By TARIRO Sajeni, ZIMBA WAVE MEDIA. HARARE
The amazing female artist never thought her music would get the kind of response that it has gotten over the years especially since she started off her solo career in August 2020; Feli Nandi (real name Felistus Chipendo) is a Zimbabwean singer, songwriter and fashion designer who has made a name for herself in the music industry and proved to be a force to reckon.
Nandi started singing at a very young age but it was Ashton “Mbeu” Nyahora and the Mhodzi Tribe Band that helped her shine on the entertainment stage instead of the choir and her bathroom space.
She was a backing vocalist for the Mhodzi tribe for 2 years before she embarked on her journey as a solo female artist and she appreciates the band for lifting her career as she says in one interview, “I would not be here as an artist if I had not met the band when I did because I had given up on singing when my mother died and I was in a dark place but I knew what would bring me back; and it was singing…”
She says she saw the Mhodzi Tribe performing at a wedding, she approached Eugene Museredza who was the manager of the band and asked for an audition and that is how her journey really began.
Two years down the line, she announced that she had been expelled from the group through a post on social media in which she says, “It is with great sadness that I announce my separation from Mbeu and the Mhodzi Tribe. Due to management’s decision, I have been expelled from the group…”
In one interview she mentioned that the separation was not because of bad blood between her and the band but it was because they just grew in different directions like any other boy-band or girl-band before them in the history of entertainment.
Two months before she separated from the band, she worked with Trevor Dongo on the song called “Mufudzi wemombe” and to most people; that is the song that got her recognized as a musician and not just a backing vocalist for the Mhodzi Tribe and she has since collaborated with other musicians such as Progress Chipfumo, Mwenje Mathole, Jah Prayzah and many others.
Nandi’s music is a combination of soul music containing elements from afro-fusion and she also owns the clothing line ‘Feli Nandi Apparel’ which she has advertised in almost every music video through wearing her own clothes from the clothing line.
Nandi says ever since she was young, her dream is to touch people’s souls through her voice and make people feel, she is happy when people cry, laugh or fall in love because of her music which explains why most of her songs are about love, she refers to herself as an emotional artist.
Since going solo, she has released songs like Kukurumidza, Unotyei and others, she has been nominated for various awards as her star keeps rising.
In 2022, Feli visited the United Kingdom for the JamAfro Family Festival Show which she said opened many avenues for her as it was actually her first time going overseas since she became a solo artist.
In 2023, Nandi represented Zimbabwe at the ACCES Festival held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania which is organized by the Music in Africa Foundation, in partnership with Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut, the Tanzanian Ministry of Culture, Arts and Sports, the National Arts Council of Tanzania(BASATA) and Alliance Francaise; which was a big deal.
She has been going for other international tours including the Zimfest in the UK and keeps going up in her music career, receiving awards to prove that she is not in the game to just play but to win it.
She won the Outstanding newcomer at the National Arts Merit Awards in 2022, Best female musician and Best Alternative Awards at the Zimbabwe Music Awards(ZIMA) in 2023 and the Star FM Zimbabwe Listener’s Choice Awards in the same year.
As if this is not enough, Feli got the opportunity to perform at the Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s wedding in 2023, always proving that she is not done climbing the ladder.
She has an upcoming show dubbed a NIGHT WITH FELI NANDI on the 23rd of february at the HICC
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