Dumisani “Ramadu” Moyo was born on the 26th of June in 1975. He started his career as a professional musician in 199 in Bulawayo, in the South of Zimbabwe.
Ramadu´s original name ´Dumisani´ means ´to praise´ and the family name ´Moyo´ means ´heart´. When he started his solo career he chose Ramadu as his artistic name the name however does not have a special meaning to Ndebele language speakers it simply comes out of the nickname for Dumisani, known as D-u-m-a-r-a when spelled backwards.
At an early age, when he attended the Mzlikazi Primary School he discovered his bond to the traditional music and dance of his country. Ramadu’s first teacher was the well-known Kalanga singer and dancer Mr. Malaba who used to visit schools to teach and revive traditional music and dance. At the same time the world famous Ladysmith Black Mambazo were a model for Ramadu and had great influence on his music.
After working unsuccessfully as a handyman in different companies, Ramadu decided to make music his career this had always been one great ambition. In 1990 he joined the cappella group Insingizi Emnyama where he sang bass and lead vocals.
Ramadu recorded his first solo album “Izambulelo” (which means Revelations) in the summer of 2001 which was released by ARC Music Int. in January 2002. It presents a mixture self-composed and traditional songs from home town combining modern sounds. Lyrics are written mostly in Ndebele language – Ramadu’s mother tongue. His focus is to develop and popularise the traditional music of his culture and make it more accessible to other cultures.
In the fall of 2010 Ramadu formed The Afro-Vibes who support him live on stage. The combination consists of excellent musicians from different cultural origin who manage to blend characteristics of Western popular music West African Makosa and South African Isicathamiya.
Ndebele has some similarities with the South African Zulu language such as the “clicks” which can be heard in Miriam Makeba´s songs. As well as the language, the music of the hometown of Ramadu is very much influenced by South African music.
Discography:
Izambulelo (Arc Music, 2002)
Kunjalo (2005)
Voices of Southern Africa, Vol. 2 – Insingizi (Arc Music EUCD2243, 2009)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
