The State of Music - POVO Journal - Issue 12 by POVO Afrika

ISSUE 12: STATE OF MUSIC DEC 2020

POVO - PEOPLE OF VALID OPINIONS

Shingai Shoniwa (Noisettes) 2

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

Articles

COVER

PLOT MHAKO

EVE KAWADZA

MUMHANZIMEDIA

OUTSPOKEN

SHINGIRAI ‘MAU MAU’ SABETA

SYNIK

IFINTON

SIMBA KAMOTA

PLOT MHAKO

TANGANYIKA

PLOT MHAKO

MCPOTAR

RAVEN DUCHESS

RODWIN T. MAKANJERA

PLOT MHAKO

MCPOTAR

Obituary

Music Copyright strikes: Symptoms of a Digital management Crisis Empress Eve The state of music promotion in Zimbabwe Music questioning the realities of life in Zimbabwe ISSUE 12: STATE OF MUSIC DEC 2020

POVO - PEOPLE OF VALID OPINIONS

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The State of (Gospel) Music in Zimbabwe Rapping in vernacular over colonial languages How does Zimbabwean music industry fare globally? Rude awakening from a broken industry

Negotiating with the custodians of our culture and our music The intention of the vibration and function of music Aiming for a higher standard of music video production

Status Quo Gender representation in bookings and festivals? Give Me Hope

Women in Gospel Musics

The 3 Pillars Of Music Success

State of Music Issue 12

MUSIC

Music Copyright strikes: Symptoms of a Digital management Crisis BY PLOT MHAKO

or a while now there has been a lot of conflict and proxy wars on the Zim music scene over copyrights and the right to distribute music and videos online. The issue has many facets and I will attempt to dissect & give my thoughts. In the absence of a properly organized and fully functional music industry the sector just like the main stream economy operates like a black market with real and imagined cartels, cabals and kingpins. These things may seem minor and of no significancy but they have a huge bearing on who gets played and who gets paid. We have a group of bloggers and online distributors who have over the years built a huge following as they pushed songs, albums and videos and often times giving a push and limelight to unknowns to stardom. Whilst it could be easy & free to create a YouTube, Soundcloud account, most artists or their managers either didn’t have one or had no clue how to manage let alone build traffic & following. So the tech and social media savvy Zimbos saw an opportunity (before some of the platforms could even be monetized). Young and up and coming artists saw the window and rushed with their content (unaware about copyrights). The bloggers pushed the music and a good number of artists blew up & the music reached the streets & promoters started calling. Managers came in. New management unaware of the contribution of the bloggers and at times

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

in genuine pursuit of proper content management, distribution & clamping down on piracy then decide to withdraw the music (some of it with views in millions). Is the artist and management doing right ? A big Yes. But the challenge is on the process and engagement. Most artists and management don’t discuss with the blogger but instead file for copyright infringement posing a threat to the existence of the channels. Then some bloggers argue that they can’t pull

How many artists release great music and videos that never see a day? Material that gathers dust on the shelves online? down content that they pushed to get an audience. The artist and management believe the blogger is cashing in on the artist’s material. Is this true ? How much is it? Then there is another factor and player in the industry __ the Marketing and Content Management agency whose sole intent is to create business by helping artists get accounts and manage their content for a fee. Their role is often causing friction between the former and the artist similar to the Uber vs Metered Taxi operators. All wanting to ‘help’ and make business with creative content but with different methods to it. The biggest attraction to the marketing agencies is often the lure to get certified

accounts, VEVO accounts, ITunes and other platforms with better analytics and payment systems. But the question is: which artists are targeted by agencies ? Is it the new artist who is yet to blow up or it’s that artist who has passed through the hands of the ‘unregistered’ blogger? The bloggers are often times connected to the streets and they feed the streets and from the streets, always keeping an ear for the next big act. Radio Dj’s also feed off the bloggers so as mainstream media. Iam not here to defend their operational framework but highlight the crucial role they play, the passion, effort and work they put in. Should they benefit from the artists’ work ? Is the artist not benefiting? Am I promoting piracy? No ! How many artists release great music and videos that never see a day? Material that gathers dust on the shelves online? My suggestion is that there is need for common ground and concerted efforts to engage all stakeholders, capacitate all players with information, skills and find a way to rationalize their operations in a way that creates a win win situation. When we did the Zimdancehall & Zimhiphop summit that was one of the key goals to get the players to converse and come up with working home grown solutions that help the music industry grow and have less of the tearing down we keep experiencing. Sadly, most artists don’t find reason to participate. #THEPLOTTHICKENS

Alec Macheso

State of Music Issue 12

MUSIC

INTERVIEW

Empress Eve BY EVE KAWADZA

You are a versatile artist from acting, teaching, dance, DJing and ajazz songstress amongst other things. Is being versatile a prerequisite necessity for a musician in Zimbabwe? It seems one cannot just be a musician or is this something that you chose to do?

ersatility is necessary for a musician in Zimbabwe because there is not sufficient income for musicians due to the current economic state, so one goes by using their talents in a variety of ways to get income, with some having non-musical jobs on the side. However, there are a few successful musicians in Zimbabwe that only focus on music. Personally, I chose to be versatile based on my interests and passion for the arts.

From your time in the US performing there how has your music been received and has this shaped your perception of Music in Zimbabwe and what do you think needs to change? For the few times I have performed in the US, my music has been well received and people are eager for more performances. However, there is more involved in putting a show together, presentation to a mixed audience or getting booked. Agents, management, schedules, sponsorship, contractual agreements, and a whole lot more logistics make it more challenging than my musical experience in Zimbabwe. These challenges are shaping me to be more involved in the business of music and has made me have a different perspective of music in Zimbabwe. The focus of music in Zimbabwe should go beyond writing songs and playing

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

music for a Zimbabwean audience only.I believe greater effort should be made to make our music more accepted worldwide through better music business practices and incorporating universal languages for a wider appeal. You perform an almost alter ego act with Eve the jazz musician and Empress Eve the dance hall DJ. How do you balance this transformative act and how have your fans responded? Eve the singer and Empress Eve the DJ are totally different personalities so it is easy to separate them. Each personality has their own time of showcase so they never get mixed up. Fans are still building up on the two and there are some people who get so excited when they realize that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one person.

You started a popular FB Live vlog as Empress Eve. ZimDancehall music and subculture has been largely popular why do you think this is so, and do you think it is making positive impact in society. Do you think this could have international appeal? Zimdancehall music is largely popular in Zimbabwe because it is social commentary which addresses current situations. It is relevant and appeals to the masses because that is what the people are facing . In addition it has catchy beats and lyrics. Zimdancehall music has a considerable positive impact on society because it is entertaining. Sometimes lyrics are comical which helps release stress and is a distraction from everyday hardships. It is also educational because it exposes and brings awareness to the challenges of everyday life in Zimbabwe.

From my experience doing Zimdancehall sessions on Facebook live I realized that there is a worldwide audience that love the beats even though they do not understand the language. If artists, musicians and producers are able to incorporate more universal languages and have music available on music industry standard platforms such as iTunes so that it is readily available for purchase.

What are your thoughts about women in Zimdancehall, can you give us your view on the quality of their production and where they are going and would you consider a doing some Zimdancehall tracks possibly even a collaboration? I love women in Zimdancehall because their music is just as good as that of the men. I just feel women in Zimdancehall music are not as aggressive as their male counterparts because you can actually see most of them holding back while performing. It is my opinion that societal values in Zimbabwe pose greater restrictions and responsibilities on women and limits their ability to perform at their fullest potential because Zimdancehall music differs from other music genres such as jazz, hiphop and sungura, it is more street, rough and hardcore.

