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The influence of po pular music, in particular
u r b a n grooves lyrics on the Z i m b a b w e a n youth:
The case of the Troika, Maskiri, W in k y D an d
Extra L arg e
A d v ice V iriri1
Faculty o f Arts
M idlands Stale U niversity
viriaem su ac.zw
A g n ella Viriri2
M usic and M usiology
D epartm ent
M idlands State U niversity
viririagem sa.ae.zw
C arter Chapwanya*
N ew s Day new spaper
Abstract
This article critically exomines the influence of popular music, especially urban grooves
lyrics, on ihe youth of Zimbabwe, focusing in particular on the lyrics of Alishas 'Maskin'
Musimbe, the duo Extra larg e ond Wallace 'Winky D’ Chirimuko Some of these lyrics
ot firs: giance ap p ear to be humorous, but a deeper analysis reveals o destructive
m essage. The article explores the socio-cu’tural influence of these urban grooves artists
in Zimbobwe a n d whether urban grooves music is indeed the 'music of the people,
about ‘he p e a tle ar.d by tha people themselves' [Kwaramba 1997, 2). It investigates the
role music plays in the socialisation of the Zimbabwean youth and the exlent to which it
•nfiuences the behavioural trends of the youth in urban communities in particular.
Key w ords: popular music, urban grooves, culture, Zimbabwean youths
Introduction
In th is article, w c explore th e c o n c c m s o f the Z im b ab w ean y o u th s as ex pressed
th ro u g h p o p u lar m u sic that reflects the day-to-day exp erien ces o f y o u n g urban
Z im b a b w e a n s. I h is m usic b rin g s o u t the h appiness and fru stratio n s o f young people
in a g lobalised w o rld thui
rap id ly ad vancing as a result o f the inform ation age,
w h ic h has m ad e the w orld a eloh ,• ■ . iL:c. P opular m usic, o f w hich urban grooves
C Unbo r’revi
ISSN (Print) 1812-5980
ISSN ,Oni
1753-5?3*
DC: 10.1080/18125930.2011.570294
MUZIKI
ih-' ir licence o f >j Oj>jlo r music
is .i g en re, i> n c :
id v e iy Z im babw e.’
83
urban co n tem p o rary m u sic is currently
th e m o st p o p u la r m u sic fo rm fro: l Z im b ab w e to Z am b ia. M a la w i a n d Tanzania,
d is extensive!; '■•roadcast . A frica ra d io stations. O n e c a n n o w en jo y m usic,
‘th e art o f co m b in in g s o u n d s in a m a n n e r p leasin g to the c a r ' (B ebcy 1969, 2),
it
lebele, K iS w al ili o r B em ba. O riginally, p o p u lar m usic as part
o f p o p u la r c u ltu re w a s ‘c h a ra c te rs I
ings w h ich w e re a e sth e tic and, at
th e sam e tim e re lig io u s, political,
icam atioi
. ery d ay sentim ents. It
e x h o rte d , c e le b ra te d , cautioned. and denounced: it em b o d ied m o rality a n d provided
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re le a s e from it: it g a v e pleasure-
at j
re to p articu lar sym bolic
i (tractio n s’ (O itlin in F o u rie 1991. 4 ). T h e role o f a n y form o f m usic is m ainly
to rep rim an d , ex h o rt, inform , en tertain , w arn , praise, insult, criticize o r inspire
listen ers. In m ost cases, ‘m usic p lay s a sim ilar role in life, as lullabies, b attle songs,
relig io u s m usic, and so on. It is im portant in education; it is co m m o n kn o w led g e
th a t so n g s m ak e m em o rizin g easier and can he used to instil in p eo p le im portant
ru le s o f c o n d u c t o r h> g ien e' (B ebcy 1969. 2). The th em es o f a n y m usic are ev en ts o f
c o m m o n c o n cern to co m m u n ity m cm b
ritual beliefs, trad itio n s, v alu es, norm s
and th e ev e ry d ay life o f a society provide th e substance ex p ressed through linguistic
re p e rto ire and th e stru ctu re o f the m usic. K w abena N k etia (1982, 189) states:
The treatment o f the song as a form o f speech utterance arises not only from stylistic
considerations or from consciousness o f the analogous features o f speech and music; it
is also inspired by the importance o f the song as an avenue o f verbal communication,
a medium for creative verba' expressions which can reflect both personal and social
experience.
In u rb a n g ro o v e s m usic, local b eats arc fused w ith R & B , soul, reggae and hip-hop
to creatc a n e w m o d e o f ex pression. T h is new phenom enon seem s to b e contagious,
an d is sp re ad in g th ro u g h o u t A frica. W hen the gov ern m en t o f Z im b ab w e introduced
th e sev en ty -fiv e p er cent local content requirem ent in 2004, the aim w a s to produce
so m e th in g A frican and hom e- . : <wn. H ow ever, w h ile urban g ro o v es m usic is indeed
h o m e -g ro w n , the effects o f globalization o n this form p red o m in ate, ca u sin g som e to
c la im th at it lack s a Z im b ab w ean identity.
