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Fred Zindi Music
Last week I wrote about Zim-dancehall being a bad influence on our youths. I do not usually react to the comments made by readers of my column as they have the right to express their opinions on the topics that I raise. However this week I decided to do that because I find some of the comments interesting and felt that they need my reaction. Some of the comments were positive and others negative. Before I react to them it is best to repeat eight of the salient points I made for ease of reference and to update those readers who missed the article. Below is what I wrote:
Who wants to be associated with dirty lyrics, sexually seductive dances, violence and drug abuse which have become the hallmark of dancehall music?
I have always been comfortable in attending Oliver Mtukudzi or Jah Prayzah’s concerts as the lyrical content of their songs make sense to me.
It seems dancehall artistes are bent on showing off the bad boy/ bad girl image. The audiences are equally bad. Ganja was being smoked everywhere.
I have often heard debates on whether dancehall is now more popular than sungura music. I can only respond to this by stating that sungura artistes make more money than dancehall artistes. Sungura artistes are more disciplined and more professional in their approach to business. They do not advertise a show and fail to appear. Their fans, because they are mature, pay to attend their shows whereas dancehall fans want free entrance and will do everything within their power to get into a show for free. Most of these fans are unemployed youths from the ghettos. How then can they expect their idols to make money if they are not willing to pay?
If Dancehall is that popular as a music genre, why does it not attract mature adults to concerts held under its name?
I can listen to Winky D any time of the day and take no offence to most of his tunes because his lyrics are not offensive.
There is nothing to be proud of about living in the ghetto. Everyone in his right senses is trying to get out of the ghetto where robberies, violence, water shortages, broken sewage systems, power-cuts, overcrowded homes and potholed roads are common place. Yet most of these dancehall chanters claim that they are proud to be ghetto youths.
The ghetto youths are expressing their desperate situation through music, drugs, provocative sexual acts and violence. They make it more ‘acceptable’ by calling it Dancehall.
I hereby quote the comments made by readers of my article last week. I quote them verbatim and try to respond to them one by one:
The first comment comes from Ras Gudo from Mbare who says,
“Elder Zindi, was it not Peter Tosh who told us that ganja is the only cure for asthma?”
F.Z. My reaction to that is Peter Tosh was not a doctor although he called himself the bush doctor. Besides, I am not sure that all the youths I saw smoking ganja in Harare Gardens suffered from asthma.
The second comment comes from Mdara Odza who simply states :
“Big up de dancehall. Nyarara mhani, hautaure isu patinotaura”
F.Z. Okay, but it is too late as I had already spoken.
Next is Edjah who writes, “Thank you for the insight, Zindi.”
F.Z. Thank you for thanking me.
After that, Emru Kunanti comes up with heavy vitriol as he argues:
“Zimdancehall to de world!!! We nah go sell out we souls fi money!! Vamwe vari kuita mari nekuchecheudzwa, ngoma ngaritsve paMbare ipapooo. Eeeeh also this praise singing of Winky D should stop. Let us give others a chance, there is nothing wrong with sex, sex is sex, there is nothing called provocative sex. I have never heard a Zimdancehall artist promoting rape. They even denounce gays saka where’s the problem? Siyai vapfana vepa Mbare vaite twunhu twavo. He he sungura is more moral ko King wacho akazodii, hezvo ari ku court?
Vangani ve sungura vakaenda neAIDS?”
F.Z. Who on earth doesn’t want money? Winky D gets all the praise because he has come out as the smartest iconic dancehall artiste to grace this country. When you reach that stage, you will get the same praises too.
If you read the article carefully, I did not say that sungura artistes are more moral than dancehall artistes. I said that they make more money. Why even bother to bring irrelevant issues such as gays? Yes Macheso might be in court on maintenance issues, but this is all because he makes money. If he didn’t Tafadzwa would be out of the picture.
And Tafa Mutekwe adds,
“The “godfather” of Zimdancehall Winky D adopted a Jamaican slum music genre and indeginized it by taking out the slackness in it and making it more “respectable and dignified” to suit the local cultural conditions. It is tragic and regrettable that all those other ghetto youths who call themselves artists, and have followed, not in his footsteps but alongside his footsteps, have merely copy-cated this Jamaican sound with its gross permissiveness and allowed their African-ness to be swallowed away by such bad foreign influences. The corporate world and any self respecting promoter should shy away from this valgurity disguised as “Zim -dancehall” and associate only with artists like “de Big man” who are positive role models for our youths. Forward ever with clean, positive Zim-dancehall.”