Societal values in Zimbabwe pose greater restrictions and responsibilities on women and limits their ability to perform at their fullest potential

State of Music Issue 12

MUSIC

INTERVIEW

The state of music promotion in Zimbabwe BY @MUMHANZIMEDIA

What is the state of music promotion in Zimbabwe

hat’s a loaded question , music promotion in Zimbabwe is kinda moving from the bad to good if you know how to promote the music that is . One thing is for sure we don’t have a music industry in Zimbabwe we have component’s but not in cohesion with each other. An artist might have a viral song and fail to cash in because of lack of a industry

Certainly is we need structures in the industry to work together , we need more information and investment on the industry to step up the quality of whole industry. People need to start buying music to support the artists as they do when coming to shows (Magitare anobhadhara kana katakoshese muimbi)

What do you mean by cohesion what has hindered cohesion an how can this cohesion be achieved who is responsible for this?

How have artists taken to digital marketing of their products and brands? Social media opened up the space for everyone can actually access a ready made market if you know how to ? We have seen the rise of many artists using the digital media to penetrate the market creative even though more out to be done . Issue of branding is still a major problem because most of them (artists) don’t see themselves as brands so they haven’t branded themselves in terms of what they post , how they interact and collaborate with other brands and seeing the followers as customers

Do musicians see the value in PR and having a dedicated publicist? Some have and others haven’t because PR is not marketing it’s creating perceptions which favor the artists . Publicity is not a sprint but a marathon so must artists don’t see the value of a dedicated PR team around them.

What are the major challenges and what does the future hold for promoting musicians in Zimbabwe?

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How many artists release great music and videos that never see a day? Material that gathers dust on the shelves online? Lacking of unity in the components that makes the industry ie promoter’s, artists, distributors , etc all these guy’s and more needs to come to gather create a structure to that feeds to the consumer and back to the ecosystem of the industry . Government will is not also helping in creating a platform and enabling for arts sector to florish

The whole digital marketing is generally a new phenomena could be the case that artists are not educated enough about these or are the other factors as affordability can artists afford these services with a lot of them being independant?

If you can’t afford to hire a professional then you need to learn the basics of digital marketing , google and YouTube has all the lessons available for free so ignorance is not an excuse because you be reduced in the value chain . If you look at Chill Spot Studio (Mangoma Depot) the principles don’t change speak the language of the people in digital world you have them seeking you for information . So you need relevant content and images then interacting with your following .

What is the role of record labels in promoting? Are record labels still existing in Zim? Well a record is all in one from A and R which are responsible for scouting talent and development for the market , to music marketing , image development also music videos they also had international production for quality control . Certainly in Zimbabwe we don’t have one or they don’t exist we have studio which just record and release music . That’s the reason we have power artists without a hit song you can’t be booked for an performance.

Why would an artist who has a few tracks need a PR team? Because an PR already has relationship in the industry and they know how the industry works from so it’s advantage to the artist you don’t have to start at zero. PR team will help you in many areas some of it getting publicity and cash in the hype created .

Edith WeUtonga State of Music Issue 12

MUSIC

INTERVIEW

Music questioning the realities of life in Zimbabwe BY OUTSPOKEN

imbabwean music currently consists of escapism music or music that makes you dance and not necessarily makes you think. I don’t think we have a lot of music that is questioning the realities in Zimbabwe or rather, the aspirations or fictitiousness that people would rather exist in. I think the only genre that might be addressing social issues would be Zimbabwean dancehall. but it also comes with its owndrawbacks, like it being vulgar or raw or rugged but that’s neither an advantage or disadvantage, but that’s just the state that it’s in.

I think sometimes we tend to neglect that artists themselves are members of society as human beings and individuals aside from their art. In terms of art being a vehicle to speak against injustice I think everything in existence should be speaking against injustices or being a vehicle to speak against injustice. There’s a lot of burden that ends up being taken up by the artist to having to express societal ills but I think if you don’t have the backing of society to follow through with the reflections of the artist’s. then why should the artist actually bother there’s too much risk involved. I think sometimes we tend to neglect that

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

Linda Gabriel, Josh Meck, Outspoken

artists themselves are members of society as human beings and individuals aside from their art. The art is a vehicle but still the person behind it is in the same situation and same predicament and suffering the same as everyone else so the burden then doubles up in terms of living that existence and reality wanting to change it and then having the pressures of this reality coming back to bite them in a sense I think it should be society that’s at the forefront and the artist being a member of society includes them by default but for artist to be the champions of change. A lot has changed

in my way of viewing things but there is definitely a need for people to be involved in championing social injustice issues and bringing them to the fore artists included but not artists exclusively.

State of Music Issue 12 11

G R A P H I C : TAURAI MTAKE

MUSIC

INTERVIEW

The State of (Gospel) Music in Zimbabwe BY SHINGIRAI (MAU MAU) SABETA

he state of music in Zimbabwe? Hmm. Where to begin? One’s viewpoint really depends on what genre of music you are talking about - so when you look at Zimbabwean popular music, you could say that things are doing pretty well. Genres like dancehall are growing in leaps and bounds, driven by artists such as Winky D, Killa T and the current new kid on the block, Enzo Ishall of “Kanjiva” fame, have ensured that dancehall remains a staple on most radio stations as well as dance floors, be it in a nightclub, a beerhall or a wedding reception.

Part of gospel’s problem is its heavy dependence on church member support as its primary source of income. On the other hand, innovative artists like Jah Prayzah have crossed over to the pan African scene, firmly planting Zimbabwe’s name on the international scene. As proof of his commercial success, his high-budget videos sit comfortably well and rub shoulders with his South African, Nigerian and East African counterparts on popular music video channels like MTV Base and Trace and YouTube. On the Zimbabwean R&B/hip hop/ pop scene, we have creative and supertalented artists such as Tammy and Takura who have successfully managed

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

to bridge the local and international divide by fusing English with local lingo to create a sound that is easily accessible to both Zimbabweans as well as outsiders. Traditional genres such as sungura and jit continue to do well, but have well and truly been eclipsed by the afore-mentioned “new” sounds in terms of media attention and attracting large audiences. But it’s when it comes to the genre I am most passionate about - gospel - that things take a turn for the worse in my opinion. While gospel is a broad term that in itself is not a genre, but includes many genres, there is no doubt in my mind that much work remains to be done here. Prominent contemporary gospel artist such as Janet Marowa and the Mahendere brothers have been consistent features alongside the more traditional church choirs, but I believe there has not been enough nurturing and growth of new artists in this genre in the last decade or so. Part of gospel’s problem is its heavy dependence on church member support as its primary source of income. It appears the 80% of Zimbabweans who selfidentify as Christians won’t put their money where their mouth is when it comes to buying and supporting Christian music. By my calculation, if half of those people are working adults, that should be a total audience of 5 million would-be buyers! Yet when you look at a typical gospel concert, you’d be hard-pressed to get over a 1000 people at a venue, unless it’s a mass multi-artist gathering sponsored by a major prophet or a mega-church.