In this article w e w ill co n sid er M askiri. an urban grooves artist w h o se lyrics
a p p e a r to be h u m o ro u s, but w hich in fact have serious i m plications fo r the listeners,
th e u rb a n y o u th , as h is rap lyrics reflect the tortured state o f m in d o f a disturbed
g h e tto y o u th . 1[e d eals ■
eg iti\ c subjet.: m atter as though it w ere com m o n p lace,
a n d m o st y o u n g p eo p le li\ in g in th e ghetto u nfortunately ap p ear to find sense in his
n o n se n se . We w ill also exam ine the lyrics o f W inky D. w ho sin g s urban grooves
re g g a e m usic th at reflects J a m a \ u trends in m usic, fashion and culture. M ariju an a
is a feature o f th e u n lican R astafarian cu ltu re ind it is this culture th at W inkv 1)
larg ely p ro m o tes. T h e ast artists
v.t w e . n s:Je r here arc the d u o E x tra Large,
ifiuence c-f popular music
85
reb ellio n . T h e sty le a n d s t ictu e A u i t in g ro o v e s m usic i- sim p le a n d repetitive,
an d th e m essag e it conveys is e x tre m ely corrosive.
Z im b a b w e 's broadcasting policy and the birth of urban
grooves
It is not p o ssib le to ;• snjn a specific date to the birth o f urban g ro o v es as a m usic
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;enr<\ In the mid*19V0s irtists sue! as F ortune M parutsa, S hingai M au M au , Prince
id c re w s su c h
:o O n e a n d Si .
ne w e re g a in in g p o p u larity
fo r their m usic, v.: ch be a .» a c lo se resem blance to p re sen t-d ay urban grooves,
lo w ev e r the g e n ii only g ain ed real accep tan ce w hen P ro fe sso r Jo n ath an M oyo
b e c a m e the M in iste r o f In fo rm atio n and P ublicity in the P re sid e n t's O ffice in 2001
a n d v ig o ro u sly em barked on w h a t m ost urban grooves en th u siasts w ould regard as
a cu ltu ral revolution, intro d u cin g the seventy-five per ccnt local b ro ad cast content
policy. S om e an a ly sts v iew ed th is as a political m ove and an ex a m p le o f extrem e
cu ltu ral im p erialism in the form o f an en d eav o u r to halt the infiltration o f foreign
cu ltu res th ro u g h the m ass m edia. It did. how ever, en co u rag e a n e w ty p e o f m usic,
affectio n ately kn o w n to d ay as urban grooves, w hich entered the national psyche
(th a t o f the y o u th in particular), form erly subjugated by W estern m usic and culture.
T his p o lic \ sa w the rise o f stab les such as G alaxy R ecords, u n d e r D elani
M ak h a lim a, w h o show cased artists such as P laxedes W enyika. T onderai ‘Kingpinn*
M ak o n i, D a v id C h ifu n y ise. and D aniel 'D e c ib e l' M azhandu. A n u m b er o f traditional
re co rd in g c m p an ies had been i. »wil!i:.g to sign contracts w ith them because o f their
lack o f m u sic p roduction e x p e rien ce; how ever, this did not d eter th is g ro u p o f young
artists, w ho w e re startin g to pro d u ce m usic o n the strength o f a m edia p o lic y that
g u aran teed th em all the ex posure they needed to succeed in th eir en d eav o u rs. T his
leg islatio n a lso saw the rise o f reco rd in g and publishing h o u ses su ch as Tonderai
M u sic C o rp o ra tio n . K a llas R eco rd s, C orner S tudios and C o u n try B oy R ecords.
O th e r sm a ll reco rd in g stables, su c h as That S quad R ecords, N a tiv e H o u se R ecords.
P h ath o o d R eco rd s led by Take 5 , F lash G ordon and M r. C also started to em erge.
A c co rd in g to T h e S ta
irch 2004, ‘the M in iste r o f In fo rm atio n and
P ublicity. Jo n ath an M oyo declared that only m usicians w ith 500 o f th e ir copies
re co rd e d sh o u ld be
rdcd airplay, hut
. F M , out o f the n u m ero u s artists
w h o m ad e it to the T op-40 ch art, o n ly nine had recorded full length alb u m s th at are
o n the m a rk e t.’ H ow ever, the policy provided the ncccssary im petus fo r m usicians
su ch as D ecibel (D an iel M azh an d u ). w ith h is reggae-inspired lyrics; S ta rch o f
A m a sik o fa m e , w ith h is didactic 1;
to-type grooves; T ia w ith a W estern
b ea t: and even F ungisai Z vak:.vjpuno. w ith gospel m usic.
T h e p olicy p ro v id e d the em etg ng u tis ts ith the o p p o rtu n ity fo r im provem ent.
