adminUrban Beats with Nkosilathi Sibanda
Phew! That is the sound I could hear from Bulawayo musicians when it was announced that Professor Jonathan Moyo was to return as Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services. That long held wish to record an album and be heard on national radio could become a reality.
The musicians credit the minister for uplifting their careers by unlocking the barrier that made it impossible to break ground in the music industry.
We all remember the good old days when ZBC’s radio stations played local music all the time. Small time and underground artistes made names and became household favourites. I would not think if it was not for this policy we would have known, Mcheznana, Extra Large, Sniper, David Chipfunyise, Roy and Royce, Maskiri, the late Jamal, Betty Makaya, Otis Ngwabi, S’khu, PoZee or Pax Afro.
Thanks to the 75 percent local content policy our homeboys are musical icons now and we can sing along to their beats. It is commonplace for a music crazed teenager to load up Freeman or Guspy Warrior’s song. Even those who did not take kindly to the idea now appreciate the value of local content on our radio.
If you have not listened to Mcheznana, S’khu, Madeezy and Maskiri do rap in Shona and Ndebele, then you ain’t Zimbabwean enough.
Despite having many young people realising musical potential, the policy also championed the core of our culture as Africans – the indigenous languages.
The importance of language in music is embedded in the culture. In the process of composition, recording and release of an album, there are cultural factors at play. Language becomes paramount there as one cannot release a French song for fans in Zimbabwe.
Young musicians seem to have realised they can make it big through the mother tongue. Do you think the Spice Girls would have been household names in Britain if they sang outside their cultural context?
Even Tuku would have failed if he sang as if he were American.
At a time when a few seem to understand youth culture, the young musicians stop at nothing to preserve the language heritage. Unlike their peers and fans that shy away from the mother tongues, urban groovers have turned advocates to re-educate the lost generation.
We have musicians who are not only good at the mic but, born activists in the fight to restore African identity in the wake of the threat caused by the internationalisation of music.
The right to choose what your ear listens to cannot be tampered with but, it begs for a mind shift if we are to keep the language heritage in our music.
The world already has enough music lyrics in English. Is there a space elsewhere other than Africa where local language music can be listened to?
In supporting the local language muso, we are killing the fatal, alienating culture that discards anything that comes from Africa. Why would city youth laugh at the Mbembesi folk who dance to Ndolwane Super Sounds.
Recently, on a visit to a friend’s homestead in Plumtree, I was disappointed to hear some young clubbers have never heard about the 3 Kings. I thought they must be joking, only to have my friend confess it is the truth.
“Here we listen to South African mbaqanga, Ndolwane and nothing else,” that was the response. Well, at least they are not naïve of local music like some township youth.
The Bulawayo trio’s music might have failed to be a hit in Plumtree but that should not be the prevailing trend.
The effect of language when it comes to local youth music, still remains a puzzle. No one has solved it and the onus is on the artistes to drive the audience in the right direction.
The notion that music is a universal language sometimes loses relevance, especially when English seems to be only language that musicians know well.
Of course, the world would embrace music from anywhere, whose rhythm can sway and endear us without the need to know the language.
Of importance is to engage local musicians to be more local by singing in the mother tongue. Singing in vernacular languages has proved to create a personal bond with locals that may be beyond the understanding of another person outside the country.
While the rhythm and beat of a song is enough for some, others want to hear what an artiste has to say. It is not enough to sway your body but, more beneficial to the mind to listen to the lyrics sung in the local language.
System Tazvida, James Chimombe, Cephas Mashakada, Lovemore Majaivana and Fanyana Dube all sang in vernacular and taught timeless truths.
It is surprising that with all the debate about music and mother tongues, some up-and-coming musicians see this as bar talk. Few buy into the truth that local is lekker. I am yet to hear an English rap song in Zimbabwe that can outclass Eminem’s.
The burning question remains whether it would be better for the untapped musician to sing or rap in their mother tongues? It is an argument that brings about accusations and long held emotions.
Who will buy my CD if I sing in Ndebele? That is conflicting idea that urban musicians face up with.
Bulawayo rappers like POY used to prefer the use of English but of late he is enjoying juggling the local tongue.
The misplaced belief is that English is the best way they can express themselves in music. In a street research last week, some traditional hip hop fans argued that using any other language besides English is no way tantamount to abandonment of the genre’s ideals.
The use of English, they say, is an attempt to blend in with popular musicians who sing in that language.
Another argument that we cannot easily dispute is that with English, young artistes are able to express themselves to a wider audience in comparison to their indigenous language.
In a recent interview, a young musician said English stood him at an advantage as he could penetrate beyond the country’s borders.
This is the argument that many English singers use when confronted on why they “hate” vernacular.
I know Mcheznana would have a different take on this. Many urban grooves artistes have been using local languages and they do make a lot of money.
It is a matter of identity.
The overuse of English gives the impression that our musicians think less of their own languages.
What is better than to use the language in which you converse in everyday?
While English speaking artistes traditionally say they are positioning themselves for global success, local language users argue that there is no point in trying to conquer the world when you are still to be known locally.
Charity begins at home!
Oliver Mtukudzi has tasted international stardom, only by singing in Shona.
There are some Bulawayo artistes who owe their success to local languages. The few names that pop up are Kasi Lunatics and Nashie.
Let us take a cue from kwaito and Nigerian artistes. Local is lekker if we sing in vernac!
Online Reporter