At 31, Nutty O, born Carrington Simbarashe Chiwadzwa in Harare, stands as one of Zimbabwe’s most celebrated music exports. Known on stage as “Mr ABX,” short for his mantra Ability Extension, he has built a reputation for pushing beyond limits in sound, vision, and cultural impact. The Afropop star has carved a distinct lane that fuses dancehall, Afropop, and reggae into an unmistakably Zimbabwean voice. His debut album Mustard Seed (2021) produced chart-topping singles such as Safe and Handipere Power, earned him multiple awards, and confirmed his place as a defining figure of his generation. Today, he is not only carrying that legacy forward but also dominating the charts once again; his latest single Too Much currently sits at number one in Zimbabwe, a reminder of his consistency and staying power.
Behind the success is a story of patience, faith, and purpose. His music first broke internationally in 2016, when a single landed on BBC 1Xtra and caught the attention of the diaspora before Zimbabwe itself embraced him. Since then, he has toured widely, collaborated with the likes of ExQ, and built a reputation for delivering songs that connect instantly with audiences at home and abroad.
When we sit down in Wolverhampton, Nutty O is in the UK to support ExQ, a veteran he calls a mentor and father figure, at his new album launch. His presence is about solidarity, collaboration, and continuing a journey they began a decade ago.
Nutty O’s path to music was never linear. As a boy, he sang his mother to sleep with lullabies, while also excelling in athletics and other pursuits. In 2015, curiosity led him to record his first song, and everything changed. “Passion takes over,” he says. “Music was the thing I could lose sleep for. That’s how I knew it was my calling.”
Within a year, his sound reached BBC 1Xtra, sparking buzz in the UK and diaspora markets. For him, that early reception outside Zimbabwe was a sign: “It felt right. It felt like this is what I was supposed to do.”
Hits from the Heart
Nutty O may have built his name on infectious club anthems, but beneath the rhythm lies a commitment to emotional truth. “I usually aim for the heart,” he tells me. “If you aim for the heart, you will not fail.” It is a philosophy that has guided his writing from the very beginning, crafting songs that feel instantly familiar because they speak to universal human experiences.
His lockdown anthem Safe proved this power. More than a charting single, it became a collective memory, the soundtrack of distance and longing when the world was confined indoors. For Zimbabweans in the diaspora, it carried the ache of separation from home; for listeners at home, it held the tenderness of missing loved ones across closed borders. In those months of uncertainty, Nutty O offered solace through melody, proof that a song can hold both personal intimacy and communal healing.
That instinct to connect is most clearly reflected in his long-standing partnership with ExQ. Their collaborations, from Let’s Talk About It to Healer, are not just charting songs but intergenerational dialogues. Nutty O’s restless, youthful energy fuses with ExQ’s veteran composure, creating a chemistry that bridges eras of Zimbabwean music. “ExQ has been more than a collaborator,” he reflects. “He’s a guardian, a mentor. We’ve never left each other’s side.” The body of work they have built together speaks to both continuity and reinvention, a reminder that Zimbabwe’s musical lineage is carried forward not only by individual talent but also by the bonds that tie artists across generations.
Family, Friction, and Faith
Like many African creatives, Nutty O’s journey has not been without resistance at home. His mother, though proud of him, has never attended one of his shows. “She’ll say, ‘Just give me the ticket money instead,’” he recalls with a laugh. Beneath the humour is something more tender. He is saving her first live performance for a milestone moment: the launch of his sophomore album. “That will be the time,” he says with quiet pride, as if envisioning the day when his mother finally witnesses the scale of what he has built.
Through it all, faith has remained his compass. “The biggest inspiration is the Creator,” he explains. “We are vessels, used to effect change. If my existence doesn’t make the world better, then what’s the point?” For Nutty O, music is not only entertainment. It is a tool for service, a calling rooted in something larger than himself.
Zimbabwe’s Light Problem
Our conversation turns to the challenges of Zimbabwe’s music industry. Why is it that many Zimbabwean artists are only celebrated at home after validation abroad? Nutty O doesn’t mince his words. “We are scared of our own light,” he says. “At home, the most gifted are not always seen as the best. Meanwhile, Zimbabweans are in strategic positions all over the world. If we collaborate more, if we redirect even a fraction of that influence back to Zimbabwe, the world will be ours.”
For him, patriotism and collaboration are non-negotiables. “Look at Nigeria and Ghana, they rise by lifting others. That must be our mantra too.”
Beyond Borders
Nutty O’s dream is expansive. He envisions himself sharing global stages with Wizkid, Burna Boy, Chris Brown, and Stormzy. He dreams of a joint EP with UK super-producer JAE5. He talks about collaborating with Sevana from Jamaica, J. Cole in the US, and Wretch 32 in the UK.
But the ambition is rooted in impact, not ego. “I want to be a voice that speaks life into the lifeless. A symbol of strength for the African child, the Black child, for anyone who needs light.”
The Sophomore Era
With his second album underway, Nutty O is in no rush. “Greatness takes time. Good music takes time,” he says. “If I set the record, then I am the one who must beat it. Forgetfulness is the devil. You have to remember where you came from, because that tells you where you are going. I don’t feel pressure. I feel purpose.”
He has been working on the project for four years, with plans for cross-continental collaborations that will stretch from South Africa and Nigeria to the UK. “We are going to shake the world the Zimbabwean way again,” he smiles.
Lessons for the Next Generation
Before we close, I ask Nutty O what advice he has for aspiring artists. His response is simple but powerful. “The quickest way to be like me is to be yourself. Identify your element, beautify it, and stick to it. The world will catch up. Through hard work and smart work, everything else will fall into place. Do not be shaken. Be immovable.”
As we wrap, he leaves me with a final reflection. “Life is war. You have to pick a side, pick your role, pick your weapon.” For Nutty O, the weapon is music. Not for distraction, but for direction. And with every song, every collaboration, and every vision he sets in motion, he is reminding Zimbabwe, and the world, that our light is nothing to fear.
To catch the full conversation, where Nutty O goes deeper on his journey, his philosophy of Ability Extension, and his vision for Zimbabwean music on the world stage, watch the complete Sit Down with Korrine Sky now available on the Southern African Times YouTube channel.