H o w ev er, so m e artists co n ten te d th e m :e lv e s w ith •borrow ing’ lyrical rhym es from
S6
A dvice Viriri, A'.: i^'lo Vinri anil C o -:- ■Cb:;pv»o--ya
Western m usicians Rcgar Jing the ireci
i their m usic w as tak in g . D in o M u d o n d o
said:
The Department hit.; given us reason to survive . it's true that we got a breakthrough,
programming p i. and we
iven to live up to oar
standards despite criticises that our music lack.; cultural identity and that we arc not
being original (The Herald, 3 May 2002)
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S everal c ritic s arg u e th a t som e urban grooves m u sic is ra th e r o n the ‘b u b b leg u m ’
side, th at it is an a lm o st total im port o f W estern m u sic sty les, a n d th at urban grooves
m u sician s sh o u ld p ro d u c e m ulic
1 is tru ly and proudly Z im b ab w e an . To
help th e in itiativ e, the ^o v em in en t established K ingstons M u sic, a recording and
m ark e tin g co m p an y (T h e H erald. 7 M ay 2004). H ow ever, so m e o f the m usic being
played o n rad io statio n s such as P o w e r FM w as not co m m ercially available, w hich
m ean t th a t the a rtists w e re not earning as m uch as th e y should. T h is prom pted one
m usic fan to co m p lain that
more people are getting exposure, thanks to the policy yet some things have to be
corrected to ensure the initiative does not end up a fluke ..most o f the music being
produced is no: available on the market and quality is being compromised here and
there, most of the music is produced in people’s bedrooms, where it is coming from private PCs? (Chambwera. 2009).
E n co u rag ed by the re sp o n se from all q u arters in 2004, Jo n ath an M oyo changed
th e b ro ad castin g policy to reflect a one hundred p er cent local c o n te n t requirem ent.
T h is im p o sed shift from a cu ltu re that had em braced W estern m usic as a m ajor
d eterm in a n t o f urban cu ltu re to one that w as strictly local re su lted in the m ass
re sig n a tio n o f a n u m b e r o f D Js from elitist radio stations su ch a s R ad io O ne (now
S p o t F M ) and R adio I lu c e (now Pow er FM ) in protest ag a in st the policy. T h ese
e l i t i s t : :tiio statio n s, w h ich had been the preserve o f only a few , b egan to broadcast
th e m usic a: local artists such as .Mick M acheso, Iongai M oyo and N icholas
M ad zib ab a Z ach aria, a m ove that heralded the spread o f :i new tren d in Z im babw e,
in v o lv in g the erad icatio n o f traces o f w esternization from local m usic. In the years
that fo llo w ed , th e p o p teen station Pow er FM w as given the task o f caterin g fo r the
m u sical needs o f the youth, w ho w ere used to listening to g a n g ste r rap and sexually
ex p licit so n g s belong, ig to •. arious _ :n rcs such as hip-hop. reg g ae, and rhythm and
b lu es I.R & B i. and this en co u rag ed the d evelopm ent o f urban g ro o v e s as a genre.
M o st urban g ro o v e s songs are sung in A frican languages such as S hona and
is iN d e b e k . w h ich gi\c>
local flavour
ces o f p o p u lar international
^orics can .<e d etec ted , how er Traditional re co rd in g co m p an ies su ch as G ram m ar
R eco rd s initial!,, re je cted these so n g s a s bein g unoriginal a n d n o t com m ercially
viab le, preferring e th e r nr. - . _ .n re s in Z im babw e such as su n g u ra o r m useve,
. m u sic. rVi a n d ja z z . M
ie n m g u ra artists, such as A lick
- i.-ifio e .':o o f p o p u l a r m u s ic
87
id w o rk in g h ard in life
in order to ac h ie v e th e th in g s y o u r heart \ earns for.
It w as m u sic w ith a co n stru c tiv e m essage that t' c Z im b ab w ean electronic m edia
revolution w a s in ten d ed to encm ira e am o n g th e youth: m u sic that tells o f real
societal
^ -c u ltu ra l environm ent.
A g e d ex a m p le is th e m u sic o i
!nno, who. d esp ite p ro m o tin g R astafarianism ,
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conveys an u p liftin g m essag e th at is relev an t to th e Z im b ab w e an experience. In one
o f his so n g s, D ada. he te lls the Z im babw ean youth to be proud o f th eir roots:
Dada n cn u ki rwako
Chlmlro chako nedzbua ntko
Pembedzarurtmirwako...
|
Be proud o f your race
Your social status and your lineage
Celebrate your language...
L yrics s u c h a s th is dem onstrate
:at d eal o f o rig in a lity a n d re le v a n c e a n d present
an ideal m o d el fo r the ed u tain m en t o f young people in Z im b ab w e. H ow ever, the
real q u estio n is w h a t urban g ro o v es m usic stands fo r in o u r social hierarchy. M usic
develops w ith in a certain political, social and cultural m ilieu . T he o lder gen eratio n s
have had the sam e o r sim ilar co n cern s is the youth o f tom orrow . H o w ev er no single
urban g ro o v e s m u sician is a tru e representative o f the g enre as a w hole - a rtists’
personal ex p e rien ce s influence their m usic in different w ay s. A lthough w e have
elected to study the m usic o f M askiri. Extra Large and W inky D. th e y can n o t be said
to be w holly re p resen ta tiv e o f urban grooves m usic. E ach urban g ro o v es m usician
has their o w n sty le o f ex p ressio n and m essages to dissem inate.
