Bier Baron in Main mall was full to capacity as Tafadzwa Busani Nazare better known as “Tafnaz” launched his Extended Play titled The SituationShip on February 18, 2017, from 7pm to 11.30pm.
The event was strictly by invitation as only the media, fellow artists, sponsors and a very small number of family and friends got to witness a new breed of artistic excellence in style during the golden edition of the EP launch.
Born and raised as a Seventh Day Adventist Church where acapella music is a well performed tradition, the singer and songwriter asserts that he started singing at a very young age.
“I discovered my love for music in high school where I warmed the hearts of many with the aid of various acapella groups that I collaborated with,” declared Tafnaz.
He went to school in Malaysia in 2008 where his musical talents were swiftly picked up by Limkokwing University sound and music academy.
Aided by various mentors he went on to help write what has become the institution’s theme song. Tafnaz then went on to team up with Jonah Sithole and DJ Philo to form the group Beat Harmony which defied all odds and won Malaysia’s very first MTV World Stage competition.
Tafnaz then released his first single which was powered by the university and Sony records titled Come Back To Me in 2009. After that the talented musician took a break from music as he wanted to pursue his other passion which is photography and graphic design.
“While visiting Botswana, I fell in love with the country and its people and moved to the Limkokwing campus here, where I became the voice of the school alongside the likes of Tizzle, Zyon Black and the highly decorated Qbio to name a few,” highlighted Tafnaz.
After recording a few albums with the university under the famed producer Qbio to raise funds for charity, and being tired of just being a vocalist he then picked up a quitar and decided to teach himself how to play and master the instrument which earned him the nickname ‘Acoustic Badboi’.
With the rise of poetry locally, he then collaborated with guitarist and songbird Abigail Isa, Poem the Answer and Maya Roze for the Masters of Soul of which he impressed audiences with his performances which included rapping, beat boxing and a bit of flavored dance hall reggae soul.
“It did not take long as I met Selby Urban who gave me my first solo debut performance at a valentines dinner,” said Tafnaz.
Selby Urban then recruited him as he created a fusion band called The Contrabanditz which later opened for acts such as Oliver Mtukudzi, Joss Stone, Freshly Ground and others.
In 2015 he met Zambian producers Kb Bangers and Amo Beats, which led to the start of a new musical revelation, between live performances at Jessys Bistro and Sky Lounge to name a few. In 2016 Tafnaz met award winning Royal DJ who fuelled and produced the making of his latest offering The SituationShip.
The SituationShip EP is an embodiment of relationship based situations that people find themselves in, more over bordering around all aspects of love affairs from crushes to rejection, side chicks to faithfulness and it also touches on issues of social emotional affairs.
“The objective of the launch is to execute Tafnaz brand into appropriate sectors as much as the new EP titled The SituationShip which we are launching,” said Royal DJ the event organizer. The highly successful event had several guest speakers/mc which included Prince Macheng, Charles Manase and Johny Rannoba.
These Mc’s took turns to explain the motive of the event and how the EP came to come to life as well as narrate Tafnaz musical journey to the audience.
“The event was purely by invite to appropriately execute the EP to the public through the media for its exclusive factor,” highlighted Royal DJ. The launch saw industry friends such as Lee Tshipana, Samba T, Qbio, The Black Bowties, Truth DJ’s and Royal DJ giving the audience a remarkable night.
The event achieved a full media brief of what Tafnaz Brand is all about and what it will offer in the overall music industry in Botswana. The event was based upon live music performances towards an elegant and appreciating crowd.
The set-up included tight security at the main entrance, more over there were photo booths take allowed photographers to capture the invited guests behind the back drop of the sponsor’s name as they walked in for the evening. By the set up, one could witness live music instruments, a stage, red couches, chairs and Remmy Martin exclusive cocktail stand set up for VIPs which could be accessed by anyone so that they had a taste of the brand.
The event was indeed a ship, containing an excited crowd of people who were in an excited mood and relaxed atmosphere that was vibrant. Loud cheers and claps could be heard from all corners of the ship (room).
Indeed life music made a huge statement and impact on the guests, with some deejaying and performances lighting up the venue.
The event was well organized thought it started almost an hour late. Although, that was a setback, it looked as though it was a minor issue with the organisers making up for the time lost with great comedy performances and a great line-up of artists.
Tafnaz’s music is of high quality and on an international level which has a feel on RNB. Before he could mesmerise the crowd, the guests got to hear his EP first being played by a DJ, then after some songs he followed it up with a brilliant and well rehearsed performance.
“He really did exceptionally well on his EP, which will put him up with the best. A lot of local artists should take note of him,” concluded Royal DJ.
