Mukudzeyi Mukombe, best known by his stage name Jah Prayzah, is a Zimbabwean contemporary reggae and Afro-jazz musician with a net worth of $2 million. This makes him one of the richest musicians in Zimbabwe
He was born and raised in Uzumba, Murehwa, a small town near Harare in Zimbabwe. Jah Prayzah, who is also the leader of a music band known as Third Generation, got his stage name – Jah Prayzah – from the interpretation of his native name, ‘Mukudzeyi’ which means ‘Praise Him.’ His band is also known for their signature camouflage attire, and this has earned him the name “Musoja” a term in the Shona language that means ‘soldier.’ He has gone from a young boy who had a passion for music to become a famous millionaire whose music has brought to the limelight. Here’s how Jah Prayzah’s $2 million net worth came about.
Jah Prayzah Started Nurturing His Passion For Music From A Young Age
Jah Prayzah is the last born of five children, but he is nothing close to the regular stereotype associated with last borns. He nurtured his dream to become a famous singer as a young kid, and today he has realized it. Growing up, his hobbies were singing, adventures, reading novels, swimming, and hunting.
While in school, he developed the habit of singing during school assemblies and learned to play mbira (African thumb piano) with his teacher, Mupa Musimbe. Even at his local church assembly, Prayzah was never shy of blessing the hearts of his church members with his singing. He continued with this, and as he grew older, his mbira skill continued to develop. Though he may not have made so much money from music at an early age, it helped build his confidence in music and encouraged him to pursue a music career.
Over the years, people around him who had heard him make music also encouraged him to pursue it with all seriousness as they believed that he would make it through music. And as early as when he was in high school, he was composing his own songs.
He Started His Music Career In 2005
As a young boy, Jah Prayzah started recording reggae tracks and dancehall tunes with his friends. Some of their songs became popular around their neighborhood but did not make it to the national scene. He continued pursuing his dream and later released singles when he worked with South African music producer cum disc jockey DJ Thando and other local music producers. Some of the singles he released at that time include Seiko and Sorry Mama.
In 2005, Mukudzeyi Mukombe officially began his career, and two years later, he released his debut commercial album titled “Sungano.” Following this album were two more albums titled “Rudo neRunyararo” and “Ngwarira Kuparara”. Fortunately for him, Ngwarira Kuparara was commercially successful, and one of the hit singles in the album has hit over 800,000 YouTube views, which translates to a reasonable amount of money in his account as people are still watching the music video.
In 2013, he dropped another album titled “Tsviriyo.” One of the hit songs in the album was Gotchi Gotchi, and it earned him an award in the 2013 National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) ceremony. The following year, he released another song titled Kumbumura Mhute, which has over 1 million YouTube views. That year, he also won five NAMA Awards and two Zimbabwe Music Awards (ZIMA awards).
Collaborations Also Helped In Promoting Jah Prayzah’s Music Career
Following his success in the music industry so far, Jah Prayzah opened his own studio in 2015 and released another album titled “Jerusarema.” Five years after releasing the official video of the hit track, it has received over 1.8 million views on YouTube. Judging that the video is monetized, Jah Prayzah is definitely making a decent sum (in dollars) from the video-sharing app for the song.
His most YouTube viewed and most notable song to date is Watora Mari, a song that he collaborated with one of Tanzania’s biggest music artists, Diamond Platnumz, to produce. In less than a month, the song got over 1 million views, and at the time of this writing, the song has amassed over 15 million views on YouTube, making it the most-watched video on his YouTube channel. This also means that the video may have given him the highest revenue from his YouTube channel, but since we don’t know his Cost Per Mile (CPM) or Revenue Per Mile (RPM), we can’t say for sure how much he made from it.
In 2018, Jah Prayzah dropped another album titled “Chitubu,” with some of the album’s songs featuring big names in the African music industry like Davido, Patoranking, Yemi Alade, and so on. These songs have also amassed millions of views, which translates to thousands of dollars for him.
He Made Part Of His $2 Million Net Worth From Music Tours
Aside from the money he makes from streaming platforms like YouTube, where his songs are uploaded, Jah Prayzah also makes money from performing his songs at events and tours. He has had international tours in countries like the United Kingdom, China, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and the United States – and all of these contribute to Jah Prayzah’s $2 million net worth.
