How urban grooves changed the face of Zimbabwean music

A new musical genre called “Urban Grooves” emerged in Zimbabwe at the turn of the millennium.

It changed the musical landscape of the country, which was dominated by sungura, Chimurenga music, Afro Jazz and the likes of Cde Chinx Chingaira, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, Andy Brown, Busi Ncube and Ilanga, LMG Choir, The Four Brothers.

A new generation of youths, influenced by American hip-hop, pop, R&B and Jamaican reggae, created a localised sound that hit the local music scene hard.

These youths were the pioneers of “Urban Grooves”, inspiring a whole generation.

They included Delani, brother to Sani Makhalima, David Chifunyise, Daniel “Decibel” Mazhindu, Roki, Gordon “Flash Gordon” Mutekedza, Tatenda “Take 5” Jenami, Innocent Utsiwegota, Nembo Bwoy, Siphosenkosi “TBA” Mkhuhlani, the late and Diana Samkange.

They were bold and deliberate in their approach, competing with the post-independence era sungura stars and were backed by the Government’s introduction of the 75 percent local content threshold strategy, which aimed to promote local talent. Urban Grooves had a fighting chance, with new talent given a platform to showcase their skills.

The competition among the Urban Groovers heated up, leading to more players, more studios and more quality in the sound.

Notably, Shamiso Entertainment, Chigutiro Studios, Galaxy Records, Innocent Utsiwegota’s Country Boy Records and Tonderai Music Corporation became the go-to studios for artistes and launched the careers of many youths who dared to dream.

The genre also had female artistes who held their own. They included Betty Makaya, former Mafriq’s Pauline Gundidza, Tererai Mugwadi, Kudzai Sevenzo, Plaxedes Wenyika, Ivy Kombo, Jackie Madondo, and Fortunate “Sister Flame” Matenga), and Portia “Tia” Njazi.

The genre also sparked romantic relationships, such as Roki and Pauline Gundidza, who made headlines with their daughter, Sky and their hit song, Zuva nezuva. Urban Grooves also introduced listeners to a dynamic duo of identical male twins, Roy and Royce, who produced hits like Handirege and Tenda.

The Urban Grooves era created employment opportunities, with new stables, engineers and producers getting hired. There was also more business for record bars, as piracy was not widespread then. Groups and duets such as Major Playaz, Mafriq, 2BG, Double Trouble, the late Kuligan and Kalabash, and Extra Large also contributed to the rise of the genre, with popular hits. The most popular Urban Grooves song is arguably “Seiko” by Roki and Leonard Mapfumo, which earned Roki a National Arts Merit Award (Nama) for the most-promising artiste in 2003.

The main theme of Urban Grooves was love and romance, which appealed to the young people who were the majority of Urban Grooves fans.

The genre was so popular that it had its own category at the Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima). It is only fitting to celebrate the pioneers of this genre that dominated the music scene for more than a decade.

Zimbabwe had its own version of “Boyz II Men” when Thornhill Boys sang, Usacheme, a single that stirred the emotions of lovers. These kinds of songs were recorded in auto-books, where high school students wrote down the lyrics of the hottest songs at the time.

But Urban Grooves also had its drawbacks, with some “controversial” songs such as Alishias “Maskiri” Musimbe’s Blue movie facing public criticism.

There were also funny songs, which were a specialty for Extra Large and Kuligan and Kalabash. Songs like Pukunyu and Kushamula newe made listeners laugh.

The decline of Urban Grooves was marked by different artistes leaving the country for better opportunities and others fading away from the music scene. This was before they were replaced by new genres such as Zimdancehall.

Rapper and producer, Black Orient owes part of his musical success to Urban Grooves.

“Urban Grooves showed me that we could also make music, and the type we liked to listen to, not just sungura which was the famous Zimbabwean genre at the time. It sparked interest in writing raps and in also making beats. I ended up meeting people who shaped my career while in the UK because of a Zimbabwean site with a forum that I found while looking up Urban Grooves music online in 2003. That’s where I met Jusa Dementor who introduced me to Fl Studio.

“Until today, I always incorporate Urban Grooves elements in my music because that was a genuine development of Zimbabwean music and that of our current Afro-pop and Hip-hop. The way the melodies and rhythms are put together isn’t with Zimbabwean influenced elements but American, South Africa or Naija, all of which gave rise to the genre itself,” he said.

Black Orient who spent some time in the UK before coming back to Zimbabwe has worked with Junior Brown, J Boss, Nembo Bwoy, and Tererai Mugwadi but has shifted to a more hip-hop approach now.
@MbuleloMpofu