This is a significant point to ponder, because like all other music genres in Zimbabwe, an artist cannot hope to make any kind of real income based on record sales, whether CDs or online, because of piracy, limited access to credit cards as well as online platforms, and the fact that buying online is simply not a culture in Zimbabwe. So for any artist to recoup their expenses and make a living, live concerts followed by endorsements, are the only way to go. With gospel, it becomes doubly challenging, because only certain venues and times of day are appropriate for such music, creating limitations, while promoters that specialise in gospel are as rare as hen’s teeth in Zimbabwe. I would be curious to know how much revenue the “top” gospel artists are really earning annually from shows as well as sales. The figures would probably be a little embarrassing when put next to secular artists such as Jah Prayzah, who are performing week in, week out, locally and internationally, at nightspots as well as lucrative private and corporate functions. Coming to my genre of hip hop, Christian rap artists are probably the lowest on the music totem pole when it comes to commercial success, visibility and significance. It’s not so much a lack of talent that’s the issue, but much like the entire hip hop genre, there is a lack of industry structure and organisation, made worse by a lack of financial resources for most artists. There are thousands of artists and some decent producers, but zero promoters, managers and record labels focused mainly on Christian hip hop

music. The last concert I remember being invited to perform at or even to just attend was about two years ago - and typically we would perform to maybe twenty young people, most of whom are not even hip hop heads, using a rickety PA system in an underfitted township or church hall. Hardly an inspiring environment for any artist - but for all of us, our motivation

was and has always been about preaching the gospel. It gets hard though when you are funding your own studio production fees; promotional CD pressing; travel costs to and from venues while being your own promoter, manager and executive producer. On a personal level, I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t recorded any tracks for the past three years simply because life has been happening and I just cannot afford the time and resources to focus solely on my music. And I know I am not the only one dealing with this - there are many (much younger) Christian rappers whom I would love to mentor, groom and even sign if I had the resources, but sadly I cannot do it. As a result, the art, as well as the mission of preaching the Gospel through my music, suffers.

To conclude, I believe that if certain Christian brothers and sisters with financial means (and believe me, there are many, many of them) would have the vision and desire to bankroll gospel music, then things would dramatically change. We cannot rely on corporates to put money into (contemporary) gospel music - the genre is too small in terms of appeal and audience, so if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to grow, then business-minded Christians are going to have to do one simple thing: throw money (and a good execution strategy) at the problem! If you should know any such kind-hearted souls, tell them to give me a call: I have the strategy figured out - now I just need the money! In the meantime - Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to continue keeping the faith. Amen!

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G R A P H I C : HILARY MLOTSHWA

There are many (much younger) Christian rappers whom I would love to mentor, groom and even sign if I had the resources, but sadly I cannot do it.

MUSIC

Rapping in vernacular over colonial languages BY SYNIK

an, I been asked to rap in ‘African’ so many times I’ve cut off possible collaborators that I normally would have been excited about. Its like, yeah, you were colonised and told your languages are inferior to the point where kids (maybe some adults still) would laugh at each other for ‘choping’ (speaking broken English) or in some schools actually punished for speaking their language. So after being educated in English and primarily consuming nearly all the media you do in that language, conducting business in English, when it comes to your expression, its gotta be in

Echoing my sentiments of what comes naturally to the writer. It is neither about one writing in English (or another colonial tongue) or in ones mother tongue, but for me it will always be about the natural form of your expression. ‘African’ to fit some narrow definition of what it means to be African. FOH with that simplistic view. See, if someone told me to rap in Shona because the language is filled with proverbs and poetic depth that brings beauty to even mundane statements, I would probably be motivated to do a Ngugi and do the mammoth task of re-learning what was

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

And on the flip side of the creative language debate there’s Ngugi, after thoroughly decolonising and vowing to write exclusively in Kikuyu (I believe) has been getting snubbed for the Nobel prize time and time again.

lost. I still have the dream of doing so in any case. But the point is in most cases these requests come from nothing more than a fetish for the ‘exotic’, which ironically was branded inferior and demonised to the point of possible extinction in the past. Now, I don’t submit to the colonial assertion of the inferiority of my tongue (and by extension, culture) and I would not describe Shona as ‘part of the ghetto daemon I was trying to escape’ as Marechera did, but unfortunately in the words of Antony B, the damage was already done and now my creative expression flows easier in this foreign tongue than in my own. Ma Zimbo tiritori nani tinototaura ndimi dzedu. Wakasangana nemunhu weku Luanda womubvunza kuti akuudze mashoko eKimbundo ndopaunoona kuti pakaipa. The linguistic purge and cultural assimilation was almost complete.

That said, I thoroughly respect people who do choose to express their art in their mother language be it as a political act or just the extension of how the express themselves naturally. Some of the greatest to do it are Godobori, Awa, Noble Styles, Ti Gonzi, Zanzolo to mention a few. I have immense respect for them and in a way envy them. But I could never do what they do on my best day, so I stay in my lane and we have a wider variety of hiphop because of it. Ignatius Mabasa on being asked why he writes in Shona says ‘I have spoken the language from birth until now. It is the language I think, dream, cry and laugh in. Because I have this language that I do not have to fight with when I need to express myself, I feel it is folly for me to try and express myself in a language that does not come to me naturally.’ Echoing my sentiments of what comes naturally to the writer. It is neither about one writing in English (or another colonial tongue) or in ones mother tongue, but for me it will always be about the natural form of your expression. In conclusion, the questioning of ones Africaness based on the language they choose to express themselves in is a denial of the complex history of the continent and the multiple dimensions of our postcolonial society. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. (First published on his Facebook Page)

Synik State of Music Issue 12 15

MUSIC

How does Zimbabwean music industry fare globally? BY IFINTON

Do you think music in Zimbabwe is appreciated as much as it is internationally?

imbabwe music is extremely appreciated locally. For a while we’ve had 70% international play on radio but now we have local artists being played on the airwaves 24-7, in clubs and parties it’s all about Zimbabwe music, mostly zimdancehall. The only way it’s not appreciated internationally it’s probably because of the lack of access to social media and exposure. It’s widely appreciated more locally then internationally. There are few musicians making it internationally but in Zimbabwe they appreciate the local music more than before.

Playing more local content on radio has benefited local artists. How has it benefitted you? Before we had DJ’s like Kudzi Marudza, Tich Mataz who used to play a lot of American R&B, but now have new blood and new DJ’s who are playing local Zimbabwean music all the time and this has benefited the artist. Now we have radio stations in towns and cities which never had stations. Places like like Mutare have Diamond FM and Zvishavane has YFM before but they had artists there. Artists had to travel from Zvishavane to Harare to submit material and be played on radio. Personally having local content on radio benefitted me because those who didn’t know my music from Zimbabwe, charity starts art home, they are the ones who are supposed to know my music firs. It’s good to have your music played on radio so they can sing along and especially when we have concerts it’s good if people

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iFinton

Another thing that can help in Zimbabwe is the availability of festivals. There are lots of festivals in Europe, probably six to eight times a year.

have heard it on radio before. Though I’m not being played as much as I would want but still it has benefited me.

