IN a first of its kind in his career, sungura kingpin Alick Macheso yesterday opened a new chapter when he decided to release a single track titled Zuro Ndizuro that comes as an early Christmas present to his legion of fans. BY TAPIWA ZIVIRA For a man who traditionally produces six track albums, releasing a single may be the last option for him, just like many other musicians who are reeling from the long ban on public artistic performances due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In such an environment, Macheso probably was wise not to risk releasing an album without having to officially launch it, because for him as a crowd-drawing artiste, it is through such launches that provide a killing before piracy could pounce on. So, in the middle of that dilemma, the veteran artiste had to pick just one song Zuro Ndizuro from his cask and the song has ignited excitement among sungura fans and followers of showbiz matters at large. Settling for such a song, it must have been really a dilemma for Macheso. Perhaps with the backing of his Orchestra Mberikwazvo, Macheso gathered the courage to cast prospects about the post-COVID-19 future and to comfort himself and others for the losses made during the long period of restrictions, which still subsist to this day. Macheso who seems to have adopted and embraced the changing times of the digital era as part of his marketing strategy put up a message to explain the song on his YouTube account. “This world will not keep us down, that which we sow, we will reap. Tomorrow is tomorrow and today will always be a new day. Macheso celebrates the gift of life in his latest offering. So much more to come,” he said. A very strong message coming at a time when artistes are still trying to figure out how to cope with not holding public shows. Back to the track, Zuro Ndizuro, it is fair to say that the Extra Basso as Macheso is known to his legion of fans chose the right single, because it is something that can keep people on the dance floor for the entire nine minutes 39 seconds. On first impression, the new single sounds so much like the Cheso Power’s sound that Zimbabweans are accustomed to since the album Zvinoda Kutendwa. Up-tempo, rugged and metallic instrumentation, successive drum rolls and bridges backed by the “talking bass guitar” and excellent vocals, the single, whose melody is nearly similar to Madzitete, a song on his last album, Dzinosvitsa Kure, released in 2017, is nothing short of something to dance to this festive season. In addition, the melody and chorus are something that can become an anthem, just what Macheso needs right now considering that he is dropping his song into a sea of many other releases across genres. Allan Chimbetu recently released an album that has so far done well, and Sulumani Chimbetu unleashed his album yesterday and Peter Moyo released a single in October. While these may not be direct rivals to Macheso, they are all fighting to be on festive season playlists. Having been in the game for decades, Macheso has remained one of the greatest artiste of all ti