F.Z. I agree with you. Let me share with you my recent experiences. I was embarrassed at Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex when Zim-dancehall artistes opened the show for Jamaican Reggae artiste, Tony Rebel, during his visit in November last year. I was backstage with Tony and he kept asking me, “What are they singing about?”
I could not adequately translate some of the dirty lyrics which some of these youngsters were unashamedly bringing out on stage. All I could say to him was “there is a lot of vulgarity in their lyrics and he understood. He said there was a similar problem in Jamaica with dancehall artistes and with his annual Rebel Salute festival, he encourages the youths to clean up their act.
Rebels talked to Shinsoman afterwards and told him that if he is to make a successful musical career, he ought to avoid lyrical content which is likely to be offensive. The night before, Rebels had invited Hope Masike on stage to translate into Shona his famous song: ““If Jah is standing by my side
Then why should I be afraid
Of the pestilence that crawleth by night .”
He said he wanted this Shona translation so that Zimbabweans could understand the difference between conscious lyrics and slackness.
When I compare Rebel’s lyrics with some Zim-dancehall lyrics, I feel ashamed to be associated with the latter music. I could write out the lyrics of many dancehall tunes which I have found offensive, but there is no space for that here. I will just give one example. Legend Elly a.k.a. Mandebvu in his album, has three songs which I find offensive. One is called “Rasta, Pihwai Mushonga we Chikosoro – Bronco” which encourages youths to drink bronco to get high. This is the song Winky D criticises in his “Mafira Kureva”. The second one is sexist as he sings ‘Mhanga Mhanga” which literary degrades women. The third one is “Zunza Mazakwatira’ where he asks a girl to shake her bottom in a sexually provocative manner.
However, Legend Elly had the courtesy to write on his album about parental control and advice needed as the album contains what he terms ‘addictive’ content. But which parents are going to listen to the album first before their kids get hold of it?
Tony Rebel, who says his role model is Jimmy Cliff and does not drink or smoke, is right by asking these youths to straighten up if they want to be iconic like Winky D. When that happens, we will also start to praise them.
Terence Mapurisana an ardent fan of reggae music for many years says:
I am very impressed by Professor Fred Zindi when he says, “…the current trends in this music called Dancehall…is associated with dirty lyrics, sexually seductive dances, violence and drug abuse which have become the hallmark of dancehall music in Zimbabwe… as the ghetto youths are expressing their desperate situation through music…much of the music from these artistes is difficult to comprehend and some of the songs are filled with dirty lyrics…” Fred Zindi. Indeed there is too much “slackness”, vulgarity and obscene behaviour in the so called Zim dancehall.”.
F.Z. Thank you Terence. Need I say more?
Samaita Mutamba says,
“What you must understand Mr Zindi is that with corruption all over Zimbabwe, machef buying all sorts of expensive luxuries, sugar daddies going out with under age girls, etc, who can blame the youths for being corrupt and vulgar when there is no one to correct their wayward behaviour?
F.Z. Two wrongs do not make a right. You cannot fight abuse by also being abusive.
The fact that you notice that chefs are doing the wrong thing should bring you to your senses and start doing the right thing.
Tibari M. Zulu, all the way from Los Angeles wrote:
“I am pleased to note that you have made the connection between Africans in Zimbabwe and Africans in Jamaica. We are the same people. I admire how you are teaching the young people proper behaviour. Keep up the good work my brother.”
F.Z. Amen!
I must end by categorically stating that despite all the criticisms, I am a keen listener of dancehall music and I have attended live dancehall performances by the likes of Winky D., Ricky Fire, Killer T, Soul Jah Love, Bounty Lisa, Lady Squanda, Quonfused, Seh Calaz, Dadza D, Shinsoman, Level 2, Legend Elly, Guspy Warrior, Freeman, Sniper Storm, Platinum Prince, Kinah, King Labash, Jiggaz, Spiderman and Jay C.
So, popopopopopow and mawayawaya to ghetto youths!
Online Reporter