Do digital music channels like Spotify, Itunes and Youtube financially benefit musicians in Zimbabwe? Is it easy for you to access these channels? In Zimbabwe frankly speaking I wouldn’t know if digital platforms like Spotify, iTunes benefit the artists considering the current economic situation in the

country. Out here (Europe) digital stores are helpful if you work hard on sharing those links to people and making sure people download, the downloads are more commercially viable than streaming. Streaming is a very few cents per stream. The more you share your links and the more you perform out there and tell people about where they can get your music helps financially. In Zimbabwe is pretty hard to access these channels because his channels need to be paid annually for the services. Because of the current economic situation in Zimbabwe it’s not easy to access these platforms and most musicians are int9imidated about digital stores. They just want to spread their music. Piracy has also affected the culture of buying music because people are just used to getting you music for free and nobody wants to buy music. It’ll be helpful for artists to put music on digital platforms. It has helped me, not much but

at least it’s not like when I started putting my music online now I can actually see where it’s going and it makes sense. It’s beneficial to a person who does lots of shows and you meet lots of people who ask where they can get your music.

Do musicians in Zimbabwe earn enough from making music? In Zimbabwe I don’t think they are earning much, there could be a few. Tuku is paid and Macheso is paid a lot when they perform. It also depends on how much a person is satisfied by. I think it’s one thing that we like as artist we do not value our brand we just will sing a song, maybe it’s a hit in Zimbabwe and then we just playing in bars for 40 dollars and we go home and you feel like you’ve done well. It’s necessary to have a structure and management team and structure how your performance. Have target groups of which kind of people you’re going to invite to your shows, not to invite people who are going to jump the fence. I’d be lying if I said that people are truly earning through their music. At least here in Germany when I perform there are invoices involved and you actually charge. If you charge very little the actually don’t like it. If you charge low they associate that with the low standard and a bad performance. Another thing that can help in Zimbabwe is the availability of festivals. There are lots of festivals in Europe, probably six to eight times a year. There are African fests, cultural fests, exchange festivals there so many festivals which support musicians. They’re also links online like Sofa Concerts where people make a pool of people who like a certain type of music for example reggae and people make that pool and make your video’s accessible they can can easily invite you for private parties, birthdays and weddings. These pools are not for artists only but for people who want those musicians to perform at their events. These things would benefit if they were available in Zimbabwe and also if they were good promoters who are genuine. I always hear about shady promoters. I have also had bad experiences with promoters and while dealing with them there’s always an element of a lack of trust

Zimbabwean musicians are generally copying too much. Too many copyrights singing songs of other musician songs

drunk and high off substances. We have children in Zimbabwe growing up they want to know what are the true values we should adopt? I listen to Tuku and I’ve realise that every song that he puts out has meaning. Other musicians who have strong messages include Chiwoniso, Biggie Tembo and Andy Brown, just listen to their music and compare that with the music that’s there now like ‘Donhedza musika’. Most of the songs you have to go around and when you venture to get to the meaning of the song you realise that there’s no real message of value. I also blame the radio DJ’s in Zimbabwe. In Germany radio stations don’t just play music because you have recorded music but they have a commitee which

and also taking styles from people from abroad and putting our language on their music. Long time ago the musicians like Simon Chimbetu who you could hear his signature sound by just hearing them. Evern just hearing the intro the song even started and recognise that it was him. Even Oliver Mutukudzi has a signature sound which you can tell that it’s him, they have a certain originality and you can tell that it’s Zimbabwean music. We look at Marshall Munhumumwe Jonah moyo Jonah Sithole, all those people from that bygone era, it was real music. During that era people were actually paid well for their music and made good lifestyles with revenue from their music. Most record

companies in Zimbabwe were owned by Europeans from Britain eg Gramma Records and Shed Studios. They actually appreciated more of the original sound. But right now people are rushing the production. People are releasing an album in two or three days. Where as before a person sat down and put lyrical content that helped both the youth and the adults. Now you don’t even know what’s coming out on radio. Even while sitting with elderly there are songs like Stonyeni or ‘Ndirikuda kupinda Mubako’ but this the music that we are actually saying we have great music and Zimbabwe which I don’t agree with. We can’t be singing about private parts or that we are getting

either there’s a loss or there’s something that always goes wrong. There is a lot that needs to be done so that artists have more performances. More money and can live off the music and sometimes we don’t think out of the box as musicians. With music you can even go corporate doing adverts for companies and doing corporate functions for companies.

South Africa and Nigeria produce music that is recognised on the African continent and worldwide. Do you think Zimbabwean music can ever be recognised worldwide on that same level?

State of Music Issue 12 17

actually listens and before they play on air which is something that should happen in Zimbabwe. So that they know that you don’t just play anything on radio if I played Souljah Love in Germany one or two people might dance because of the beat, but there won’t be a collective ‘we know this song’. I know many Nigerian musicians that if you went into a bar you can hear Twoface being played and everyone is singing along to Twoface because he is singing about an African girl. He is singing about the Yoruba people where he comes from, it has meaning. Even while he is singing in his own language, it has a certain feel. I am not saying that all zimdancehall music is bad there are musicians out there like Winky D is putting out some good content, even though I don’t agree with tracks like Jecha and the new stuff that’s coming out but mostly some of his old music like Rokesheni where he comes from.

Music is a business and most people think that music is just music not actually realising that it’s a business that needs to be handled in a way that is different from just doing a hobby or just looking for shows at a bar. We grew up knowing that there were local dances like mbakumbam, muchongoyo but now it seems like these dances don’t exist anymore. We have our own instruments that we knew would be played at bira’s and mbira and marimba putting those elements in our songs just to be proud of our Zimbabwe heritage. I don’t see many people who are still doing that and singing songs that you can sit down and listen to. People just want to hear that when a song comes out it’s about Stonyeni and fashion. Real music is no more for me in Zimbabwe and this needs a renewal especially the DJ’s they should just have songs listen to first before they put them on radio so that we can have

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music with real value on the airways. The value of musicians is different. Some of us artists sing and play instruments at the same time and some just sing and there’s no recognition of that. If a DJ from Zimbabwe is introducing my song he just says this is Ifinton a Zimbabwean based in Germany etc but he doesn’t show how I’m different from other artist. Many are just putting instrumentals and just singing. There’s no vibe to say let’s look at the background of this musician and how special is this musician and what benefit does he have to our community since he is outside the country and him being a musician that plays an instrument as well. People no longer learning to play instruments. People have been corrupted by software, just making beats in Reason, Pro Tools computer generated music which for me I think is killing music in a certain way. People should be original and make their own sound, creativity is needed not depending on the software alone, just putting up beats and sampling beats. Musicians should take drums and guitars and make their own music.

In light of the rampant piracy does the modern day musician have to be a great performer on stage? On piracy of songs and transfers of songs on flash disks is vital in the sense that people will know every line of your songs but looking at the beneficial side of it because everybody knows your song. But

what comes out of it? The people are not buying the CD, they’re not streaming the music they’re just coming to your shows and some of them are even just getting into shows without paying. So I don’t agree with piracy in any way. In Germany it’s a benefit to me because I can see that there’s no piracy and I make money from selling my CDs. In Zimbabwe if you sell a CD no one is going to buy it for more than five bucks. In Germany there’s no CD that is sold for less than 10 Euro everything is 15 or 20 euros and people buy CDs to listen in the cars on their way to work. While in Zimbabwe even one dollar they won’t, you buy a CD for that much because they know that they can find you on the street. People know your song they are sharing your song but as an artist what are you really benefitting? There are some artist that we know who became famous because of a song that they have shared to everyone but at the end of the day what is it that they want to achieve from that fame. Artist are not valuing their brand. Music is a business and most people think that music is just music not actually realising that it’s a business that needs to be handled in a way that is different from just doing a hobby or just looking for shows at a bar. Artists must realise that it’s a business and have to protect your brand and your image you need to be careful with who you are with and who you taking photos with. Protect your brand.

