Afro house might be niche in Zimbabwe but it's definitely not small. This is no longer a point of contention but a definitive fact.
Dance music has steadily grown from an underground culture to the mainstream, and this has been propelled by curated events that have thrived on community and collaboration. A recent addition to this zeitgeist being MUSHA's debut showcase.
A year after the record label's birth it delivered MUSHA&, short for MUSHA & Friends.
At a roof top bar in the Avenues, synth and rhythm moved a crowd from dusk till night, but it wasn’t just any other Afro house event.
Curated by TAPIWA, MUSHA's founder and CEO, the label's debut event celebrated the art of DJing with B2B sets; a format that sees DJs not only trying to be in sync with the crowd but their playing partner.
Double the difficulty but twice as satisfying when masterfully executed. MUSHA& brought together Rorri, Jay, Mimi, Pia, HALU!, Maddawgs, Young DLC, Tvwvndv and TAPIWA himself. Some of the very best talents on Harare's Afro house scene, and they lived up to the billing.
"The idea of MUSHA & Friends was to create an atmosphere similar to being invited to the cookout. A place where you and your friends are just there to enjoy music and each other's company and the lineup reflected that energy. Just DJs that I thoroughly enjoy, playing together and having a good time," shared TAPIWA in an interview.
Just as TAPIWA envisioned, MUSHA& delivered. The space felt free, the dance floor held an open invite and the music was as if the decks were the ends of a puppeteer's strings.
This first step was only just a tiny window into what TAPIWA dreams for the event and MUSHA as a label. If he has his way MUSHA& will become a festival mentioned in the same vein as platforms like Kunye, while the label becomes a springboard for new names on Zimbabwe's Afro house scene.
"Outside of being the home for a lot of my own music, I want MUSHA to be a platform with a mission to amplify emerging talent and champion African electronic music. I want it to be a launching pad for the next generation of creators to start, grow, and thrive. Somewhere to share real stories, rooted in where we’re from, but with eyes on the future," stated the label head.
Afro house as a sound is slowly – but surely – becoming a Zimbabwean staple, and TAPIWA firmly believes that the creators in this space should be building on this momentum.
"We’re seeing far more Zimbabwean DJs and producers step into the spotlight than we did five years ago for starters. While our overall output isn't huge on a global scale yet, artists like Nitefreak have put Zimbabwe on the map for Afro house," shared the producer.
MUSHA's debut release, the 3-step record "Hana" – a collaboration between TAPIWA, Tahle We Dzinza and GhostZWE – made it onto ZiFM's Top 20 list for 2025 (in addition to enjoying a considerable stay in the weekly Top 10 chart during the year). This alongside the inclusion of Nitefreak & Roland Clark's "Masterclass," and Murphy Cubic & MJ Sings' "Asibe Mnandi" on the same list is a symbol of the times.
"The goal now is to build on that visibility, keep pushing our way into the global conversation, and eventually establish Zimbabwe as one of the genre's new epicenters," added TAPIWA.