The m essag es conveyed through urban grooves music
T he discussion thus fa r has revealed that popular m usic w as 'p u rp o se fu lly produced
as a product, w ith m ass consum ption envisaged’ (F o u ric 1991. 4), and this m eant
th at it m ade a p o sitiv e co n trib u tio n to the u p liftm cn t o f people in all sp h eres o f
life - so cial, eco n o m ic, political and cultural. F.ven i f th ese w ere and still are the
ex p ectations o f w hat popular m usic i^ supposed to d o , the m usic o f the artists chosen
for the p u rp o ses o f th is article seem not to question social reality, but instead to
support th e so cial v ices o f society. P eo p le's m usic re p resen ts A frican life a s aesthetic,
dynam ic m d vital, and is concerned w ith people's p resen t lives as w ell a s th eir past
ex p erien ces. T he m usic o f ordinary people r e f le c t th e ir d aily exp erien ces as they
suffer the hardships t a dem anding life. !t cases the b u rd e n o f hard lab o u r b y subtly
h e ir em o ti
p e rso n 's ow n language, they arc
reconciled w ith the n atu re i' th eir existence N elson M an d ela w a s very perceptive
w hen he stated '.hat i f y c : v ik • j p erson in a language they understand, the m essage
goes to th e m in d , but i f y
ilk to them in their m o th e r tongue, it g o es to the heart.
M usic is
ve:y imp. -
. perform ing art that is the c a rrie r o f the p e o p le 's culture.
R9
Advice V iriri, Agnello Viriri ciri J Ca<t-' C,>!S£wu:»yr.
ap p ealing to th eir h ea rts, cultu
orientation, idea s .
allies a n d spiritual beliefs,
which are essentia! t hum a:’ .!;vclop: cnt P opular m usic, u rb a n g ro o v es lyrics
in {articular, h as h ad i n eg a tiv e influence on Z im b ab w ean s, b o th y o u n g a n d old,
b y p ro m o ::n g m oral d ecad en ce, spiritual chaos and a cu ltu ral void. H ow ever, it is
i: •,
.! h . :c v. >rst al l,
..r the* n u : t •• ii!r. :r:. c to th is m oral and cultural
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erosion. N g u g i w a T h io n g 'o , in h is book M o v in g /he centre (! 9 9 3 ), rightly sa y s that
‘M aim ing th e m in d s o f the chi!, rcn is the sam e as m aim in g o u r cu ltu ral h erita g e’.
People lo o k u p to artists fo r guidance, b u t contrary :o w hat is ex p e cted o f them ;
young m u sician s h av e b ecom e agents o f cultural im p erialism . U rban grooves m usic
provides a cu ltu ral diet that is sadly unbalanced. T he artists h av e im bibed c h a ff from
W estern cu ltu re, w h
lencc underm ines and n e g a tiv e ly affe c ts th e stability
o f A c cu ltu ra l sen sib ilities o f the Z im babw ean y o u th . T his p artic u la r m usic genre
has b een g ro w ing from stren g th to strength, not im proving b u t instead negatively
influencing the Z im b ab w ean youth as W estern m usic has b ec o m e co n tex tu alizcd in
th e lyrics Z im babw e::
ha faced a m ultitude o f p ro b lem s arisin g from high
rates o f alco h o l abuse and d ru g dependency, am ong the urban y o u th in particular.
M ost o f th e youth, acco rd in g to rccent su rv ey s conducted by P o p u latio n s S ervices
International (PS1), e ith e r d rin k ex cessiv ely or are on som e k ind o f in toxicating drug
o r su b stancc. A PSI blog on the internet states that, ‘although the overall n u m b er o f
p ie in fected w ith the H IV v in is has reduced from tw en ty -fiv e p ercen t in 2001 to
nineteen p o in t eig h t p ercent in 2008. m ore a n d m ore y ouths a rc g e ttin g in fected w ith
th e killer d ise a se ’ (w w w .unaids.org).
M o reover, police reports suggest th at a considerable n u m b er o f y o u n g people
are en g ag in g in crim inal activities, a n d a good nu m b er o f th em a re in p riso n o r
already h a v e crim inal records for crim es such as arm ed robbery, theft, rape, m urder,
p o ssession o f illegal drugs, g rievous bodily harm , fraud and ex to rtio n . W e hope to
expose urban grooves m usic is a significant co n trib u to r to th is situ atio n , as it is
an im p o rtant so cializatio n agent for y o u n g p eo p le, w ho ac cep t m usic and film as
their g u id e to suitable o r appropriate behaviour. We exam ine the w ay in w hich the
lyrics o f M askiri. E xtra L arge and W inky D prom ote m ischief, fornication, adultery,
co rru p tion, hate speech, violence, alcoholism , substance and d ru g ab u se, and thus
how th e 1.- m usic aftcc: the youth
f Z im babw e and ultim ately Z im b ab w e an society.
W e th e re fo re an a ly se the them atic cor .
the m usic o f M ask iri, W inky D and
Extra ! arg e in light those o f W estern m u sician s, hip-hop m u sic in particular, to
ascertain w h e th e r there arc simi U n ties in the w ay they co n v ey ideas about w om en,
life, ethi
a n d so ciety in genei i in th e context o f Z im b ab w e an culture.
Th.)