G R A P H I C : SORELLINA MLAMBO

#FREEZIMBABWE State of Music Issue 12 19

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Rude awakening from a broken industry BY SIMBA KAMOTA

rowing up in Zimbabwe as a young boy i loved two things so bad which were singing and cooking. I chose to follow the musical path in search of the fame and the money, but boy oh boy was I in for a tough and rough journey in the music circles. I started music around 2003 going around in several studios and doing backing vocals for several artists at the time. We got our first big break with the song Tambisa which was number one on most local radio stations and being played almost in every club, this is when I found out how broken our industry is,

Radio stations on the other hand should be investigated if they are actually paying for the music that they play on daily basis on thier stations and legal action should be taken on them if they are not paying and face closure we had the number 1 song in the country but never got a penny interms of royalties, club promoters would book us for a gig but would refuse to pay after peformace with all sorts of excuses(they still do). The number one killer of the local art is piracy, thats why you see a lot of famous but broke artists its really sad. Zimbabweans are so used to pirated material that they

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no longer see the use of actually buying the artists material from a legal source so at least they artist can get thier profits for thier hard work and make a living.

actually become a music producer(haha), this has really compromised the quality of music productions esp the dancehall genre, they can make a beat, record, mix and master the song and release a song in the same day(which is not professionally correct). This has seen so many low quality songs get released and despite it being a good song it might not get the recognition it deserves because of the very poor quality...Our music industry has so many problems that need solving just to mention a few, we need the govenment to promote the local art because it is a sector on its own and needs support.

Maybe the bad economy in our country is to blame for such behaviour but i feel arts such as music have never got the respect it deserves from the fans,radio stations and some of the artists aswell. They treat it as just something but not a business and that mind set should really be changed for musicians to benefit from it. Promoters should be of a genuine nature who pay for a musicians services as promised not all these bogus promoters that have grown in the circles. I feel a very stiff penalty should be put in place for both bogus promoters and pirates of the art this might actually reduce pirated material on the streets. Radio stations on the other hand should be investigated if they are actually paying for the music that they play on daily basis on thier stations and legal action should be taken on them if they are not paying and face closure. The other problem we now have is everyone with a laptop has

While i was in the music circles i had a number of songs doing radio rounds and going for radio interview but noticed how difficult it was to actually get paid i enrolled into college(whilst still doing music) for 3 years studied culinary arts and graduated and now work at Meikles Zimbabwe as a proffessional chef and yes i have earned more money in a few few months than what i have earned for years in the music business hahaha

Victor Kunonga

State of Music Issue 12 21

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Negotiating with the custodians of our culture and our music BY MELLOW CREME

o my childhood buddy Baynham asked me last week for my opinion on the state of music in Zimbabwe. I struggled to respond for about a week. Do I talk about the golden era (90s) that inspired me and made me who I am today? Thomas Mapfumo, Bhundu Boys, Stella Chiweshe, Leonard Dembo, Leonard Zhakata, Khiama Boys, Sungura Boys, Simon Chimbetu, John Chibadura, The Rusikes, Rozalla Miller, Cde Chinx, Ilanga, Busi Ncube, Andy Brown, Don Gumbo, Keith Farquharson, A Peace Of Ebony, Chioniso Maraire, Tuku, Mukadota, Harare Mambos and Brian Sibalo? Or do I talk about the ‘taking over’ of urban music through the early 2000s Urban Grooves era? Or maybe I write about where I expect the future of the music from my country to be when placed on a global platform? All this going through my mind made me sick and teary. And I’ll tell you why. I love music. Music is a big part of my life and I love sharing my thoughts and heart through music. I love my country and I believe at one stage in my life I was even willing to die for my country. Where do I begin when asked such a question that has two of my most passionate topics? My wife seeing the cold sweat on my brow on Christmas eve asked what was wrong and after telling her she came up with a solution. ‘Why not talk about Mellow Creme and his experience with the state of music in Zimbabwe?’ Better still, I’m gonna talk about my experience with the custodians of culture and our music. The local media, radio and Television. I’m going to edit and not mention any names because I do not feel

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it’s necessary. (Believe me I have all the names in a dark place in my head) The year was 1999 and I had started a group with 2 friends and we called ourselves Tony Fresh and Gang D. We did a track that sampled The Boy is Mine by Brandy and Monica and excited at the sound and how we flowed on it we took the CD to radio. From station to station and DJ to DJ we all got told off. We didn’t understand. The whole of Zengeza and Braeside was bumping this tune and we were performing at almost every party in the hood and the hood knew our lyrics word to word. One popular DJ told us straight up “You need to sing sungura guys. Cant you hear how hot Khiama Boys and Leonard Zhakata are? I’m not gonna play rap music on my station”. But you play Tupac, Biggie, Nas and Lost Boyz so whats wrong with playing us? “You not American guys” he said, just before closing the door on us. As we walked to

A few of my journalist friends tried hard to get their editors to publish rewiews of my album and only a few online publications agreed. Mainstream media said the same thing. We need Zim Dancehall news. Who’s this Mellow Creme you keep bring to us?

MELLOW CREME

the exit we bumped into a new guy who was filling up for another popular DJ. My friend Clancy got the guts and begged him to take our CD. By the time we were on the bus back home our song was on radio. Greatest feeling ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. For a couple of months our song was on rotation on his afternoon show only. I called him once and asked if his work colleagues would also want copies of our CD. Sadly he had tried to share the music but all his colleagues brushed him off because we were not ‘hot and mainstream’. Sad story? Not until you hear other artists tell you the same or even sadder experiences of that era. We were lucky we even got some airplay even if it was just 29 times.

ZIMBA

BWEAN

LIVES

G R A P H I C : RODWIN T. MAKANJERA

MATTER State of Music Issue 12 23

Fast-forward to 2 years later and ‘urban groves’ blows up and every ‘hot’ DJ is banging the latest urban music and the nation and diaspora is going crazy. Perfect time to rise as a rapper and our group is ready. We do a track called Mafaro and like last time we release it in the hood first. Chitown goes crazy. And like last time, radio says NO! and only one DJ gives it a few spins. The responses from the rest of media were the same like Déjà vu. Why don’t you join Shamiso or Chamhembe (hottest urban label then) and work with producer so and so. He is a better producer than the guy you working with. But we had our own sound and just wanted a chance to express that sound. Up to now I still believe Tony Fresh was way way better than any urban music producer of that time. Fast-forward again to 2016 and Zim Dancehall is blazing and taking Zim culture overseas. They making us proud as they ‘outclass’ and outshine more established international artists whenever there’s a local festival or show. Mellow Madness, my debut solo album as Mellow Creme, is released in April 2016 and we fill up Alliance Francaise. I’m grown now. I have a few friends in the industry and they are teaching me the ropes so I’m a better artist every time I record or perform. A good friend of mine is one of the hottest DJs on radio and calls me in for an interview and proclaims on air that this is one of the best albums of that year. She loves the song Chiedza which I did with, the King of R&B, Fungai Nengare. As I walk into the radio station I’m made to feel like a Hollywood celebrity once I pass security. 3 of my fav DJs ‘run’ to me and hug me. “You been quiet bro. We miss the music. Heard you here with some hot shit” I blush and turn grey (cant go pink coz I’m dark skinned) I get in the studio and the interview goes on and the DJ plays some of my tracks. Callers give it a thumbs up and texts keep coming with kudos on their Whatsapp platform. I’m over the moon. I felt like the star I’ve always dreamt I’d be. A few months later I get no other airplay and I’m worried. I bump into the same DJ at a function and probe her to tell me the truth. Do I

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really suck? Should I quit this shit? The answer she gave me is the funniest thing ever. Her colleagues mistook me for a popular Zim Dancehall artist who was topping the charts around that time (I have dreadlocks so its understandable). The whole station stood still as she played my album hoping it was some ‘hot shit’ they hearing exclusively for the first time and after being disappointed they all sulked, snarled and shouted at her for playing this ‘soft’ music. Who wants to hear rap music let alone rap music that speaks on love and pan Africanism? Booooooooorrriiiiing!!! My heart sank. I cried like a little boy who just been bullied for the 10th time and his teachers keep ignoring. A few of my journalist friends tried hard to get their editors to publish rewiews of my album and only a few online publications agreed. Mainstream media said the same thing. We need Zim Dancehall news. Who’s this Mellow Creme you keep bring to us?

