TP Nyekese (Papa Jose)

TP Njekese (Papa Jose)
TP Njekese (Papa Jose)
Born	Joseph Ndlovu
Died	2003
Occupation	Musician
Known for	The hit song Ndochi
Spouse(s)	Ngalula Maria Kayembe
Children	Eric, Dodoyi, Chichi

Papa Jose was a Zimbabwean musician who came into the spotlight with his hit song Ndochi in 1996 with his band Too Powerful Njekese.

Bakground

Born in Zimbabwe, Papa Jose relocated to Congo with his mother when he was a small boy. There, as a teenager, he had the chance to listen to some of Congo’s renowned rhumba artistes and thought seriously about becoming a musician. He was married to Ngalula Maria Kayembe with whom they had four children (3 boys and 1 girl).^[1]

Career

Born in Zimbabwe, Papa Jose relocated to Congo with his mother when he was a small boy. There, as a teenager, he had the chance to listen to some of Congo’s renowned rhumba artistes and thought seriously about becoming a musician. But with the tight economy in that country, Papa Jose embarked on cross-border trade. In 1979, he followed his mother to Zimbabwe and thought of settling down although he would from time to time take a trip to Congo where in 1983 he met the schoolgirl, Ngalula Maria Kayembe, who was to become his wife and then dancer. When he finally returned to Zimbabwe, he married the schoolgirl and brought her home.

Because Papa Jose had no job, he got involved in music. First, he linked with the Real Sounds before he was sent by a Dr Nyamuswa to bring the Zambian outfit, Orchestra Mangelepa, to Zimbabwe in 1988. Based at Sanganayi Inn, Papa Jose played with the group until its return to Zambia a few years later after which he gathered a group of musicians and started TP Nyekese. With Ndochi, TP Nyekese had a quantum leap but death and desertions by musicians saw the group experience a quantum fall.

With a faltering career, he found employment as a bus driver with the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) and many other companies while at the same time he would return to music.