• wioncf. of popular music
89
M askiri an d his expression of Ihe urban grooves genre
W c w il. now tu rn to the l y r i c . o f the i ontroversial rap p er A lish as M u sim b e, know n
in u rb a n g ro o v es circ le s a s M askiri. B o m in 1982, this artist is a b en e ficiary o f
th e sev en ty-five pc cut Icc il co n ten t policy already alluded to. A lth o u g h M o y o 's
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p en
lebate, on e can deduce that his intention w as to
equip em erging yotm g artisis like Nlask i to dissem inate p ositive ideas am o n g the
youth.
Iro n ically, h o w e v er, M a sk iri’s p ercep tio n s o f society larg e ly border o n d elu sio n
a n d profanity. H is m a in m ode o flex p ressio n is g h etto lingo, by m ean s o f w h ich he
fo rg es a c o n n e c tio n w ith his target aud ien ce, the y o u th in the h ig h -d e n sity areas (the
‘g h e tto ’), w h e re he w as b o m and bred. M ask iri w as b o m in th e h ig h -d en sity suburb
o f C '.itu n g w iza . It is not surprising, therefore, th at aspects o f A m erican cu ltu re, such
as reb ellion a n d o b sce n ity , feature in urban grooves lyrics, M a sk iri’s in particular.
A s A lice D adirai K w a ram b a (1997. 12) accurately states, ‘F o r e v e ry w riter, sp eak er
o r m u sician th ere is a finite set o f possibilities that arc av ailab le lin g u istically to
e x p re ss and talk ab o u t a su b ject o r to p ic in a g iven social c o n te x t.’
M ask iri first en tered the lim elight in 2002 w ith a ‘g o sp e l,’ D h a ra R angu (M y O ld
M an ), w hich a tc r featured o n h is d eb u t album M u v iri IVese (T h e w hole b o d y ), and
in w h ich he co n fe sse s his sins to the L ord u sin g street lingo. H is u se o f street lingo
in referrin g to the G od as D hara (O ld M an) caused an u p ro a r a m o n g th e m ainly
co n se rv ativ e Z im b ab w e an C h ristian com m unity. C oncerned citizcn s protested
v eh em en tly, and the song w a s taken o ff the air, m uch to the su rp rise o f the young
artist, w h o saw n o th in g w ro n g w ith it. Ih e song had its o w n follow ing a m o n g the
u rb a n y o u th, m a in ly those from the sam e social background as M askiri. w ho related
to h is m usic. H is fan s felt th at th e d ecisio n no longer to a ir the so n g w as an assault
o n th e a rtis t's right to freedom o f ex pression M oreover, they fe lt that the song w as
not harm ful to the youth, and claim ed that, i f anything, it w as a n ew ap p ro ach to
trad itio n al gospel m u sic that ap p e aled to y oung people w ho liked rap m usic.
W in k y D a n d h is m u sic
W allace C h irim u k o . popular!;, kn w n as W ink} D in urban g ro o v es circ les, w as b om
in 1983. H r is a reg g ae dance ha! I artist w ho clain s to live acco rd in g to R astafarian
p rin c ip le s. R a stafa rian ism h as
esc
culture that u p h o ld s p eace-loving
id e o lo g ie s p ro m u lg ated by its founders since the days o f slavery, yet W inky D sings
v io le n c e . T h is is a feature co m m o n in A m ericanized R astafarianism ,
w h ic h fviscs o rig in al reg g ae music! w ith A m erican cu ltu re, as in the w o rk o f B een ie
M an . W ard 21, S ean Paul an c th e like. The introduction o f v io len t R astafarianism
in to Z im b ab w e an p o p u la r ct: •urc is certainly r o t co n ducive to th e e m p o w e rm e n t o f
y
90
Advica Viriri. Agn#lla \ -i ir. ones C o
ji
G iC j: cinya
y o u n g people, esp e cially in the flhetti . of
e ta ile d analysis o f Winky
D ’s . i i c ; ind
:ntion is to fuel h a te sp eech , d ru g dependency,
v io le n c e and fo rn icatio n , none o f w hich have a place in true R astafarian ism .
'I he M in iste r for i’olicy !i .pier, c r .ta tio n n the O ffice o f the P resid en t a n d C abinet,
M r W ebster S ham u, a t the official c o m m a
ne w eek in K a d o m a fro m
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19 '■> 2 6 M ay 2 0 0 7 , d escrib ed c u ltu re as
the sum total o f the way o f life o f a society from traditions, customs, value systems,
ife styles, aits, soci.tl institutions, and spiritual, intellectual and economic features that
characterize socicty or nation i hi4 defines us as a people. It is these values, symbols,
nt.rpretations and pei .r;ct:ves t’ it dijtin ’.uish us from other peoples (The Herald, 2-1
May 2007).
D efinitii n s o f c u ltu re a re so in etiin c s too broad to be useful, and ev e n contradictory',
m ak in g the definition o f culture v ery relative. A ccording to T ito n (2 0 0 5 ,2 5 ). ‘culture
is a \\ ay o f ..
and tran sm itted through centuries o f ad a p tin g to the natural
an d h u m an w o rld .’ U N E S C O (1 9 9 5 ) m akes the follow ing ob serv atio n :
Therefore culture represents a limited choice o f behav ior. Every society has its The
social environment is culture and the characteristics of culture arc that, culture is learned,
culture is selective, face; s o f culture arc interrelated and that culture is ethnocentric own
way o f viewing the universe with coherent set o f values and behavior.
