Argus Mepo, Entertainment Reporter
The Zimbabwean music industry has been a continuous cycle of rising artists, to trending and dominating then predictably recessing and fading.
Only a few have stood the test of times, they have constantly upped their game and have been on the lime light for decades now.
One of these ever shining musical stars of our time is Mr Putiti who is affectionately known in his area of trade as ExQ. His musical light has refused to either deem or fade over the past two decades.
This piece is an appreciation post to the long veteran in the musical circles.
Well, I am fascinated by the title of the album, Verified Milestone.
It is symbolical to his career because he is a verified ENTERTAINER, HIT-MAKER, CONSISTENT CREATIVE AND LEGEND, as far as music is concerned.
He has just released a very tight album Verified Milestone which is causing mayhem in the musical divide as we speak.
He fired warning shots prior to the release of the album last Friday when he released killer visuals for his hot new single “I Try” featuring Ammara Brown which managed to garner 100k views in 48 hours and is trending on number one YouTube.
This stylish and colourful artist is the goalkeeper of the urban and contemporary sound who will forever be remembered for entertaining and impacting different generations during the span of his career.
The solid foundation of his career has been facilitated by the fact that he is a pragmatist, perfect schemer and is able to read the musical temperatures well.
Musically, Ex Q is a man of many robes with each and every robe he wears fitting him well and has positively impacted towards his career.
He possesses the following skills and they have allowed him to manoeuvre smoothly beyond borders:
a) Reputable and Controversy Free Image
The demise of some urban grooves was largely attributed to different controversies, ranging from sexual scandals to drug and substance abuse.
Nevertheless, Ex Q has built his own musical castle on a clean sheet free from controversy. This has broadened his fan base and enabled him to clinch top endorsement deals which has furthered his musical endeavours.
b) Consistency
If consistency was a person, that man could have been Ex Q, brand Putiti was established in 2002 and is still killing the game two decades later.
The man is a hardworking artist who has never wasted the opportunity of being on limelight.
He is a studio junky who has been constantly releasing music.
When the wave of Zimdancehall destroyed the careers of some urban grooves, consistency was his magic formula which made his music to be spared.
Hits like “Bhachura” and “Halleluyah” to mention just a few were released during the peak of Zimdancehall.
c) Adaptive to the Music Trends
The Kambuzuma bred star has been able to cope up with the new and emerging musical trends.
He has managed to catch up with the emerging musical flavours especially the AfroPop which has enabled him to remain relevant than other urban grooves who have remained caged to the old traditional urban grooves sound.
d) Master Collaborator
Ex Q is a master collaborator who is capable of doing wonders and merging different sounds, genres and artists to come up with a solidified body of work.
From the hey days he gave us “Maidei” and “Dhafu Korera”, which are some of the biggest urban groove songs up to date.
He brought back Roki to the limelight with his hit-song “Alleluyah”, he did the same for Tocky Vibes on “Wakatemba”.
Normally, when Ex Q explodes, he never does so alone. He has managed to unite different genres together, revisit “Nzenza” with Freeman, “Mamoyo” with Jah Prayzah, “Lets Talk About It” with Nutty O and “Nhema” with Killer T.
This man does not waste collaborations. He nails them and produce something bigger.
e) Stunning Visuals
Stunning visuals have also enabled him to be relevant especially during this era were the musical trends are changing accompanied with stiffer competition.
The “Bhachura” visuals were on point, they trended all over the world and introduced the director of the moment Vusa Blaqs to the world.
The same for “Tsvigiri”, “Riva” and “Wakatemba”, they are brilliant. The concept, quality and characters on his videos are out of this world.
f) Humility
Personality wise, he is a down to earth guy who is not easily moved by fame. This has positively impacted on his career and enabled him to move mountains with his music.
He has been to places, he has toured Africa, Europe, USA, Australia and Asia.
In the meantime let’s stream the album here ExQVEVO
