Emmy Award-Winning Songwriter and Rapper Draze will be sharing the stage with Kenya's finest, Sauti Sol during their upcoming US tour.
Draze was raised in Seattle within a renowned musical family from Zimbabwe, who helped cultivate his love for music and songwriting.
Dubbed the King of Sync, Draze's music has been featured on television’s hottest shows–including The Masked Singer, The Voice, Who Killed Sarah, Inventing Anna, Empire, Love and Hip Hop, Ballers and CW’s All American, among many others.
Draze’s newest single, “Mazvita” and upcoming album, “African American,” blend hard-hitting beats with the traditional sounds of Zimbabwe to create a fresh sound he calls Ancestral Art.
Draze said "'Mazvita' which means “thank you” in the Shona language of Zimbabwe, is a song that bridges cultures."
Adding “The song transports listeners from a typical hood in America to a typical village in Zimbabwe and is a personal “thank you” to my mother, father, grandparents and the communities who raised me in both Africa and America."
In an era when everyinstrument on a song is synthesized, Draze physically plays marimba on the track. Marimba, which isthe predecessor to the Xylophone, is a traditional Zimbabwean instrument taught to Draze by hisfather, Dumisani Maraire Sr., the world-renowned Marimba player who taught Marimba at theUniversity of Washington.
Draze plays marimba on the track as a way to honor his late father. “In my eyes, my fatherwas the greatest Marimba player ever. I play the instrument in salute to him, and my mother, Lora Chiorah. Actually having my mother and sister, Danai Maraire, sing on the track really added the traditional element,” he said.
Draze said that Mazvita is the purest way to tease his upcoming album. “From the Lyricism to the storytelling, to the cultural vibes and raw 808 drums, this track is like the whole album wrapped into one song.”