C u ltu ral v alu es b ec o m e ero d ed th ro u g h technology and g lo b alizatio n . It is debatable
w h e th e r p eo p le sh o u ld redefine th e ir culture o r not H ow ever, in Z im b ab w e the
lo cu s o f cu ltu re is en c ap su lated in the concept o f unhu, o r n b u n tu . W inky D, in
lig h t o f the assertion th a t cu ltu re c o n stitu tes art, becom es an ad v o c ate o f a W estern
w a y o f life th at n o t onl> p erv ad es, but is harm ful to the w a y o f th in k in g o f the
Z im b a b w e a n y o u th . H is ly rics a rc indicative o f a culture th at u n d erm in e s good
m o ra l so cial stru ctu res. To ju d g e from his lyrics, W inky D seem s to think th at life is
all ab o u t m ariju an a , sex and vio len ce. He distinguishes b etw een R astafarian s and
o rd in ary people, ele v a tin g fo reig n culture at the ex p en se o f p re-ex istin g societal
stru ctu res, esp ecially am
th in the high-densily suburbs. A n exam in atio n
o f th e ly rics from his only pu b lish ed album . Vanhu la •iru, rev eals th at all th e songs
a d v o c a te e x tre m e v io len ce , as evid en ced by expressions such a s n d o ku k ic ker ( I ’ll
k ic k y o u ), n d o ku p a ko p o ( I ’ll h ead-butt y o u ), n d o ku p a g u n a ( I ’ll d ro p y o u ), and
n d o k u u ra y a (I 'll k ill you).
W in k y D hails from the h ig h -d en sity suburb o f k a m b u /u m a , an area notorious
fo r crim in al activ ity a n d d ru g ap u se. He sings the praises o f g h etto sq u alo r and all
fa c c ts o f ghetto 'ii'e In a : interview w ith The H era ld E n terta in m en t on tnc issue o f
v io len ce bein g the life-bloou o f h s lyrics, he cL im cd:
not A ai I jr.: promoting violence but through my lyrics I'm looking fo ra solution
10 the violence that i inherent in our society ..Violence as jroo know is a system that's
I.
inrloenco of popular m m ic
91
r ghettos ( is an ev :ryd»y happening that people identify
w ith... What 1am sa\ irg t -rot- ill my lyrics is that people should sit down, introspect and
find proper w.w t: ideal i'ii •• j.'rnce. which is $df*d'fense...My lyrics arc an artistic,
bridge that fills .: it gap v. hereby people ie victims of violence and in most cases help
the perpetrators, esc i s« »t-frt e pecause they can’t defend themselves (The Herald, 11
January 2009).
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B y h is o w n ad:ni si v in liis lyrics he su ggests th at the youth sh o u ld u se violence to
d e a l w ith v io le n c e . W inky D term s h is p cip ctu atio n o f v io le n c e self-d efe n ce, y et his
ly rics
t n l ly su g g e st th at the people from tb
be a tta c k e d o r p ro v o k ed . H is lyrics also e
UO are in v in cib le and can never
e h a te s p e e c h a m o n g the y o u th , in
th at th e v io lcn cc ex pressed i:-. liis K rics is m i re discernible o n a sem an tic than on
a m e ta p h y sic a l lev el. H e touches on all the societal ills inherent in g h etto life, but
in stead o fo f fe rin g so lu tio n s. he glorifies and norm alizes th em . V iolence, p rostitution,
d ru g d ep en d en cy , squalor, im m orality and illiteracy are cited as esse n tial features o f
e v e ry d a y g h e tto life. In a so n g entitled R okesheni lie p ain ts a p ictu re o f the ghettos
o f H arare, cla im in g th a t is w here the ideal citizcns o f Z im b ab w e live:
Siyana rtesu vekurokesh. nl
Haiinonoke tlnobva takupa quotation
Stay away from people from the locations
We don’t waste time; we’ll give you a
quotation
Yimabhulsuplus zvibkakera on rotation Of kicks and blows on rotation
Izvozvo ttnosviita tirtkurokesheni
This vve do in the locations
T his so n g c o u ld be co n stru e d as a n attack on anyone w ho docs not live in the highd en sity su b u rb s. He m en tio n s H ig h n eld . Glen N orah, M ufakose, K am buzum a,
C h itu n g w iz a , W arren P ark. M abvu ku, Tafara, M bare and o th ers. H e speaks
o f th e g h e tto s as havens o f violcncc, th eft and drug abuse: u sa d a ku d e n h a g e m
rek u M a b vu k u , rin o ty isa ku p fu u ra so ja re n g p m tn i tsvu ku (d o not p rovoke people
from M ab v u k u . they are m ore fierce th a n the red beret soldiers w ho u n leash ed terror
d u rin g the G u k u ra h u n d i O peration in Z im b ab w e) - h ere he seem s to be saying
th at th e red b eret soldiers, instead o f serving and protecting the nation, harassed
civ ilia n s. In th is w ay. W inky D en co u rag es y oung people from the ghetto to engage
in in tim id atio n and v io len ce , adv o catin g a rough society like that in th e h igh-density
su b u rb s listed a n d a c u ltu re on antagonism in the gh etto s all o v e r Z im babw e.
