PROMINENT Chimurenga musician Thomas Chikawa, better known as Mukanya says he does not have any publicist, he takes care of his brand alone.
In a statement, he revealed that there has been some confusion as to who speaks on behalf of the band and it has caused a lot of chaos in our camp.
“Austin Sibanda is NOT the manager of the Blacks Unlimited band. Blessing Vava is NOT Thomas Mapfumo’s publicist. There has been confusion, including interviews where this misrepresentation has taken place for so long and we would like to make it very clear that these people have not worked with The Blacks Unlimited since December 2018. There have been several other instances of people who know Mr. Mapfumo personally, taking it upon themselves to conduct business under his name. At this moment, only Thomas Mapfumo speaks for Thomas Mapfumo. If it does not come from any of his official platforms, it is not from him,” read the statement.
He also said that Thomas Mapfumo’s Facebook account will be up and running because they solved their differences with the former manager.
Below is the statement:
“MESSAGE FROM THOMAS ‘MUKANYA’ MAPFUMO
Hello Chimurenga Music fans, thank you for stopping by the Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited page. Many of you have often asked why we did not have an official Facebook page, but at one point we did. We had a page with over 40,000 followers, opened by Thomas’ family. The former band manager to was given access to that page, and when that said former manager parted ways with the band, he refused to hand the page back and deactivated it. So here we are, starting over and hoping you will support us once again. While we are here clarifying some things, we would like to make some things very clear, especially with regards to who represents Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited. There is some confusion as to who speaks on behalf of the band and it has caused a lot of chaos in our camp.
Austin Sibanda is NOT the manager of the Blacks Unlimited band. Blessing Vava is NOT Thomas Mapfumo’s publicist. There has been confusion, including interviews where this misrepresentation has taken place for so long and we would like to make it very clear that these people have not worked with The Blacks Unlimited since December 2018. There have been several other instances of people who know Mr. Mapfumo personally, taking it upon themselves to conduct business under his name. At this moment, only Thomas Mapfumo speaks for Thomas Mapfumo. If it does not come from any of his official platforms, it is not from him.
All merchandise is sold via the band’s website. We do not sell merchandise through WhatsApp, or any other platforms other than the website. We also do not have a WhatsApp group chat, nor do we support such groups as they are fueling illegal sharing of the artiste’s music. Please note that publication or sharing of Thomas Mapfumo’s music/artistic material on any platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.) without written permission from Thomas Mapfumo’s legal representation is a serious violation of copyright laws. We urge anyone who has published Thomas Mapfumo’s music, live performances, rehearsals, etc. without written permission from Chimurenga Music Company to take it down with immediate effect. Failure to do so will result in legal consequences.
If you would like to book the band, please use their website contact form. If you would like to purchase the band’s music, please go to the known online music platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and the band’s website. If you would like to keep up with the band and support them please follow this page; @OfficialMukanya (Twitter); and officialthomasmapfumo (IG). The band’s official website is Thomas-mapfumo.com
Thank you for your continued support!
Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited.”
