Talented music artist and songwriter Roki has dropped a new song titled “Mari Ya Rosa,” which features Alick Macheso.
Roki once got disqualified from Big Brother Africa 7 for fighting with a fellow housemate, right when he was tipped to win. That reputation for volatility trails him.
Pairing him with Alick Macheso, Zimbabwe’s most decorated Sungura musician and the man behind the country’s best-selling album of all time, “Simbaradzo,” is a pairing built on contrast rather than similarity.
Their catalogs come from opposite ends of Zimbabwean music. Roki built his name on Urban Groove and dropped out of school around 15 to chase it, singing about love and the collision between Western and African culture. When these two lanes cross, it’s rarely a small event.
“Mari Ya Rosa,” also going by “Maria Rosa,” dropped this August and leans on Macheso’s guitar work as the backbone, the same playing style fans still reference from his “Zora Butter” dance era. Roki’s vocal delivery sits over that foundation, trading his usual Urban Groove restlessness for something closer to Macheso’s patient, storytelling pace. Two generations of Zimbabwean music, one record.
Listen to “Roki – Mari Ya Rosa ft. Alick Macheso” and drop your comments below!
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