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Robson Sharuko
Editor
FOR the fans of gangsta rap around the world, this is a very special year – iconic rapper Eazy-E would have celebrated his 60th birthday anniversary on September 7.
And, yesterday, his global army of fans marked the 29th anniversary of his death, in Los Angeles, on March 26, 1995.
He was only 30 when he succumbed to HIV/AIDS complications.
But, Eazy-E’s legacy still lives on given his influence in the musical revolution called gangsta rap through his leading role in the super group N.W.A.
Their debut studio album, ‘Straight Outta Compton,’ which was released I 1988, is ranked as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all-time.
Easy-E is widely known as the ‘Godfather of Gangsta Rap.’
There is an army of Alick Macheso fans who believe he is now the ‘Godfather of Sungura,’ although many feel that title belongs to Madzibaba Nicholas Zakaria.
A vintage photograph of Macheso, with his Afro hair, which was taken in the ‘90s, when he was in his twenties, has some striking similarities with a photo of Eazy-E.
“It was the hairstyle of choice then and the real stars knew that and you will see many of them with such Afro,” said a music critic.
“Remember the iconic image of Jermaine Jackson with his Afro hair?”
When Eazy-E died, Macheso did not have his own group and it would be another two years before he formed his Orchestra Mberikwazvo in 1997.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“When people agree that you are extremely good, but going on to debate hotly about exactly whether your strength lies in the way you walk or the way you run, then that is a mark of genius,” noted authoritative analyst, Memory Chirere, in his blog.
“You actually put people in a crisis of naming aspects of phenomena.
“Macheso has the unusual gift of easy poetry. His lyrics elicit an easy-going camaraderie. He sings like the guy from next door, very familiar and liberating.
“That is why he is the favourite man of the ordinary mechanic, the unassuming kombi driver, the seller of ordinary wares and many more.”
Chirere added:
“And, if you look and listen, the Macheso lyrics appeal to the little and remote reserves of energy in people in a country faced with economic challenges.
“Since the formation of Orchestra Mberikwazvo in 1997, Macheso has gone on a bass guitar revolution.
“You feel it in the varied bass guitar vibes that change as you move from Petunia to Madhawu to Teererai.
“The Macheso bass guitar tends to be the axis around which everything else in this band revolves.”
In short, Chirere is saying Macheso is a GENIUS. That also used to apply to Eazy-E.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter
