Name: Cadia Shoko
Born: March 15, 1962
Died: March 16, 2012 (age 50)
Genres: Afro-pop
Active: 1980’s- 2012
Albums: 12
Facts:
· Andy Brown died without receiving an award in his life. In 2017, the Masvingo Music Awards announced that Andy Brown was going to be awarded a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award.
· Preferred to call his music “world music” because it had so many musical influences.
Early life and education
Andy brown also known as Cadia Shoko, was born on March 15, 1962 in Mberengwa to a German Father and and Zimbabwean mother. His family relocated to Bulawayo which is where he completed his secondary school at Founders High School. Brown’s first marriage was to Chiwoniso Maraire who was also a singer, their marriage produced two children. His second marriage was to Nadine Brown. Both his marriages produced a total of ten children named Devona, Ammara, Shala, Alexander, Chengeto, Chiedza, Ushe, Jason, Andy Brown Jnr. And Alzaeed.
Career
Andy Brown clearly had a passion for music which we see through his various band ventures. Andy Brown started singing at a young age, it’s reported that while he was at Founders High School, he skipped classes to play his guitar. After leaving school he joined Ebony Skiek briefly before teaming up with Gabriel Green to form the group Pisces in the year of 1980.
Andy later moved Harare where he formed another group called Grabb with Rozalla Miller and Boykie Moore, the group later disbanded when one of the members moved to England. Following that, Andy Brown worked with the Rusike brothers which also didn’t last too long. After working with the Rusike brothers, Brown, partnered with Don Gumbo and Brian Paul in 1986 to form Illanga. The group Illanga included Busi Ncube, Don Gumbo, Munya Brown, Chinx Chingaira, Keith Farquason, Adam Chisvo and Gibson Mangena. Illanga became one of the best groups in the country genre in the late 1980s, but unfortunately this group was also short-lived. Andy brown went on to leave Illanga in 1988 to form his own group call The Storm, then relocated to South Africa to join the group We Three and wrote all the songs for one of their albums. In 1995, he returned to Zimbabwe and recorded the album Gondwanaland which included the hit songs Tichangonshaina and Zindoga.
Brown was known for including his political beliefs into his songs which naturally drew an equal amount of criticism and praise.
Discography
· The Storm (1989)
· Chimvuramabhwe (1990)
· Feed Me (1991)
· Gondwanaland (1995)
· Let the Children (1996)
· Tigere (1997)
· Harare (1998)
· Hondo YeSadza (1999)
· Tongogara (2001)
· Passage of Time (2003)
· Chiedza (2005)
· Retrospective