This is my experience on the state of music in Zimbabwe. Until mainstream media has mature stakeholders who appreciate art and understand that the pie is big enough for all types of music from dancehall, sungura, chimurenga, hiphop, trap, soul, R&B, piano, salsa and anything else that your chart topping hit makers are making; Zimbabwean music clearly has no future on the international scene. We have a past for sure. And a beautiful past indeed. Let me go back to A Peace of Ebony and play Thomas Mapfumo whilst I contemplate how I will promote my new album Theory of Nakedivity without mainstream radio, TV or press because I have no love for them anymore. Thank God for social media. But what about those that can’t afford to have data to upload their music and promote it on social media platforms?

Tehn Diamond State of Music Issue 12 25

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The intention of the vibration and function of music BY TANGANYIKA

t’s very interesting sekuru Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mutukudzi once told me that silence kills. It was very interesting and I was trying to figure out. I see the man who is given sound and vibration to the people for so long all this time and he’s talking about the thing that silence kills. Some people are there in the society to be custodians to ensure that the silence is always interrupted so that there’s always vibration so that there’s always life, there is always energy flowing around.

I come to this from the point of nonartist or artistic but from the front of a functionary in the similar sense of what Tuku was saying that music vibration sounds beyond how it entertains and pleases. It makes people feel all types of aesthetic things. It has a function, it is a functional tool. It is something of functional use and I feel the understanding and the remembrance is to put something back together. Sometimes there is a lack of that remembering of this understanding of why we do things, the intention is always very important. I would like to look at the state of music in Zimbabwe from the point of trying to understand the petitioners, the listeners and all of us as a people in the so-called Zimbabwe. Do we have an understanding of our intention and of the function of the two? I love music and I would venture that beyond any subjective judgements that I might personally have, everything at each point and time should be as it is. In the sense that it is a reflection of a current state of things even things that I may lament. My lamentation or deeper

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awareness of being. I’m composed of all the genetic memories and past versions and experiences of those who are in my blood streams or DNA as some people with say. As a result of that I have various perspectives and understandings and learnings of what I feel sound and music, this place and time could be and should be but obviously what it is, is a reflection

I have the utmost visualisation of change right now because lots of things are bubbling right now and people are remembering and reawakening and exciting new things are definitely possible. of what we are at the current moment. So I say this with respect that things are in a transitional state. I think some of the things which are of relevance which are going to instill things or give more shape. Some of these kind of situations are sometimes what are supposed to create the most creativity, in the sense that creativity being people working with what is available, with what’s there to make new things or to make things that are relevant to address where there are at a current situation. So some of the things we might see in the sense of humour in the WhatsApp jokes and some of the style of music that seems mindless in a way are a feeling, it’s a part of the spiritual

dance. So in a way some of the stuff we are like, what’s going on with this stuff. It’s a reflection of where people are at and what they spread may need or require during this particular time. I think they’ll be underground things that are currently happening things that are bubbling things that we might not be aware of but will soon come to the surface because this is what this kind of situations produce. Like diamonds deep down in the cavities of the earth, in the volcanoes waiting to errupt and come to the surface. There’s some excitement, when there’s a transition there must be a lot of things that must die and decay. You see at this time there are lot of flies around. I was saying to someone they are breaking down some old things so that some new things can take shape. I feel there’s some exciting things around the corner. If it was so easy they’ll be loads of Thomas Mapfumo’s and Tuku’s and Simon Chimbetu’s and Ocean City Bands but the state of music these last few years there’s been very little of that. We’ve been exporting little. There’s been some quality but there has been less and less diversity. Sometimes we get caught up and trying to imitate and homogenizing and trying to go with whatever is the particular trend but the train should be from the feeling not from copying the logistics and little nitty gritties of what the music is doing. There is a feeling that the spirit of things we can take from when you’re inspired, you breathe in even let the air go through your lungs but when I breathe out there is a different composition. But when you’re blowing hot air you trap

Queen Mashie

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Even for that solvents we forget that. Look at the diversity we have, such a rich abundance of things which we are not looking, breathing in inspiration and spirit. In that sense there’s been an imbalance that purpose of speaking to the soul. Speaking is at times that needs to come back into work and I think that people underestimate the power that when you do your things, when you play the things from where you are from and when you hear, you want to be inspired by when we listen to American music and feel inspiration. That’s great if they are involving and adding something that’s in their DNA, but here we have things that we can also play like back in the day Fela was inspired by the James Browns.

Mathias Muzaza (Mokoomba)

hot air in your mouth and then you blow it back out as if it’s yours but it’s not as if you have added onto it but you haven’t. There has been a lot of that going on but as I said it’s a reflection of the times that we are in but I have the utmost visualisation of change right now because lots of things are bubbling right now and people are remembering and reawakening and exciting new things are definitely possible. In short maybe we have lost track, always had a different track or an imbalance because there’s room for everything but there’s balance the dimension of looking at music in the function of entertainment and performance has taken over from the function of music as communication as expression as a medium. People have filled the medium with other forms of intentions to sell things to sell themselves to attend fame and have forgotten the other functions. Primary, more basic, more evolved, even at the same time functions of music to inspire souls, spiritual evolutions, cause resonance to transmit energy. These kind of energies have been forgotten at the expense of some of the prevailing material temporal things instead of the eternal spiritual things. I think this is a big thing for me which I can

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see in the state of music in Zimbabwe and also remembering that we are custodians as a people, so-called Zimbabweans. We are custodians of very deep things. When you migrate and given tools, imagine when you have to evacuate a land you give your sons and daughters going in different directions, you give them tools to take with them so that they can keep those things. I live when you know that there’s going to be some kind of desecration. So if you mention all the ways of migrations where these pertinent deep rich songs which have so many deep meanings and depth. It tells you that we are from an incident, very old people. It’s pertinent for us as a nation if you want to play a part of the global picture, If you want to play your part in the whole kaleidoscope our responsibility with the things we are entrusted with we have our responsibility to also then evolve and preserve and take the spirit of old and add new things to it and suit the times so that the other people who went to the different parts with other things that they were sent with and when we come back together this is what we can come back together and say this is what we came back with. What you sent us with, but if we get lost in the temporal we forget that big sense of responsibility.

