At Home with Charles and Namatayi Chipanga

At Home with Charles and Namatayi

Charles and Namatayi Chipanga looking all sweet. PIC: T. NDABAMBI | ZIMBOJAM.COM

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Many know them as the sweet couple that churns out some mellow Afrocentric rhythms, others know them as deacon and deaconess Chipanga leading the national praise and worship team at their church. But do you know what they do when they are alone at home?

Zimbo Jam sat down with Namatayi and Charles, the couple that once worked with the superstar, Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits to know how they spend their time off the stage.
“Like any other family I am the provider and my wife does whatever she wants with her salary even though sometimes we earn the same salary,” said Charles, “we do not have kids as yet but we are going to cook up a child next.”
Asking them who cooks in their house Namatayi responded first, “I bake and do the cooking because I love doing it, he doesn’t like the kitchen.”
“I love watching television and calling out to my wife saying, ndanenzara (I’m hungry’), so I get fed after every two to three hours,” said the giggling Charles, “I get inspiration to write my songs from watching films. Music to us is a business, service and career, so through watching creative films I get ideas and meditate on them which is my strength. To others it’s wasting time, but to me it is work.”
Namatayi chipped in, “I am the opposite of Charles I am inspired by the books that I read especially my bible were I get most of the music that I write.
“When it comes to planning our daily lives I am more organised,” said Namatayi. “I keep a diary with my daily plans. As for Charles, he likes to wake up very late and contemplate on his schedule for the day then he does what he likes the most, eating followed by work.”
The talkative of the two is the husband, he chats a lot and she laughs, “He is my entertainer that’s why I don’t need to watch television at home.” said Namatayi.
Charles added, “My wife is calm, collected and calculative and has a sweet voice which stole my heart and immediately fell in love with her.”
On whether they argue Charles said, “Arguments are inevitable we do it for progress.”
After about nine years of serving in the Tuku Muzik stable the couple birthed Chalenam Rythms with an album release in June 2011.
“We are now singing Christ centred songs and we are not planning to go back to circular music. We have never looked back with our music careers,” revealed Charles.
“If we are invited to a concert which is Christ centred and circular we do perform.
“Our music has more appeal in folk and jazz festivals to name a few even if it is gospel, we are proud to have added a fusion of traditional African instruments to the gospel sound,” revealed Charles.