A 23-year-old pastor has released an R & B album titled I Need You.

Chadzimula Chinyama, known as Tarzman, said that other people picked up his talent in this genre when he was singing in church.

"I am a good singer and when I performed in church people often told me that I would do well as an R&B artist so I took up the challenge and here I am," he said.

The well-mastered six-track album is his debut album and is filled with love songs with profound messages, Tarzman said that when he was making this album, he took into consideration the fact that he was a Christian, a pastor and that a lot of his listeners would be Christian.

"There is nothing explicit about any of the songs in this album. I was conscious of the people around me and who I am had a lot to do with it. The songs are made to soothe those with love problems and is dedicated to lovers," he said.

Tarzman said that the album took him three months in all to make because people from church were backing him up.

"I needed a lot of support and after struggling looking for sponsors some people from church just donated to help me cut the first batch of the CD," he added.

The CD was made at Mr. B. Sound Studio and produced and Mastered by Paul Kamorai."He specialises in R &B and Hip-Hop and he did me great justice in my music, as he offered a lot of support," added Tarzman.

Tarzman said that he knew that if this album were to sell marketing would be critical. "I have marketed it through people I know and already some people in the United States (US), Namibia, in Zimbabwe are awaiting their CDs. I sampled the songs to people abroad on the Internet and they placed orders," he said.

Tarzman is a pastor with his father at the Pressing Forward Ministries Church. He said that he did the R&B album because it is his passion and to fulfill his talent but he is also working on a gospel CD with his father and the church.

The title track, I Need You, is about someone you really love and no matter how hard times get you stick by that person.

The chorus goes: 'Every single day every single time I need you by my side.'"There is a couple that is getting married this December and I have made this song for them," he said.

Another hit song in the album is I Want You Back, which Tarzman says is for couples that have drifted away from each other.

"Like those couples who have divorced but later decided it was a mistake, this song says that 'I want you back, I realise that I have made a mistake' and so on," he said.

Though he has managed to release his batch of CDs, Tarzman says that sponsorship is not easy to get in this country because there is a lot of favouritism that works against real talent.