Harare — JONAH SITHOLE, the CBZ A Academy winner, is a very talented artiste whose silky voice has the potential of creating a sensation unseen before in Zimbabwe, but which market is he targeting?

Sithole's 10-track album titled Diversity that was released recently presents a young man who, if he does not take stock of his future now, could waste away and be forgotten in time.

The youthful artiste is talented and his songs such as Diversity, Ease Up, Puerto-Rican Girl and others, give a clear feeling of how good his voice is.

But unless he makes a decision now on which market he is targeting, Sithole's future could just fizzle out.

The 10-track album is proof enough that Sithole can, with strong backing and management, achieve whatever he is set to achieve.

There are two mature tracks - Diversity and Kwandinobva - which is the only song in vernacular.

Diversity that features Taps Mugadza and Young Doe from Major Playaz encourages harmonious living for and by all peoples of the world.

The song says people should know that the diverse cultures, beliefs, histories and lives were God's plan.

He says we can live together if we stop the hatred.

Kwandinobva that features Kudzai Sevenzo is a combo track that carries bits and pieces of various songs including the Four Brothers' hit song Rudo Imoto.

This song is not just different in the language used but the beat as well as the message that celebrates being a Zimbabwean artiste.

It has an original light beat that is complimented by an equally distant drum.

With Sithole's silky voice and the original beat, Kwandinobva has what it takes to make the whole album relevant to all ages in Zimbabwe and possibly abroad.

That leaves the other eight tracks - Ease Up that features Ceey, Equation of Me and You, Puerto-Rican Girl, Right Now, My Name is Jo-E, Just One Night To Be With You and Need To Know.

Ease Up could do well with Jonah's age group in Zimbabwe. I am not sure about Jonah's promoter Gary Thompson's plans of having the album sold overseas where he wants Sithole to be big and run alongside the likes of 50 Cent, Joe and others.

The sound on Puerto-Rican Girl is familiar with some of Jackson's songs. That too is the same with Just One Night with You and the rest.

But despite being very gifted voice-wise, Sithole could suffer lack of identity. The eight songs listed above do not reflect him as a Zimbabwean artiste.

As such, the local market could shun him while the Western stuff he is striving to pump out would not be good enough for the markets abroad.

One such artiste who is like Sithole is Sevenzo, a very talented artiste but one whose projects seem not to be doing well because of lack of identity.

Time has shown that a Zimbabwean artiste is readily accepted elsewhere in the world when he plays his Zimbabwean stuff and not when he tries to sing like one of their own. That's why the Bhundu Boys were accepted and that's why when they started playing and sounding like a Western outfit they lost the support they had built.

That's why Oliver Mtukudzi is admired elsewhere and that is why Ambuya Stella Chiweshe is adored. They are nothing else but Zimbabweans. Sithole is still young and he has all the time to reflect on what he really wants to be and do.