For Zimbabwean musician Lamont Chitepo, success in the diaspora has come with a difficult balancing act: sustaining a music career while navigating the realities of working life thousands of miles from home.
Based in the United Kingdom, Chitepo has earned a reputation as one of the more consistent Zimbabwean artists in the diaspora, steadily building a following through soulful releases and live performances.
Yet behind the public image of artistic momentum lies a quieter struggle familiar to many immigrant creatives trying to keep their dreams alive while managing the demands of everyday survival.
The artist last released music in August 2025. Before that, he had also stepped away for an extended hiatus, prompting questions from fans about his reduced visibility and output.
Chitepo says the silence was never about a lack of passion.
“Over the past period, my silence and reduced music output has not been a lack of creativity or commitment, but rather a reflection of the realities that come with balancing life in the diaspora,” he said.
Like many independent musicians living abroad, Chitepo works a full-time job outside music while also managing family responsibilities.
He says those obligations often leave little room for the demanding pace required to remain competitive in today’s music industry.
“I am in full-time employment, working around 37 hours a week, and like many people, I also have family responsibilities,” he said. “Once those commitments are met, the time left for music is mainly weekends and late hours.”
For diaspora artists, the challenge extends beyond finding time to record songs. The digital era has transformed music into an industry driven as much by visibility and online engagement as by the music itself.
“Music is not just a passion it is a highly competitive profession that demands consistency, strategy, content creation, and constant engagement with audiences,” Chitepo said.
“Balancing all of that alongside full-time work is extremely challenging.”
His experience reflects a wider reality faced by many African creatives abroad who operate without the financial backing, infrastructure or consistent performance opportunities available to more established acts.
Chitepo says one of the biggest obstacles has been breaking through within the United Kingdom’s Zimbabwean entertainment circuit itself.
According to the artist, promoters often favour bringing performers directly from Zimbabwe rather than booking artists already based in the diaspora.
“There is often a preference for artists being brought directly from Zimbabwe for performances, rather than those already based here within the community,” he said.
That imbalance, he argues, creates an economic challenge for independent diaspora musicians trying to sustain careers through live performances.
“And in music, when you are not being booked, you are not generating income,” Chitepo said. “Without income from music, it becomes difficult to sustain it as a continuous professional focus.”
The result, he says, is a cycle where artists disappear for months at a time, releasing music sporadically while struggling to maintain audience momentum in a fast-moving digital environment.
“Many independent artists find themselves in a cycle where they are only able to release music occasionally sometimes once a year which in today’s fast-moving digital landscape is not enough to maintain momentum,” he said.
Still, despite the challenges, Chitepo says he has no intention of walking away from music. Instead, he sees his journey as part of a broader story about resilience, sacrifice and the unseen labour behind diaspora artistry.
