Who are we? | Tisu vanaani?

The Radio Kunakirwa journey began in 2006

Hosted by Chyll and MJ from inception, with the introduction of the awesomely charismatic Candie K in 2011, Radio Kunakirwa became known as the only 100% Zimbabwean music podcast online facilitating the growth of Zim music to the people of the nation. Back in those days the show was known as ‘XBC Jumpoff’. The podcast came about as an idea to connect fans and artists alike as a way of bridging the gap between mainstream media and geographical limitations with a considerable number of Zimbos living overseas. People missed home and what better way to (re)connect with your homeland than music? Radio Kunakirwa became the platform to hear the best and latest music while getting information on who the artists were, their location, how to get hold of them and their music. When the podcast commenced, Zim music was transforming its identity thanks to the growth of the Urban Grooves genre that had begun sowing seeds after the turn of the millennium. This worked well with the flexibility of podcasts; you could listen to them at anytime, anywhere. It was a step ahead in technology for Zim music fans compared to having to wait for your favourite show at a particular time to be broadcast on radio.

At the height of the show, Radio Kunakirwa commanded a religious following with around 11,000 show downloads a month. To date it remains one of the most successful Zim music podcast in history.

We introduced a new podcast in 2015 called Passport YeGreen a.k.a P.Y.G which was a little bit different! It is a round table discussion about the issues Zimbabweans face the world over. Akuruma nzeve ndewako! Many old Zimbabwean sayings point to one thing: there is power in community. P.Y.G is our way to embrace that.

There are other podcast ideas on our plate so watch this space!

Other than podcasts we have a clothing line called KNKRWA started in 2008. Most notably, if you have come across the t-shirts written ‘Handidye sadza kumba kwenyu’ … that’s us. There are some knock off versions around so here is what the OG looks like:

If it does not look like the above, pane problem 🙂

In 2010 and 2011 we did a documentary series called Kunakirwa Diaries which featured some of the biggest names in the Zimbabwean music industry such as Cindy Munyavi, Trevor Dongo, Xtra Large, Sanii Makhalima, TK Paradza, to name a few.

It’s not hard to tell, Zimbabwean entertainment is where our passion lies.

We are super proud of what we have managed to achieve and love to share it with all.

Enjoy this journey nesu!