Maravi

(HERALD) Boyz II Men heading for Zim

Boyz II Men heading for Zim
Friday, 06 January 2012 15:18
Shamiso Yikoniko

Zimbabweans are in for the treat of a lifetime in March this year as the world’s most renowned R and B group of all times, the award-winning Boyz II Men are headed for Harare.

The RnB outfit is expected to perform during the “Jazz under the Stars” concert that will be held at the Harare International Conference Centre on March 31. The organisers of the event are optimistic that event will be the greatest ever to be held in this country.

Considering that it will be the first time that Boyz II Men will be stepping on Zimbabwean soil, Freedom Maziriri, the director of Freecom Ad, the company behind the coming in of the foursome anticipates that the jazz concert will be the show of the year.

“It will be the first time that Boyz II Men come into our country and we are promising Zimbabweans fireworks. We are guaranteeing local revellers a glamourous night filled with excitement.

“I bet you the show will be dubbed the show of the year,” he said.

Boyz II Men is an American RnB vocal group best known for emotional ballads and acapella harmonies. They are considered the most successful RnB group of all time, having sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.

The RnB outfit comprises of Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman. The group won four Grammy Awards in the 1990s.

Asked why he chose Boyz II Men for a jazz event, Maziriri said that he wanted to give music lovers a different feel and also to balance the international musical acts in the country.

“It has been long overdue for Zimbabwe to be graced by such a highly commended musical group which offers a different feel of music. Our country has seen an influx of reggae and ragga artistes recently and I thought that it was time for a change,” he added.

According to Wikipedia, Boyz II Men gained international celebrity behind unprecedented success on the pop charts with their first single “End of the Road” in 1992.

They also exceeded expectations later in the decade with hits “I’ll Make Love to You”, “One Sweet Day” (with Mariah Carey) and “On Bended Knee”.

The group was known originally as Unique Attraction and was founded in 1988 at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, friends Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson organised several RnB singing groups, most of which ended quickly. Eventually, they found a winning formula by recruiting tenors Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman and bass Michael McCary.

The group would rehearse in the high school’s bathrooms, due to the excellent acoustics. They found inspiration in New Edition’s harmonies and routines, and eventually renamed the group “Boyz II Men”, after one of New Edition’s songs.
A year before releasing their debut album, in 1990, they made an appearance on a solo album by Robbie Mychals.

The delay before recording their own material and reported personality conflicts led founding member Marc Nelson to leave the group, making Boyz II Men into the quartet that found international fame: Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman.

From the beginning, Boyz II Men featured all four members as leads, avoiding the usual RnB group arrangement of one or two lead singers and a team of background singers.

The multiple-lead arrangement became a Boyz II Men trademark, and it became typical to hear Wanya Morris’ vibrato-heavy tenor, Shawn Stockman’s tenor voice, Nathan Morris’ baritone and Michael McCary’s bass.

Veteran musician Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, jazz virtuoso Victor Kunonga, the young and talented PrayerSoul, jazz songbird Dudu Manhenga, the Cool Crooners and the jazz couple Selmar and Tendai Manatsa will be the supporting acts during the event.

Dudu, who also performed at last year’s edition, is ecstatic about sharing the stage with Boyz II Men and confirmed that she knows about the event and they are still tying the loose ends with the organisers.

“I am really looking forward to the event but we are still to tie-up the loose ends with Maziriri,” she said.

Kunonga and PrayerSoul also confirmed their participation at “Jazz Under the Stars” concert.

Maziriri views the coming in of Boyz II Men as a brand building mechanism for Zimbabwe.

“Inasmuch as it takes time to build a brand for a country, I believe that the coming in of Boyz II Men will help build a good brand. Brand building has to start somewhere,” he said.

Maziriri also added that there are going to hold workshops for skills transfer where Boyz II Men will impart their musical knowledge to the local artistes prior to the jazz night.

Although by the time of going to press Sunday Mail Leisure had not got confirmation from Boyz II Men regarding the show, last year, Maziriri and his team brought in South African diva Lira for the same event and they left a lasting impression after they put up a polished show in Borrowdale.

Zimbabwe get ready to get down on bended knees!-Sunday Mail

Labels: ENTERTAINMENT, HIP-HOP

posted by MrK @ 7:50 PM