But later on the youngster was so curious, the music is taken over by the Burner Boys. All these guys are now deep in their own thing at the announce signing a new light and it’s like a back and forth of inspiration. But you have to play your part, if you’re busy imitating and not inspiring and taking from your own roots, it’s not time for us to stop diluting removal where ever we were at with our music. We are going to go deeper, let’s go deep it’s the time we need to vibrate with the time with the pace. The youngsters are dancing more pacier. It’s faster it’s more pacier. there’s a few youngsters this year even end of last year with the Zimdancehall thing. Once they got together some people they’re short some leadership at evolve the sound the sound is totally switched up. These guys were doing Zimdancehall last year, we need to stay with that vibration, that sound that site, that power. We need to come from that place where we remember what that. intention of the vibration and function of the music is. It will inform us and we can use any tools from all our local traditional local instruments in the right spirit not just copying or just imitating or breathing hot air or breathing it in digesting and breathing it out with the inspiration from your people. They will inform and they will ensure that you are passing with the right rhythm of the times of, the zeitgeist.

Hope Masike State of Music Issue 12 29

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EAR GROUND INTERVIEW with T-Mula

Aiming for a higher standard of music video production BY PLOT MHAKO

Tapfuma Mula a.k.a T-Mula ah, he’s one of the guys that are behind the scenes of the bubbling South African music scene and slowly, has managed to make in-roads with the some of the amazing videos that you have seen from Zimbabwe with his participation in the production. He’s a media entertainment mogul. We will be looking behind the scenes checking out what’s happening behind what we don’t see and how the music industry is functioning from the South African and also speaking a bit about his own music. So may be just to start off, could you tell our listeners and our viewers who is T-Mula?

stuff like that and that’s what the company does. So fortunately, we’ve found ourselves in a position where we do it for a lot of people and there is no real company in Johannesburg that does that. It’s a little bit of a that we stumbled upon by luck! But every production house needs it. They need something to shoot We organize it. We basically use our network to find some very rare things and locations to shoot. I recently found someone who does what we do in Hollywood as well. He’s called the ‘Hollywood Wish Maker’. So we are like the ‘Jo’burg Wish Makers’. We make the wishes come true.

T-Mula is an artist and an entrepreneur and that’s why there are two brands. There is the T-Mula brand and then there is the Mula VIP Rentals brand. I’m a Zimbabwean based in South, pushing the hustle basically. I have been in the music industry for at least 15 years, since I started putting pen to paper and stuff like that. Ah so I’ve been in the game

Could you highlight some of the names of people you have worked with from South Africa to Zimbabwe and possibly if there are any other regional or any international artists that you have worked with.

Great! And now almost most of the major music videos that we see on a daily basis that are coming up tops at most; we see your hand in there. Maybe you could just tell our viewers what it is that you do? What is Mula VIP Rentals? Starting this company was by luck. It was by God’s grace, but our company is five years old now. We are producers and we have a production house as well. So in the function as producers is one to take away the headache from directors. We basically, put in the stuff that people shoot. So um, our main focus is luxury vehicles and houses, but we do everything in production. We can do set design and

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We find ourselves in a position where there is no artist we haven’t worked with. As soon as they come into the ranks, they

are gonna become our client. We started with people like P-Square and Davido like on ‘Testimony’. It’s like 5 years ago. Everyone, there is no artist we haven’t worked with. AKA, Casper, Nasty C; there is everyone! Victoria Kimani in the East. We have got Vanessa D, we’ve got everyone; all the top artist Mwana FA. All the East Africans, all the West Africans; all the South Africans. We worked with Beenie Man as well. Internationally, we did the Beenie and Winky D video. We did Beenie ManBuffalo Souljah, De Les, we did another one there. We have worked with Fekkie Official. Fekkie is very big in London. I’m sure the London scene would know him. We’ve been pushing bro, we’ve been pushing. Rick Ross and Kwesta. There is a lot. There’s a lot. Major League – Do Better; Ama Blesser, Dj Maphorisa; Phumakim which is like 4 years ago. We’ve done more than 400 music videos in 5 years. In Zimbabwe we have done Winky D, Buffalo Soldier, Jah Prayzah and Diamond, Jah Prayzah and Patoranking. U-uu yeah, Winky D and Buff; we also helped out in that one. It’s by God’s grace that we have work you know what I mean?

What would you attribute the success of such production. You know like the conversation from the Zimbabwean side has always been or what do we need to do to really like break into the international market. What do artists need to invest in and is it the music? Is it the videos? Is it the set? Like, what would you say has been the biggest take on from the work that you have seen that would you say, if Zimbabwean artists, in Zimbabwe are to lean this, possible, this could actually help take us somewhere?

State of Music Issue 12 31

G R A P H I C : CHRISTOPHER DHLIWAYO

The game is real, music has, as far as I have seen evolve in South Africa, it’s a business and anyone who is trying to get themselves involved in music needs to approach it like to take it anywhere. Any business needs money as an input for there has to be an output and that is the thing with music. Like if you are an artist and you trynna be hot. How are you going to compete with Davido who is dropping 10 music videos of his own in a year and he is featured on another 15. He’s got 25 videos that are rotating around. How are you gonna compete with that if you have got one product for the year or if you have got no products on TV? So you need material. Content is like the new oil as far as we’ve been learning. And content needs resources to be able to put it together. I have noticed something um you know in the last 5 years. The Nigerian music videos were better than South African music videos. And in the last three years, I have noticed that corporate South Africa has been sponsoring a lot of the music videos that the South African artists drop and that’s because they have found a value between corporate and themselves and the business community and that’s the only way that funding can come.

So but what do you say because like there was a conversation on how the Zimbabwean corporate sector does not really put any value or an investment towards the arts and in South Africa, you are actually saying that the companies have seen value and they have started to sponsor and be part and parcel of some of the videos that are being produced there? Do you think that the artists or the corporates are not having faith in the artists in Zimbabwe of just that the art is not interesting enough for companies to put money? What’s your response to that? I think my perspective is that the business community hasn’t yet found the value in endorsing a wide array of musicians. There are some that are endorsed and that’s because those business communities find value in those endorsements but I think the industry needs a lot. The industry it needs some juice; it needs some sheets. If Zimbabwe music is going to be listened to internationally, it’s gotta look good. The artists have gotta look good. They

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gotta look like they living good. They have got to shoot nice videos or expressive videos that are going to make somebody in Tanzania wanna listen to this Shona because the visuals are appealing or whatever, the story lines are interesting And that’s another big market for Zimbabwe because tiri vashoma. We are like what? Our millions are not that many. Whereas East Africa combined there are about 300 million apparently. They are more than the Nigerians if you combine Tanzania, Kenya what-what. And those people they love Shona. They understand. Swahili and Shona are similar. So I encourage Zimbabwe musicians to look to the East as well for market. South Africans are doing it, Nigerians are doing it so why not us? We need to shoot better; we need better material, better content. But I have been watching cos its my job to know what’s new, what’s out and everything and I have been seeing some really nice videos this year from Zimbabwe.

Which videos would you say this year; that dropped this year from Zimbabwe that really struck you? I like that Kure video by T-Gonzi, iya. You know not a crazy budget but the way it was put together is very nice. And even some of the ones that we have been involved with Tami it was well done. The Tekere video we worked on that with Andy Cutta. I’m just forgetting some of the names. But I have seen some nice videos coming and that’s encouraging. I think the standard is going up. I think it is going up it’s just moving at a slow pace but it is going forward. But the only thing that can increase the pace is funds to produce content.

