Johannesburg - Veteran gospel singer Zaza Mokhethi is opening up the industry through her recently launched 22-woman gospel ensemble, Woman in Chronicle.
She says having survived the harsh gospel music industry, which continues to shrink in spite of the end of the Covid-19 lockdowns, mentoring and developing a new brand of gospel singer has kept her going in the past two years.
“You have to be willing to share your spotlight with younger musicians if you want to continue being a vessel for God’s greatness. That means you can’t be jealous of other people’s talents,” Mokhethi said during a sit-down with The Star.
Like thousands of musicians, the travel restrictions and inability to make an income took a toll on her and her family, but Mokhethi says she survived through royalties and the grace of God.
“We all survived through the grace of God, and we continue to survive through him. However, unlike many backing vocalists who do not earn royalties through their music, I managed to survive through royalties and used my status to secure food parcels for more than 500 backing vocalists from Gauteng, which really helped some of them as they do not make money when they are not onstage,” she said.
Inspired by her desire to empower and give back to the industry that has raised her to an internationally acclaimed gospel powerhouse, Mokhethi, who began her foray into the music industry at the tender age of three, told The Star that God’s love is about giving back and shining one’s light to those who come after you.
The group, which houses young, up-and-coming women vocalists from across the country, recorded its live CD and DVD “Woman in Chronicle Chapter 1”, recorded on Women’s Day in 2022, and since then has been performing at various venues across the country.
“All the women in the group are lead vocalists in their own right. It is about telling their stories through music because these young women, some of them as young as 17 years old, have moving stories to tell, and they choose to tell their stories through music and song, as the name of the group Woman in Chronicle suggests,” Mokhethi said.
She says as she continues to encourage and inspire other young women to grow in their careers, she is encouraged by the growth and testimonies of these young women, who are now fully-fledged gospel stars after following her mentorship programme.
“The idea was to give an open door to those who are marginalised and not afforded opportunity to express their God-given talent in the gospel sector. Some of the women came as far as KZN and Mpumalanga even though we were looking to recruit locally, but due to the demand, we had to include women from outside Gauteng as there are minimal opportunities outside Gauteng for many of them,” she said.
She says the aim is to grow her foundation, the Zaza Mokhethi Foundation, alongside her music recording and music business endeavours, which means more auditions and more tours across the country.
“We want to continue to do more for other musicians, not necessarily gospel artists, but musicians from other provinces who do not have the platforms to showcase their talents. We want to be able to do a tour across the country that will allow us to do that. But we need help and funding for us to be able to realise this dream of ours,” she said.
The Star