The Sunday News
Senior Leisure Reporter
FOLLOWING in his father’s footsteps was a task many deemed a mammoth one for Danny Mashinkila (junior), son of the late Danny Mashabila Mashinkila.
Despite possessing an insatiable interest in music, as his father, his taste was different.
His interest lay in commercial music, which appealed to his generation — hip-hop and rap.
Today, after years of silently maturing in the game, Danny is finally able to wear his father’s shoes.
Danny, who is also the younger brother to Highlanders Football Club legend, Willard Khumalo, now goes by the name The V.O.I.C.E. (Vibrations of Influential Creative Elements) and is presently based in South Africa, where his popularity is growing.
He said he was influenced by his father’s passion for jazz music.
“I was influenced by my father’s passion for jazz music. He was the founder of the Bulawayo band — Up-Tempo,” he said.
Danny said he became a mouthpiece of public speaking in the early 90s, when hip-hop took form as a culture.
“I was a dancer in the group popularly known as Bad-Impact, and then I became an MC and later migrated to South Africa in a quest to be recognised all over Africa and then later the world,” he said.
Danny also mentioned that he also had a great interest in poetry and was on the verge of “discovering” the poet in him.
“I am trying to discover the poet in me and transform myself into a renowned ‘word-smith’, who is able to narrate the story of life, through the trials and tribulations I experienced in the diaspora. I want to use art as a medium of communication, creating a canvas of awareness through my artistic vision,” he said.
Danny is the co-founder and member of a free-jazz band named Kamili Nee, which was formed early this year in South Africa.
Their name, Kamili, means complete in Swahili. Danny noted that the name represented their unique style of music, fused into one, as they all originate from different cultural backgrounds and represent different countries within the Sadc region espeically Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South-Africa.
“This artistic collective was born in the heart of the most diverse metropolitan city in Africa — Johannesburg. We are currently in the studio recording our debut project, to be released later on this year, accompanied by an Indie film titled Finding Kamili. The film is being shot by two young freelance journalists based in New York City, Natasha Scully and Kimberly Conner.
“Be sure to look out for more projects in the pipeline from this group of creative minds, breaking the barriers of gender, nationality, race and age, with only one common goal, to tell the world, the most interesting story of all time — LIFE,” he said.
He added that he was due to have an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation soon, an interview he anticipates will gain them international recognition.
Danny was born on 15 October 1980 in Kabwe, Zambia, but migrated to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where he grew up and was educated till the late 90s.
The members of Kamili Nee include Hlumelo Akhona Mquqo (pianist), Tshegofatso Motlou (saxophonist), Nika Boje Phala (lead vocalist) and Kabo Wigget aka Luna (rapper/producer).
They are creating a new genre of music they have named — NEE (Native, Eclectic, Evolution), which combines a spike of jazz with a ray of contemporary styles, such as hip-hop, neo-soul and Afro-pop.
