From Harare to West Midlands: How Gee Mac bridges cultures through Afro-beat

📅 Published: August 26, 2025

📰 Source: thestandard

Curated by AllZimNews.com

Below are the excerpts from the interview.

SD: Your love for music started at a very young age, inspired by legends like Cher and Whitney Houston.

How did their music, which is very different from the Afro-beats you create, influence your sound and artistic direction?

GM:Whitney and Cher are both illustrious vocal powerhouses with exceptional vocal techniques, range, and stage presence.

They are in the category of female artists who redefined the pop and R&B genres, becoming global icons and paving the way for other female artists, breaking gender barriers.

To answer your question, I would say their vocal techniques influenced and shaped how I sing.

How I create my music and the direction I take were mainly influenced and shaped by my upbringing as a Zimbabwean girl.

I learned to play marimba, traditional drums, and gourd rattles.

These instruments shaped my musical ear and how I select my beats.

Other artists who strongly influenced how I create music are legends such as the late Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, and the late Stella Chiweshe.

Their representation of Zimbabwean music on an international level inspired me to remain authentic to being Zimbabwean.

SD: You moved to the UK in 2002.