ERIC WAINAINA FIRST MET Oliver Mtukudzi in 2002, but he never imagined then that he would one day record a song with the "Grand Master of Zimbabwean Traditional Pop."

The occasion was the annual Kora Music Awards in South Africa, where Wainaina received the award for the Best East African Male Artiste and "Tuku," as Mtukudzi is known to his fans, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

In his acceptance speech, Wainaina urged Africans to embrace the music of the continent's great artistes like Oliver Mtukudzi and Youssor N'dour.

"I was watching the awards when I heard Eric mention my name and decided to meet him afterwards," said Mtukudzi, who was the headline act at an environmental festival held in Nairobi on the eve of World Environment Day on June 5.

After the Kora Awards ceremony, the two met and talked, but nothing was said about composing a song together.

"It was too early, but we talked a lot and it was there that he told me that he appreciated me as a musician and we parted," said Wainaina.

A year later, the two met again in Zimbabwe during the Harare International Festival of the Arts. Mtukudzi invited Wainaina to his home-cum-studio, and there began the association that culminated in the 53-year-old Zimbabwean and the 31-year-old Kenyan recording the song'Twende,Twende at FEBA studios in Nairobi last week.

"It was when he visited my home that we first talked about doing a song together. We recorded a demo of one of his songs, Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo, but we never got to to finish it," Mtukudzi told The EastAfrican.

Added Wainaina: "I wanted his contribution in the song, but when we failed to finish, we agreed to keep in touch."

Mtukudzi said he will include Twende Twende, in his 49th original album. Wainaina confirmed it will be on his second self-titled, 12-track album scheduled for release in September. The song, whose lyrics are a mixture of English, Kiswahili and Mtukudzi's mother tongue, Shona, urges Africans to get out of the rut of war, corruption disease and hunger in which they seem to be perpetually stuck.

A passionate campaigner for Africa, Mtukudzi is expected to share a stage with international stars Elton John, Madonna and Paul McCartney at the Live 8 concert in London on July 2 - a few days before the start of the G8 summit to be held in Scotland from July 6-8. The London event is part of a series of concerts modelled on the 1985 Live Aid, to be held in Philadelphia, Paris, Rome and Berlin to urge the rich G8 nations to promote fair trade, cancel debt and increase aid to poor nations.

Wainaina told The EastAfrican that recording with Mtukudzi was a dream come true for him and one of the high points of his career.

"Oliver Tosha!" he quipped, adding that his other role models are gurus like Lokua Kanza, Youssour N'dour, Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo and Papa Wemba. Apart from performing and working on his upcoming album, Wainaina is a student at Kenyatta University, where he is doing a masters degree in African Music.

-Philip Mwaniki