FUNGISAI : I'M NOW CALLED PHOEBE

Controversial artiste Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave has rebranded and is now calling herself the biblical Phoebe, a development that will see the veteran musician retracing her footsteps back to “serious gospel music” after wandering in the secular music dome for a while.

Phoebe is a biblical character found in Romans 16:1-2 and the narrative reads: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.”

Fungisai was also inspired by Zaoga’s Euna Guti teachings some time last year; she was expected to launch a new album My Healing Devotion yesterday.

“Fungisai has been my music business brand and Phoebe is now my music spiritual brand. It is synonymous with the Biblical Phoebe found in Romans 16 verse 1-2.  It means Pure and Bright. It was inspired by Guti when she prophesied into my life some time last year. Then, I didn’t believe her until the Holy Spirit moved like fire in my hands at the Today's Woman Conference last month.

“This album comes when I had given up on music. Just when I thought I was done with music, the Holy Spirit himself put nine songs in my heart and I couldn’t shut them in. It would have been a disservice to the Christian community. I am realising how elect I am as a Christian artist. I believe God chose me for a mission and now I understand why I have been a conqueror and glorious in all the trying situations of my music ‘career’ which I have since discovered to be a ministry,” she said.

A number of musicians in the world are synonymous with spiritual names for example multi-award winning American artiste Beyonce in 2008 released her third studio album Sasha Fierce which formally introduced her alter-ego Sasha Fierce.

The singer created the alter ego Sasha Fierce in an effort to separate her own shy personality from her stage persona and give herself the courage to be free and sexy while performing.

“I turn into Sasha. I wouldn’t like Sasha if I met her off stage. She’s too aggressive, too strong, too sassy, and too sexy! I’m not like her in real life at all. I’m not flirtatious and super-confident and fearless like her.

“What I feel onstage I don’t feel anywhere else. It’s an out-of-body experience. I created my stage persona ... so that when I go home, I don’t have to think about what it is I do. Sasha isn’t me. The people around me know who I really am,” Beyonce told the Mirror newspaper back then.

Meanwhile, Fungisai is not new to controversy.
She courted controversy for crossing from her usual gospel beat to Zimdancehall which is hugely associated with violence and disorder.

Back in the day, she was attacked in the court of public opinion for performing in night clubs such as the defunct Jazz 105 among others.

She was also quoted in one of the local papers saying she was not a church person among other controversial issues. Daily News

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