By Nyasha Chuma
There’s an old saying about the show going on ,but no one expected it to go on quite like this.
This past Saturday, Harare’s Hippodrome was packed to the rafters for acapella gospel giants Firm Faith’s 20th anniversary. The crowd was ready for a night of Herculean praise. There was just one tiny problem: their own vocal powerhouse, Prim Moyo, was missing.
Why? Because Prim had just done something far more miraculous than hitting a high note ,rather she gave birth. On the eve of the anniversary, no less. Talk about dramatic timing.
But here’s where the story takes an unexpected turn. Out of that labour came not one, but two births. The first was a beautiful baby. The second? The birth of a new Zambian voice into the Firm Faith family.
Stepping into the gap was Lusyomo Chingo, the Zambian singer, songwriter, and recording artist known for her soulful vocals and work with Onyx Music Group. With Firm Faith needing a voice that could hold the room, Lusyomo walked on stage and delivered. She had already made her mark on projects like the “Nkuku Na Rice EP” and “Zed Rewind EP”, but this was her first live moment with the Harare giants.
The crowd didn’t just accept her but they roared for her. Song after song, she matched the group’s trademark harmonies with a tone that was distinctly Zambian, yet right at home in Firm Faith’s Shona-Ndebele repertoire. By the final number, what started as an emergency fill-in felt like a deliberate unveiling.
“It was never planned like this,” one band member said backstage. “But sometimes God writes better scripts than we do.”
For Prim, the night meant welcoming a child into the world. For Firm Faith, it meant welcoming a new collaborator into the fold. And for Lusyomo Chingo, it was the moment a Zambian voice found a bigger stage.
Express Mail Zim spoke to Lusyomo on the sidelines of the event and she said;
“Well,I had a good time and I didn’t have difficulties in fitting in since the languages are almost similar,” she said.
Two births. One unforgettable night!