R o k esh en i is a lm o s t a trib u te to the ’b est' (m i a n d d ru g ab u sin g ) highd en sity su b u rb s, en c o u rag in g o ther ghettos in the c o u n try to ste p u p so as to be
m e n tio n e d b y the ’big m a n ’ W ink} D. A lso from the album V anhu Vakuru is the
so n g N h in h e . m e a n in g 1nincom poop*
• dubious p erso n ,’ in w hich he sp eak s o f his
lifesty le in th e fo llo w in g term s:
Ibva w jziva iiandlkendenge
Sdtchatonetsa kupfuura L'hidkumc
Know that I don't care
I .>m going to »« more notorious
V
92
Advico Viriri, Agnetlci VJnri or>d Co rier C -a^wai.yo
naMasendek*
\hi kaitavende
Vdinemhasuru dzmopfuura
than Chidhumo and Masendeke
I punched Marabha and loft him with a gap
between his teeth
1 . than Mahcndere.
In th is song, W in k y L) c l a i n s to b e fearless
n ev e r av o id in g fights, and
" istini: that ne has m rc m u scles th . A n u s M ahcndere (le a d e r o f th e M ahcndcrc
B ro th ers gospel m u sic band).
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Extra Large and the growth in popularity of their music
E x tra L a rg e is a d u o com pri
. N o rm a n M a ra v a n y ik a , born in 1983,
a n d Jam es (Jim m y ) M an g czi, born in 1979. T he duo is hailed fo r its skill in term s
o f social c o m m en tary , g iv in g a v o ice to the youth by d e a lin g in th e ir songs w ith
th e d a ily co n c crn s o f y o u n g people. H ow ever, their m usic a n d social co m m en tary
are not re stric ted to a p artic u la r ag e group, as m any o f th e ir satirical ly rics focus
o n issu es th at a ffe c t Z im b ab w e an soc:et> as a w hole. T h e ir co m m e n ta ry covers
d o m e Stic. .lig io u s . eco n o m ic and a n assortm ent o f societal issues. B oth m usicians
g re w up in the h ig h -d en sity su b u rb o f H ighfield, and m u ch o f th e ir w ork h as been
in sp ired by e x p e rie n c e s from there. T h e ir lyrics, presented m ain ly in the form o f
sp ccch in tersp ersed w ith so m e singing, aie very clearly articu lated , a n d since m ost
are in S h o rn , the m essage th e y contain is accessib le to the m a n y S hona-spcaking
y o u th in Z im babw e.
T h e d u o u ses m a in ly the M anyika dialect and bastardized E n g lish in o rd e r to
po k e fun at the M a in :k.i people, know n for th eir love o f the E n g lish language. In the
p ro c ess, the d u o m an ag e s to satirize a m ultiplicity o f societal ills and successfully
•..ikes a light look a t seri cuts issues H ow ever, th eir use o f M an y ik a to a c h ie v e a com ic
itu tes the first negative socio-cultural im plication o f th e ir m usic. T hey
seem to be say in g that the M anyika people love the E nglish language, but cannot
sp e a k it, as th e ir kn o w led g e is lim ited to a few lexical item s w hich they cannot
co m b in e into g o o d syntactical constructions to produce sem an tica lly adequate
statem en ts. This is ev id en t from the song H ouse G cro from the a lb u m S till a t Large,
in w h ic h Jim m y say s: is resp ect house girl is respect y o u !’
A n article o n th e Z im b ab w e M usic V ibes w ebsite reads as follow s:
Music is an an. Music the mother of dance. Music is the ignition o f vocal lyrics and
sour, j instruments It induces bodily movements t.irough dance, yet it has the dual effect
c: , .lyir.v’ with the listener's mental being and prying on one's emotions.... Music is
edutainment (www zinr.ibes.com).
A t th e h eart o f the com ic satire i i
:\ t r a L arge lie cru cial so cietal issues and
id eo lo g ies sh ap e d b y a Z im b ab w e an sensibility Hi is com ic satire is th ere fo re used
Strictly to lighten t c burden o f w eig h ty societal issues that p eo p le rarely talk about.
