Selmor attributes success to hubby
ALTHOUGH she is born in a celebrated music family, Selmor Mtukudzi said her
background never gave her a ticket to success in the industry, attributing her
achievements to her husband Tendai Manatsa, her sheer determination and hard
work than to being daughter to internationally acclaimed music superstar Oliver
Mtukudzi.
As the daughter of a great muso,
many may believe that Selmor owes her success to her father. No. She claims
that she went through all the challenges and ropes that any other musician with
no music background goes through on their way up the ladder adding that it made
her quite strong.
Yes, she admits the name Mtukudzi is
known internationally but said that was as far as it took her — to be known as
the name needed no introduction in the music circles.
Selmor (31) is well known for her
great hits Nguva Yangu in her album entitled Expression which was also
nominated Song of the year in the National 2013 Arts Merits Awards (Nama).
Recently she received an arts
category award with the Women Enterprise Conference and Awards (WECA) held by
the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) a week ago in Harare.
In an interview with Sunday Leisure,
Selmor spoke of how she felt after being recognised by ZNCC.
“I feel so humbled and honoured to
have been nominated for such an award. The ZNCC is a huge organisation and for
them to even recognise that I am there and also appreciate what I’m doing is
quite humbling. I feel so blessed right now,” she said.
According to her carrying the
Mtukudzi name gained her very little. She said as an ambitious woman she learnt
to stand on her own feet and to live a life that was independent of her father.
She said the idea of not relying on her father for anything gave her the
impetus to work and moulded her to be the woman that she has become.
Selmor stated that much of her
success could be attributed to her untiring and ever encouraging husband and
soul mate Tendai Manatsa who is also the son of a great musician, Zexie
Manatsa.
The songbird said she was blessed to
be born and married into a musical family saying it provided a stepping stone
in some areas of her life since because of that music as music “comes
naturally” to her while she also got support from her husband as he understands
the challenges of the art.
“Being born and married into a
musical family has given me the freedom to be who I am and be able to express
myself in whatever way I feel. It is quite a blessing,” she said.
Selmor also apportioned more credit
for her achievements in life to God saying that without the divine intervention
in her work she was not going to be where she is.
“I owe my success to God, my husband
and the hard work we’ve put in. But mainly its God,” said Selmore.
And to show the support, Tendai was
also by her side when she received the WECA awards to celebrate her
achievements. The two lovebirds are seen together at many occasions and Selmor
has not been reluctant to share their experiences on social media.
“Tendai has been there with me
through it all. There is no me without him. So yes, he has been my rock, my
pillar, my strength and my everything. He has stood with me during the good and
bad times and I greatly appreciate it,” she added.
The music couple has three children
Ben, Troy and Hannah and their careers seem to be flourishing as they have been
making great strides in the industry.
Asked how she balances the two —
music and family, Selmor responded; “I don’t have a formular for balancing
anything in my life. I just try as best as I can to make sure that everything
that needs to be done is done and on time. And my principle has always been
that of prioritising my things. The most important things are always given
first preference and in this case it is always the family, then my career but
both are working perfectly well for me,” she said.
