song ideas who wat to perfect or edit certain songs in the group and it gives an opportunity for the music to grow and blossom into something even more better when more minds are allowed to have creative direction and creative powers over the songs. One of the things that we strength ourselves in is unity of purpose because we’re all in need for one reason that is to win souls into the kingdom and win music when music grow in the musical aspect of things and not only do we want that , we also want to be heard, seen and to live a legacy that young people came and did something. Lastly the biggest thing that gives strength over most people is our unity of purpose in our calling to preach Christ so we believe what the word of God says “Those who labor the Lord labor in vein”, Christ is the number one focus he’s the number one aim and bringing souls to him is the number one aim .
ISHMAIAH TRAVIS : DO YOU HAVE ANY WEAKNESSES THAT YOU’RE ACTIVELY WORKING TO IMPROVE ON?
BRENT : Yeah weaknesses are there, one of the fact its a predominantly a young group with a lot of young people in it and one of the things that lacks insuch kind of space is wisdom from elders who have been in the music industry for a while and because of that , that’s where we’ve engaged certain people who might not be at preview to mention to mentor me as the leader and a couple of other people in the group because sometimes in as much as you’re coming up with this fresh new vibe you also need people who’ve been in the game to guide you.
ISHMAIAH TRAVIS : HOW MANY ALBUMS HAVE YOU RECORDED SO FAR AS TJP?
BRENT : We’ve so far recorded one studio album and two singles that have been released and we’re also going to release our next single and the other album that will be coming in the month of September.
ISHMAIAH TRAVIS : THAT’S GREAT NEWS SO TELL US IN TERMS OF FUNDING, HAVE YOU EVER GOT A CHANCE TO LOOK FOR SPONSORS HOW DO U SPONSOR YOURSELF WE UNDERSTAND YOU ALSO NEED TO BOOK STUDIOS FOR REHEARSALS AND ALSO FOR RECORDING HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
BRENT : At the present moment we haven’t got any funding or any sponsorship of any nature so everything is funded by myself , its hustle and we keep always hoping for the best in-order to get funding and do what we do so i fund everything myself from rehearsals, studio sessions, photoshoots and even to outfits. Its only recently that i started to talk to a couple of parents to help fund for music videos but since from the beginning it has always been me and its difficult sometimes because you just don’t have the fund especially when we’re in a covid-19 season like this its difficult to source funds so by God’s grace A MBINGA shall be unveiled
ISHMAIAH TRAVIS : OK WE HOPE AND PRAY FOR GOD’S INTERVENTION ON WHAT YOU HAVE FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE. SO WE’VE BEEN SEEING POSTERS FOR THE COUNTDOWN ON YOUR NEW TRACK CAN YOU TELL US WHAT CAN PEOPLE EXPECT FROM THE SONG
BRENT : We’re so excited about the song that we’re about to release and this particular song is called “Ngcwele Somadla” which is a combination of both Ndebele and Shona and slight little bit of Zulu and what gave birth to this song was this other day when i was following social media I saw that there was a little bit of battle between different tribes , tribalism so to speak ..so i jut thought like why don’t we do a song that embraces both Shona and Ndebele so that we try to bridge the gap so that people understand that its just a language barrier but we are still one people despite different geographic locations in our country. And if you had to listen to the song when it’s released you see that it starts with Ndebele which is also the dominating language on the song because i just felt like we have to embrace the fact that Ndebele is a beautiful language and we should incorporate it more in our music , so its a powerful song and I’m so excited because I know that not only is it gonna appeal to certain part of the country because it has got two different languages and people who might not understand Shona will be able to understand Ndebele .
ISHMAIAH TRAVIS : OK LAST BUT NOT LEAST ARE THERE ANY MUSICIANS WHO INSPIRE YOU? WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU ADMIRE ABOUT THEM?
BRENT : At the local scene I’m really inspired by Janet Manyowa and her husband like their work ethic is absolutely amazing it is a thing of beauty , they way they put in their work ,the way they just make things happen you know that every project that they’re gonna produce is gonna be exceptional and at the International level I’ve a whole lot of people but Phil Thompson, Travis Greene , Jonathan McReynolds and one thing that I like about Jonathan is that he just doesn’t sing about praising God he also talks daily Christian living and I feel like that one of the thing that lacks in our music. I’ll give you an example of one of the songs that we did as The Jesus Project called “Kutaura Chokwadi” it literally encourages people to talk truth which is also part of daily Christian living because you know its easy to just say God is goods while at the same time living in sin but his music talks about what I can call right living , and some of these inner demons that pursue us as Christians so I’m really inspired by his music a lot .
ISHMAIAH TRAVIS : OK SIR BRENT IT WAS NICE HEARING FROM YOU SO HOW CAN PEOPLE GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU SO THAT IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR OUR READERS TO GET YOUR MUSIC AND OTHER UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
BRENT : People can follow Thes Jesus Project on all social platforms Facebook its @The Jesus Project TJP
@TheJesusProject on Instagram
They can also follow me personally both on Instagram and Facebook @Brent_kudakwashe as well as my number 0775508806
ISHMAIAH TRAVIS : MY BROTHER, CONGRATULATIONS ON ALL YOUR SUCCESS WITH THE YOUNG BOYS AND GIRLS, KEEP WINNING. DON’T STOP AND KEEP INSPIRING, BROTHER, AIGHT?
BRENT : A SPECIAL THANKS TO FAMOUS MAGAZINE FOR ALLOWING US TO SHARE WITH THE WORLD WHAT WE HAVE INSTORE ,LOVE, BRO. ISHMAIAH TRAVIS: LOVE, BROTHER. SALUTE.