With the release of his 2010 album, Ndangariro, and an impressive new video for the track Vahombe off the same album, Kudakwashe Besa, or Cee Jay to you, has cemented his place as one of Zimbabwe’s most active artists on the international stage.

Ahead of a summer tour of the UK, Besa spoke to New Zimbabwe.com from his base in Dallas Texas.

This is The Truth About: Cee Jay

Cee Jay was given to me by my uncle because I was always at either Stoddart Hall or CJ Hall watching movies. He nicknamed me CJ, which I must admit irritated me at the time.

I went to David Livingstone Primary School and later Prince Edward for secondary. I went through a lot of developmental stages. In the early days I was living in Mbare and that meant fighting a lot to defend my territory. We then moved to Belvedere and you needed to be someone eloquent. I found that I now needed to speak my problems away as opposed to being a fighter. Then finally we moved to Kuwadzana where I learnt to become more humble, I had come full circle. At school, I did art and music, anything to do with art I was in there.

Well, the same uncle who name-tagged me also played the guitar with a museve band as a part timer. Because he was still in school, he was forced to leave the band, so he decided to turn me and my brother and one of our neighbours into a band and taught us to play and sing his songs. One day he put us up to play at a ZAOGA church convention and we turned out to be pretty good – at least that’s what everyone said. I was five-years-old.

How many studio albums have you released?
 
My first album was Desperate Measures in 2007, One Ariega in 2008 and Ndangariro, a 2010 production. I’m continuously growing and pushing the envelope artistically, and I’m keen to share my latest video which I hope illustrates this growth. It’s called Vahombe, and was shot in Seke Village in Zimbabwe.

It’s a work in progress, continuously evolving. I started off producing music for other acts -- one acoustic gospel CD, some rappers from the Dallas area then after doing a mixtape, my first was more Reggae/Hip Hop. The second was more Reggae/Acoustic and my current CD is more mature Afro Jazz fusion/acoustic. House has worked well for me as well, and you can hear its influence on the song I Don’t Keya.

It’s more than one individual really. I have a whole list of them like Bob Marley, Thomas Mapfumo and Lovemore Majaivana when I was growing up. In my teenage years, I took a liking to Sean "Diddy" Combs, R Kelly, MJ and Shabba Ranks but I would say Oliver Mtukudzi is my greatest hero because he has always supported my music and coached me at every opportunity. During the World Cup tour in South Africa, we stayed in touch and he would point me in different directions to maximise on my tour.

I hold Nelson Mandela in high regard for the simple fact that he gave his life in and for the struggle.  Then when he had all the power at his disposal, he went and did what a lot of African leaders have yet to learn to do, which is to let the young people lead.

My mother. She assumed the double role of mom and dad since my father's death. She still dreams very big and encourages me every step of the way. Despite having four kids with an array of responsibilities, she remains the funniest person I know. She can have me laughing all day!

In order to reach a broader audience, it's a tool needed for music and I think it’s the next frontier to conquer. Music must have an international appeal, and English is the vehicle.

My friend Pastor G says "you will possess what you confess" and it mirrors how I live. I look at it like this … in order for earth to be, God spoke the words: “Let there be Earth" and it was so. If we are like him, then we can speak our future into existence. If you speak goodness and positivity and voice your ambitions, they become.

Kana uchingoti zvakapressa (If you say all is not well) everyday, you find kuti zvinogara zvakapressa (it will remain unwell). I said we will tour the world and we did. I said we will be at the World Cup and we were. I didn’t know how at the time, we weren’t even booked yet, but we did get booked not only for SA but for Brazil 2014.

I do all my song writing but I’ve done collaborations with other artists like Tichaona Maredza, May J, and Q Stick from Kenya, Q Montana, Nyasha Makambira, Slaggy Yout and Bkay N Kazz, Jusa Dementor, Melvin C, Daddy Kuda, Yvonne Uzande, Edene, Roselyn Mangwiro, AC Grynn and Just Lyphe.

I find it’s less drama if you just write your own material and keep working on your skills and improving on your talent. A lot of people in the arts can be cool to work with when you are all struggling and trying to make it work, once you start to attain a little success, you see the other side and it’s not pretty.

What has been the best moment in your life?

'Lovemore Majaivana and the Township Music of Zimbabwe'. I don’t even think Majaivana knows that book is out there, it’s such an in-depth look into Zimbabwean music and he’s one of my heroes. I’m glad I read the book.

It would be Mutare without fail. It’s a vibrant place whose highest attraction is its natural beauty and very good people who are genuinely fun and outgoing. Not enough international shows have been done outside of Harare, Bulawayo and Chimanimani so I feel this would be a good change and would no doubt be a success because entertainment-wise it’s always somewhat starved over there. Mutare is so different that I even composed a song based on my love for the place.

Without a doubt in my mind I believe in God. The odds were stacked up against us growing up and when we couldn’t see any hope for success in our future, we could only see grace and that kept pulling us through. To come from nothing and see the world and be blessed with many opportunities as I have been, it can only be God.

The men in my family tend to go bald around 35-36 years of age, and I can see the signs. I would love to keep hair.

What’s your favourite movie?

Gladiator. It’s about a guy who had all odds staked against him, but still went from nothing to something. He started out as an army general, then becomes a slave before coming out the other end equal, almost, to the king. His qualities of leadership and fortitude shone through, and I think all men must do the same to make it.

I had just finished doing an acoustic show and it was probably one of my best. When everything was done, I was on cloud nine. After the show, a few people were lingering around and as I left the stage, I fell flat on my back and almost broke a leg. Moments later, a lady came and offered me her hand. Grrr!

Death. I wanna live.

Do you believe in UFOs?

I think we are not alone, but there are great many reasons why these things are out there, but I would hesitate to venture into it.

My iPhone. I do a lot of my business on it. It’s incredible.

Which song holds special memories for you?

Ndirangarirei by Oliver Mtukudzi. When I was just 5 years old, it became a reality in that my father died. I didn’t know what it meant but Mtukudzi, in that song, said what I wanted to say for myself and my father [Lyrics: Apo pamunotonga avo vanemhaka/Nguva yekutonga avo vanenyasha/Ndirangarirei].

Well, watch the space. We are touring the UK this summer and are putting a DVD together of all our live shows around the world including the 2009 tour of Zimbabwe, which was followed by Canada, the United States and South Africa during the World Cup.

It covers all the good and bad nights, like we played after Bafana Bafana lost to Uruguay and that was a tough night with an audience that was already disappointed. There are some big live shows that we did at Mary Fitzgerald center, Canada, and Mannenberg in Harare.

Also, we are now the resident band at Zambezi Sports Grill locally in Dallas so every Saturday night you know where to find me and my band if you are in the United States (13333 N Stemmons Fwy Dallas, TX 75234 ).