When he performs on stage, believing that Ntakadzeni Manyage, better known as Alingo, is a 70-year-old grandfather is easy, with his old man posture, grey hair, walking stick, smoking pipe, and old-man attire, but that is just his stage persona. In reality he is only 36 years old.
The local African Rhumba sensation from Dzwerani village outside Thohoyandou said the reason behind this strange performance tactic was that he wanted to entertain his fans differently from other musicians. He wanted to give way to his own creativity, and so the grandpa was born.
"I realised that most artists look very formal on stage and I wanted to come up with a way to be different; to stand out from the rest. My appearance is my own creative way of making music more enjoyable to my fans and it seems to be working, because people cry for more wherever I perform," he said.
He must be doing a very good job with his disguise as well, because many of his fans still believe him to be an old man. "I have released four successful albums with a photo of myself as an old man on each cover. Only those who are closely acquainted know that I am actually in my thirties."
Alingo does his own makeup before performances – the grey hair and beard, eyelashes and everything that goes with the old-man image. "I don't have to pay a makeup artist to change my appearance, I just do it myself. There is nothing more fulfilling than realising that my creativity, which is becoming a trademark in my entertainment career, is so well received by others," he said.
Alingo says his fans should know that the real (younger) him is very different from the Alingo they see on stage. One of Alingo's fans, Patrick Tshinwamukovho, said he took months to realise that his icon was performing in disguise. "I used to attend his live performances and I knew him as an energetic old man. One day I had an opportunity to go backstage and I saw him removing his makeup and putting on his usual clothes. Only then did I realise that he is not really the old man we see on stage."