His Success In Music Has Earned Him Some Awards
Here is a list of all the awards Jah Prayzah has won for his singles and albums over the years:
- Award for Song of the Year, “Gotchi Gotchi” – NAMA 2013
- Zimbabwe Peace Ambassador Award – 2013
- Outstanding Album, Tsviriyo – NAMA 2014
- Outstanding Male Artist, Jah Prayzah – NAMA 2013
- Outstanding Video, “Mwanasikana – NAMA 2014
- People’s Choice, Jah Prayzah – NAMA 2014
- Outstanding Video, “Mwanasikana” – NAMA 2014
- Zim Dream Online Award – 2014
- Album of the Year – NAMA 2016
- Outstanding Male Artist – NAMA 2016
- Traditional Song of the Year “Jerusarema” – ZIMA 2016
- Album of the Year, Jerusarema – ZIMA 2016
- Collaboration of the Year, “Kure Kure” ft. Ammara Brown – ZIMA 2016
- Listener’s Choice Award – MTV African Music Award 2016
- Best International Music Artist – Zimbabwe Achievers Awards
- Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year – Zimbabwe Business Awards 2017
- Artist of the Year – NAMA 2018
- Entertainer of the Year category nomination – African Entertainment Awards, USA (AEAUSA)
It is noteworthy that Jah Prayzah associates his career success to the blessing he received from his mother after throwing a birthday party worth $7,000 for her in 2012.
The Reggae Artist Is Also A Brand Ambassador
Music may be one of the major sources of Jah Prayzah, and collaboration has undeniably helped him get to the point where he is in his career now, but his $2 million net worth didn’t come from just music. We know that with the fame of music or being in the entertainment industry, in general, comes massive followers and trust from fans and companies and brands who want you to endorse their brands, and Jah Prayzah is benefiting from all these.
He has endorsed brands like:
- Nyaradzo Groups
- Pokugara Town Houses
- Millennium Height
- West Property Zimbabwe
- Trioka Design Workshop ZW
As you should already know, he does not go about announcing how much he makes from his brand endorsement deals, so we can’t tell how much he makes from it. But with over 700k Instagram followers, you can tell that the money these brands and companies pay is a significant part of Jah Prayzah’s net worth.
Jah Prayzah Spends His Net Worth On Philanthropy, Fast Cars, and Real Estate
Jah Prayzah is happily married to Rufaro Chiworeso, with whom he has a son and three daughters. As a family man, he obviously spends his money on trying to keep his family comfortable. But aside from that and the fact that he is always looking good and stylish, two other ways he spends his net worth are on charity and fast cars.
On the 1st of April 2016, he and his philanthropy team spent their day with children from Hurungwe Children’s home in Kario. In 2017, he promised to donate part of what he gets from his first event after launching his album titled “Kutonga Kwaro,” to charity. In 2020, he built a computer laboratory for his former school – Musanhi High School Uzumba, Mashonaland East Province.
In 2020, Jah Prayzah bought a house at Pokugara Residential Estate. The exact worth of this house is unknown, but judging from the fact that it is located in an affluent suburb where the rich and high class lives, the singer undoubtedly spent a huge amount to acquire the property.
A Look at Jah Prayzah’s Car Collection
Being a lover of fast cars, Jah Prayzah’s net worth can afford anyone he wants. Some of his nice cars include:
Mercedes S Class (est. $109,800)
- Cylinders – V8
- Horsepower – 463 hp @ 5250 rpm
- Torque – 516 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
- Turning circle – 40.4 ft
Dodge Ram 1500 (est. $32,595)
- Displacement – 182 cu in, 2987 cc
- Power – 260 hp @ 3600 rpm
- Torque – 480 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm
Range Rover Discovery 4 (est. $36,500)
- Maximum power – 340 – 375ps
- Fuel Consumption – 5 – 7km/L
- Drive Type – AWD
- Engine Capacity – 2,994 – 4,999cc
2015 Cadillac Escalade (est. $49,500)
- Torque – 460 lb-ft @ 4100 rpm
- Turning circle – 39.0 ft
- Horsepower – 420 hp @ 5600 rpm
- Cylinder – V8
