Tatea Da MC to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Changamire Festival Awards

TAKUDZWA HILLARY CHIWANZA

It feels right that the H-Town King, Tatea Da MC, will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Changamire Festival Awards slated for the 28th of April at The Backspace in Newlands, Harare. For his sacrifice and efforts in the game, it only makes sense that recognition in this regard is due to him. 

Tatea has been an unflinching stalwart in the game; one who has always remained tethered to the essence of what hip-hop is throughout the highs and lows of his expansive career. One could consider him one of the OGs that paved the way for the current success that Zim Hip Hop is basking in. His value in the game is inestimable. He represents the era of Zim Hip Hop rappers who were bold enough to undertake the arduous task of doing hip-hop in Zimbabwe. 

Most of you will remember Tatea Da MC as being the 'T' in the group MMT (which consisted of Mariachi and MC Cut). They gave us some memorable hits, but sometimes group dynamics do not last as people would want them to. MMT was dope. 

For us, it makes us super elated that Tatea Da MC is being honoured in this way. The one and only H-Town King. 

And I will conclude with an excerpt from a conversation I heard with the legendary rapper back in 2022, when  I asked how the moniker H-Town King came to be. This is what he said:

"As I was doing an assessment of the game before I established myself, I followed a lot of what was trending in the streets and what was on television; and in America the hype was about who was claiming King - with T.I vs Lil Flip for King Of The South being a hot topic then. I felt I needed an entry point so I decided then to claim Harare; if there was an act out there better than me their work would prove it, and I wouldn't be the H-Town King. I knew it was a move that would create a buzz and also coming from on of my favorite folk stories, King Arthur's Sword In The Stone, kingship had a personal appeal to me. I was just a little kid who pulled Excalibur out of a spell casted rock.

When I announced it no one objected, and I've been the H-Town King since."

So, shout-out to you H-Town King! 

(Now, most of you may know him as Tatea Da MC, but I prefer to call him TATEAGURU.)