>f p o p u la r m u s ic
so cieta l issu es a rc treated hum
93
. reinforcing the notion o f m usic
as ed u tain m en t. P eople are educated
t!ic m usic o f E x tra L arg e through laughter
an i lUmor us tracks they can sin g ;i!< ng to. T iic d u o ’s m u sic n ev erth eless has a
n u m b e r o f n e g a tiv e socio-cultujral im plications fo r th e Z im b ab w e an youth in that
t ad v o c ates fo rn icatio n and adu: c; am ong o th er things in the song H ouse G cro,
for instance, the d u o im p lies that in the a b se n ce o f her em p lo y er (th e ‘m o th er o f the
h o u s e '), the d o m estic w o rk er o r h o u se m aid takes over:
Mai vemba vasipo murhhi wsmbc
S'idiHou.ie Gero,
liaba vt-mb.s achivachon) i
NdiHouse Gero
When the mother is not around, the owner of
the house is
The house maid
She'll be winking at the father o f the house,
The house maid
E xtra L a rg e ’s fan s argue that th is song aim s at creating g o o d re la tio n s betw een
h o u s e m aid s and th e ir fem ale em p lo y ers so as to av o id un n ecessary p ro b lem s in the
h o m e, h i the song the duo argue th at h ouse m aids w ork w ell i f th e y arc treated fairly
a n d paid satisfactorily, but they w arn th a t if the h o u se m aid is not paid on tim e o r
i f sh e is trea ted badly, she will take revenge in undetected w ay s, such as cleaning
th e to ile t w ith h e r e m p lo y e r’s to othbrush o r contam inating the c h ild re n ’s school
lu n ch es. T h ey also su g g est that she w ould sed u ce h er e m p lo y e r’s h u sb an d o u t o f
spite. S uch in sin u a tio n s n o t only plant m alicious thoughts in the m in d s o f dom estic
s ta f f al! o v e r Z im b ab w e, but they also create unnecessary anim osity betw een house
m a id s ar.d th eir em p lo y ers, as the latter begin to view the fo rm er as potential threats
to th e ir m arriages, arid begin to qu estio n their h u sb an d s' fidelity in th eir absencc. It
is v ery d ifficult to listen to the lyrics o f E xtra L arge in the p resen ce o f p aren ts and
eld ers, a s they e x p lic itly deal v.ith
.1 real-life situations.
C o n clu sio n
In this a rtic le w e h av e em phasized th e role o f m usic as a po p u lar form o f expression
th at targ ets the m asses daily; end w e considered the w ay in w h ic h selected artists
p re sen t th e ir w o rld v ie w to the Z im babw ean y o u th . We d em o n strate d that the lyrics
o f M ask iri, W inky D and E x tra L arge r.av h av e an extrem ely d etrim en tal effect
o n th e Z im b ab w e an you-.
to interpret p o p u lar m usic ly ric s literally. We
a lso m ad e the o b se rv a tio n th at u rb a n h o o v e s K rics. instead o f prom oting positive
v a lu e s. ;-:dvocate the subjugatior. o f w om en, violence, drug ab u se , adultery, hate
s p e e c h , fo rn icatio n , m ischief, dishonesty, obstinacy, uitd m u ltip le sex partners.
Y iing p eo p le tend to em ulate w hat they see and hear, and so a c cep t song lyrics
as in d ic a to rs o f w h a t is acceptable and t r r r .' in the Z im b ab w ean co n tex t: thus,
o n he a : in j E x tra L arge saying v .\
v
h am itna ku k w a n a , k a n a m u sika n a
w a n g ti
a ■! am a lunatic, deranged, ever, m y girlfriend know s), they gain
V
94
Advice V.mi, Agnello Vifi.-i and Coi ‘or Chapwonyo
th e in;pres ion th at lew d bel .viour is acceptable, particu larly as they m ay idolize
th e artists w h o se m usic th e y listen to.
In this a rtic le w e also rev ealed th at urban grooves lyrics prom ote W estern culture,
as m o st o f the lyrics o f the artists review ed pay hom age to W estern ideologies, albeit
ex p ressed in in d ig en o u s lam
This underm ines en d eav o u rs to fo ster a local
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cu ltu re u n iq u e to Z im babw e, a s the y o u th are introduced to W estern n o rm s and beliefs
thi iii'li ;ui: e. W inky ! ) ’s lyric., p ro m o te the sm oking o f m ariju an a, a sso ciated w ith
R astafa rian ism , w hich em an a tes lio m Jam aica, and is n o t Z im b ab w ean . T h is artist
also p ro m o te s a cu ltu re o f vio len ce and hate speech. T h e in ev itab le resu lt o f urban
g ro o v e s ly rics is a so ciety b ase d on superficialities and an un ed u cated youth. Young
p eo p le n e e d to be ex p o sed to the w o rk o f artists w ho provide them w ith positive
ed u tain m en t o r a celeb ratio n o f the beauty o f life, not the m essag e that m arijuana
s g o o d o r th at h a \in g m ultiple sexual partners is appropriate and d esirab le. We
clo se u : h the reco m m en d atio n that research be carried o u t th ro u g h o u t Z im babw e
to estab lish th e d am age th at has been done to the youth b y urban g ro o v es. C ertain
a ttis ts sh o u ld be ban n ed from the a ir com pletely unless o r until they h av e som ething
c o n s tru c ts e to co n trib u te to the d iscourse o f youth em pow erm ent.
Notes
!.
2.
3.
Advice Viriri is Deputy Dean in the Faculty o f Arts at Midlands State University in
Zimbabwe.
AgnelLi Viriri is a Teaching Assistant in the Department o f Music & Musicology at
Midlands State University in Zimbabwe.
Carter Chapwanya is a journalist with News Day. Holds a BA Hons degree from
Midlands State University in Zimbabwe
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