- Title: ZIMBABWE: Youth in Zimbabwe use music to discuss the country's problems
- Date: 17th April 2008
- Summary: (AD1) HARARE, ZIMBABWE (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'URBAN GROOVES' MUSICIAN ROCQUI JOSPHAT SAYING: "Urban grooves right now is a lifestyle for the youth of Zimbabwe, it's a music that's what's in right now."
- Embargoed: 2nd May 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Zimbabwe
- Country: Zimbabwe
- Reuters ID: LVA4FTWC6HD1TZDYVDU3UPQBOR0M
- Story Text: Zimbabwean artist Rocqui Josphat is famous for using his music to tell it like it is. This Shona song called 'Chidzoga' or 'come back' urges Zimbabweans living in the diaspora to return home and help find solutions to some of the country's problems.
Josphat has been making music in a genre known as 'Urban Grooves' since the year 2002. The term is used to describe hip hop, reggae, R and B and even pop songs made by young Zimbabwean artists. All of Josphat's music and videos are locally produced.
"Urban grooves right now is a lifestyle for the youth of Zimbabwe, it's a music that's what's in right now," says Josphat.
"We are in a place where we started something and at first no one believed in it but because it's growing in such a hot rate we might actually be able to enjoy the benefits when we still have bits of our youth," he adds.
Though Josphat is a trained technician he currently lives off his music. Sometimes he makes as much as 400 U.S dollars from concerts he and his band mates hold in and around Harare.
Zimbabwe is currently going through its worst economic crisis and this has had an effect on the music industry as many Zimbabwean do not have enough disposable income to buy music. With an inflation rate of over 100,000 percent, things here are expensive and not many people can spare 20 U.S.
dollars to buy a CD.
In 1999 Zimbabwe's government introduced a policy that banned foreign music from the country's airwaves. Though this was later scrapped, radio stations like Power FM continue giving the priority to local musicians and even have an in-house studio where they can record.
Internationally famous Zimbabwean artist Oliver Mtukudzi is known for his controversial lyrics that sometimes get him into trouble with the government. He also promotes his country's traditional sounds and says it is time for 'Urban Grooves' musicians to stop being influenced by the west.
"This music is very good, but it does not belong to us as African Zimbabweans, I feel like its foreign music which has come into our country. I truly believe these young musicians are gifted, the have a gift that we don't possess as adults, it might just be an issue of misusing the gift on wrong songs, maybe because we, as parents, we think the real thing is what's on TV," says Mtukudzi.
Pauline Gumbidza is a member of a music group called 'Mafriq'. Though they are also an Urban grooves band, Pauline says the time has come to stop using the term altogether.
"When someone says urban groove you know what they are talking about, but our music is way beyond urban grooves. It's such a small term, our music should soon be international, it should soon be regional, it should appeal to all languages, all cultures. Urban groove is so Zimbabwean and everything is fine about Zimbabwe but it's limiting us the musicians,"
says Gumbidza.
Zimbabweans went to the polls on March 29th to elect a new government and some of the musicians were hoping that this could open up even more opportunities for artists. But the country is still waiting for the release of the presidential results and until they are, many musicians have put their dreams on hold. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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