The musical whizz, the die-hard, the go-getter and the multi-talented and ever so jovial Paidamoyo Mundondo a.k.a Sfisoman is a musician, songwriter and music producer from the rainbow province in Zimbabwe. Sfisoman was born in Masvingo and grew up in Tombo village, Filabusi in the Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe. Sfiso is currently based in Lebowakgomo, Limpopo South Africa where he is pursuing his musical career. He sings amapiano as well as apostolic gospel music.
Sfisoman attended his Primary education at Tombo Primary School and proceeded to Msithi Secondary School for his secondary education. It is at Tombo Primary school that he realized his God-given musical talent at a very young age. Singing was the only thing that motivated him to go to school every day so he could sing at the school assembly. He says “ngangihlabela kakhulu, ngangithanda khona ukudlula amabhuku eskolo.” Sfiso faced many challenges in high school leading him to drop out of high school before completing his high school education. In 2004, he then turned his focus to music. He began singing in church, the Apostolic Church where he attended, he says even pastors were very fond of him and they all loved to go with him whenever they were attending church services so he could sing. People in the church were always looking forward to the service to hear him doing his thing, his melodious voice was soothing and inspired a lot of people thereby winning more souls to Christ.
“Ya ngachaza abaningi and some baguquka baza enkonzweni ngenxa yokuhlabelela engangikwenza ngaleso sikhathi, abafundisi babebanga ukuhamba lami njalo beze benginikeze impahla zokugqoka ukuze ngingayangisi ma ngihamba labo.”
Music became his sanctuary, a way to escape his tough world but with a vision and hope that one-day music would change his life. He kept pushing until he was promoted to the position of choirmaster in the church. At the age of 16, the talented Sfiso led a choir group of over three hundred (300) people to represent the Matabeleland South Province during the provincial gospel choir competition in Bulawayo.
During the period between 2006 to 2008, Zimbabwe was hard hit by economic challenges such as unemployment, inflation, hunger and starvation. The period also saw a massive increase in migration to neighbouring countries like South Africa and Botswana due to the mentioned pull and push factors. Sfisoman was not spared from this economic challenge, life became unbearable for Sfiso who was struggling to earn a living by just singing in church. Singing in the church could no longer sustain him. Just like any other youth, he had a dream to be employed and change his life and that of his family for the better. This forced Sfisoman to migrate to South Africa in search of greener pastures as well as to pursue his music career. He moved and settled at Lebowakgomo in Limpopo, South Africa.
When he got to South Africa, he learnt and acquired professional skills in construction and carpentry and began working in that field. After acquiring construction and carpentry skills, he became self-employed and managed to fend for himself, his life slowly changed and he could sustain himself. With his burning zeal to make his musical dream come true, Sfiso met Ntleleng Musical Production Company in 2012 and recorded his first-ever albums (2 albums). The albums were not very successful as they did not reach musical stores but to him, it was a breakthrough as far as his music career is concerned.
Sfiso decided to then shift the focus from relying on other studios to producing for himself. He faced many challenges trying to record music, he says it was a frustrating and tough phase but it motivated him to start his own recording company. He then taught himself to produce music without help or support from anyone. The determined Sfiso explains;
“It was not easy at all before I got my own studio. It was very hard because ingoma ziyabe zinengi but imali isala ukuthi uye recorder and sometimes ube lemaliyakho baku recode ngeskhathi sabo yikho okwenza ngama kancani ngadinga esami istudio, ngaqala ukuzifundisa mina ngedwa njalo angizange ngithole uxhaso emuntwini ngayilwa eyami ngaze ngaba ngulo enginguye lamhla because there was something in me… kwakunzima ngithenga okunye kusitsha ngenxayokuswela ulwazi”
He saved money from his construction job and started his own production company Sfisoteinment, a record label and a music production company. Through Sfisoteinment, Sfisoman finally realized his dream. He produced 4 extended plays, EPs, 3 of those have 6 songs each and one has 5. He also has 13 singles and is expecting to release 8 more singles by the end of February 2023. His life changed, his followers increased and his music became more known. Some of Sfisoman songs are Come Closer, Camera, Ingubo, Masimbongeni, Better Life, Soft Life, Meke ahambe, Ngazise, My Vale, Ulithemba lami, Komberedza and Ngizobayini. The musical prodigy has also produced a number of hit songs such as ungandidi, komberedza and ngiyopopanini among others which launched his musical career. Through his production company Sfisoteinment, Sfiso has also helped other artists to reach their dream by producing and recording music for them. Sfiso is so passionate about music, he is also an energetic, bubbly and great dancer who always leaves people in awe and asking for more. “…makufika leso skhathi sokucula ngizizwa angani akuseyimi, kusegazini” says the music whizz, Sfisoman.
Growing up, Sfiso did not receive any support from his family during his musical journey, something that saddens and leaves him distraught hence he appreciates all the support and the love he receives from his followers on social media and those around him. His wife is his main pillar of strength and support. Despite the lack of support from his family, Sfiso continues to work hard to achieve his ambition. Sfiso is also a dexterous keyboard player, again a skill that he taught himself, he also knows how to play the drums. He bought a keyboard and other instruments to use when producing a beat for his songs. His songs have a beautiful harmonious beat that makes people want to get down to dancing. The versatile and artful Sfiso works extra hard to pursue his career. He explained that the gigs as well as the construction job helped him buy musical instruments which further boosted him. Sfisoman says he draws his inspiration from the late Mandla Maphumulo a.k.a Mampintsha from Big Nuz (South Africa) even though they do not sing the same music genre, he looks up to him for inspiration.
To date, Sfiso has collaborated with various other artists like Team Delela, Jaycee Rapaddict, Tee Lee and many more. He enjoys doing collaborations and he takes it seriously as a way of learning from others. He performed in different places in Molepole Botswana, in December 2021. Moletji in Limpopo, Blackmon Limpopo, Mountain view Limpopo, Twicknum mine Limpopo, Atokmine Limpopo and Soweto in South Africa. He is looking forward to performing in Zimbabwe in the coming years, starting this year 2023.
The resilient, “die-hard” Sfiso is a source of inspiration to other artists. He knocked down all obstacles in order to achieve his dreams. He received recognition for his hard work from Amaqhawanentaba in 2021 where he won an award for the best Afro Song of the year. Sfiso believes that he is yet to achieve more and contribute immensely to the arts industry. His message to other artists is to be patient, not to do music with an intention of being rich but to make the talent known out there. He says “Umculo ufuna ube lesineke kuwo njalo ungawenzeli ukuthi ufuna imali kuwo, wenzele abantu then abantu bakwenzele Imali…”
Sfisoman alludes to the notion that in Matabeleland South, there is indeed a lot of talent and potential but he believes many are facing challenges like finance and lack of knowledge in terms of producing music, thanks to social media which gives a platform for artists to be known. He believes his music is unique in such a way that it does align with the colourful rainbow province where there are people from various ethnic backgrounds because he sings in various languages including Ndebele, Shona, English and Sotho. He says “I don’t want to change anything in Matabeleland South but my duty is to add value to my region.” Sfiso is facing challenges of getting a few gigs and bookings because he is still not widely known, he hopes to have an events manager in order to increase his chances of getting booked. He is always ready to avail himself for performances in church, weddings, parties and even funerals and when performing, he goes out of his way to impress his audience.
