Charles Chipanga

Charles Chipanga is a Zimbabwean gospel musician from Kadoma, Zimbabwe. His passion for music began when he was doing his primary education at Chedonje School. He rose within the music industry and studied at the Zimbabwe College of Music for a Certificate in Ethnomusicology and went on to study a Degree in Ethnomusicology. He pioneered in one of the best cultural exchange programmes called Umoja Cultural Flying Carpet which saw him travelling extensively and doing numerous cultural exchange programs and workshops. Umoja heightened his confidence in using of African instruments.

In 2006, he joined Oliver Mtukudzi’s band. At Tuku Music, he travelled and performed in different countries namely at the African Festival of the Arts Chicago (2006), Floyd Festival (2008), Intl Nuits D’Afrique Montreal (2010), Zanzibar Intl Film Festival (2011) and HIFA Zimbabwe.

While at Tuku Music, he has shared the stage with artists such as Lucky Dube, George Benson, Awilo Longoma, Salif Keita, Papa Wemba, Joe Thomas, Baba Maal, Habib Koite, Hugh Masekela, Dorothy Masuka, UB40 and Thomas Mapfumo.
In 2011, he left Tuku Music. In that same year, he and his wife Namatayi established a band called Chalenam Rhythms. He managed to lauch his debut album ‘Prayer Expose’ (2011). The album is a fusion of jazz, ethnic and contemporary music. In mid-2015, he released a second album ‘Goodness’. All these albums were released under Chalenam Rhythms. Besides recording music, he is a music teacher who teachs African drumming, percussive instruments, songs and dance in various schools.