And what can we learn from South Africa or from South African artists? Do you think, for example, with the hip-hop scene. I think our hip-hop scene started slightly earlier than the South African scene in terms of really pushing and we had the likes of Mischief, the likes of Mau Mau doing stuff in South Africa and they really impacted on the scene but now we are like behind; like way-way behind as compared to South Africa. What can we learn from South Africa?

We can learn a lot hey. The youth who listen to hip-hop here are like invested in the culture. They listen to a lot of music from the west. So I would say Zimbabweans as well; besides what we are, can learn from the South African hiphop scene, we can take a lot from America as well because the kids here they listen to how the instruments are made by Kanye West and what; they research. They find out what drum kits they use. What stuff they use and stuff like that and then they add a bit of their own flavor to make it global. I also think that in South Africa itself hass big opportunities for Zimbabweans. We are a couple of million in Zimbabwe and if you look at that; that is literally almost a ten tribe in this country. So I think, you know, we should as Zimbabweans, we should also look to South Africa as a market. These are numbers games. So if we can, South Africa has got 55 million people? The East has got 300 million people. Africa, with the West has got whatever it has. So, as we make our music as Zimbabwean, let’s keep it original but just in mind what the average standard international quality production says. So that we can penetrate these markets and a lot of it is good mixing, good mastering. That is very important for audio. Audio must sound clean. It mustn’t be painful to the ear. And once that is done then video as well, you shoot the video and then you drop it properly and you can stand a chance of changing your life. I can see it happening to a lot of people and I think that it’s very possible for a lot of artists.

And you mentioned dropping the video. I mean I have seen quite a lot of good videos that failed to really get to where they were supposed to be. For example, the video that you just mentioned Kure by Ishan and TGonzi. You know, I was trying to find out why their video has not shown on Trace or MTV Base as yet and apparently, what I found out is that the guy who shot the video only saved the video in MP4 format and did not save the correct files? Lemme tell you what. I am in the market. I am in Jo’Burg. This is where it happens. I’m giving you this free information as a journalist. And you know for the benefit of

Mischif

State of Music Issue 12 33

whoever it might help. Videos you submit and good music will always make it’s way. But there are ways of making sure that you know things happen. I’m sayin and that is the nature of the. If you know a compiler and you take that compiler to lunch, for sure your video is going to be on TV the next day. It’s about relationships. That’s the word that I am trying to use. It’s about relationships. Having relationships with the correct people gets you things moved faster. Even if it is an Mp4. With relationships we can get that thing on TV tomorrow. And that is just the name of the game. I think everyone needs to just find where they add value. There is journalists, there is camera guys; there is DOPs; there is the musicians; there is the managers; there’s body guards; there is different elements to the whole industry and when everyone applies themselves continually, you find yourself at a position where you do barter trades. So it’s a bit difficult when you are as far as Harare and the submissions are in Johannesburg but I think it requires linking up with the Jo’Burg people so that we make it happen. That’s a good video. It should be on TV.

Yeah. So you are saying that there has to be some relationship between, building between Johannesburg and Harare and maybe Johannesburg and Zimbabwe to create linkages for artists to actually penetrate some of these markets? But we see a lot of artists are coming to perform in South Africa. Are they not linking up with the system? Do they end up just in clubs and bars where they come and perform there because almost every week there is like five, six, seven, eight artist from Zimbabwe that are coming to perform in South Africa? Where is the disconnect? Do you know what? They do come, they do perform. I can’t speak on behalf of people who I don’t spend time with and know. But there is a place in Jo’burg where there are Zimbabweans they know those places. Those are the one that these artists need to be at. Some of the places they are going to are the wrong ones, what they are trying to achieve. So, Jo’burg is big. They just need themselves in the right hands, in the right crowds. Like, if you want to be mixing with South African artists and doing collaborations with them you’ve got to be

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

at the parties where they are. You’ve gotta be in the places where they are. If you come to Jo’burg and you are not where they are then you not in the right place.

And do you find Zimbabwean artists that are coming to SA looking for you? Because if I was an artist, tell you what, every time I was going to Jozi, I would look out for you not necessarily to shoot a video but just to get a bit of the knowledge to connect because you are there. You are in the thick of things where things happen. I do. I do have a couple and I do have very good relationships with a lot of my Zimbabwean brothers. Trust me, anyone who will tell you about me knows that I am one of Zimbabwe’s biggest ambassadors in my own little capacity. So, I trymy best to do anything for people from home, musically and etc., etc. I hope that we link up with each other and do shows. I go to their shows when they perform and all of that, but I will be honest with you. The bottom line is most of the Zimbabwe artists, a lot of them don’t have the funding to do the kind of production that is the standard on offer. A lot of the Zimbabweans can’t do something proper that you can hand to Trace or MTV.

Status Quo BY MCPOTAR Our academics have failed to curb our “Everyday Struggle,” Dealing with trouble, Economic bubbles, And an average “Joe’s burdens”, See through the patterns. How much more can we take, They put icing on manure and call it a cake, And we’re packed at a rally to buy dreams awake, Whilst factions are looming, They fight for a stake. Was being born here a mistake? A life of headaches, I have beef with the system ‘cause I can’t afford steak, Musings from a citizen who’s about to break, If they don’t get a break, In a country where corruption is in speed with no brakes. No headlights, no vision, Half the leaders deserve prison, Lurking in positions way beyond their season, I can only see self preservation as the reason, And it’s also the same reason few have risen, If I speak my truth can they leave me breathing? Suggestive thinking from the media, That’s how the rulers control, The Pastors are also joysticks of this gaming console, Many whistle blowers gone, Many families to console, Are these agents just clones, No brain or a soul, Can they turn back like Saul, On his name change to Paul? And expose all the dirt that they do at the polls? You can’t wash away their sins and not clog the pipe-lines, That’s why foreign deals remain in the pipe-lines, Leaving our pockets to dry, Our brains to fry, As the media lies, Delegates fly, Eat part of the pie, Questions are asked and given pseudo-replies.

TTER

#ZIMBABWEANLIVESMATTER

G R A P H I C : CLAIRE DONGO

1980-2020 #BobED #CovED-20

State of Music Issue 12 35

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

Gender representation in bookings and festivals? BY RAVEN DUCHESS

What are your thoughts on the gender representation in bookings and festivals?

As females we have to work twice as hard as men. A lot of festivals and venues have male dominated line ups. Does ability play a role in this?

They are many talented females who perform well up to international standard but promoters never give them a platform so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not about them not delivering but pure gender discrimination. How much of this is dependent on having booking agents?

Booking agents are valuable as they represent their artists well and take care of bookings and other formalities, eg transport, accommodation, food and making sure the performance fee is paid on time. Does the gender of the booking agent have a bearing on bookings?

No. Gender isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t an issue.It is all based on professionalism.

State of Music Issue 12 37

e M e v i G G e M e v i G H e M e Giv v M ! e v i G G H e M e v i G G H e M e v Gi G

In July 2020, Hopewell Chin’ono, a Zimbabwean journalist, was arrested for exposing the rot of the

Zimbabwean government’s corruption. The country is

currently under a quasi-military rule and the artwork acts as a rendition of the anti-apartheid anthem “Gimme Hope Jo’anna” by Eddy Grant with the aim of advocating for the release of Hopewell while concurrently asking for the government to do what

is right by the people and give them what we’re all fighting for – hope and now that Hopewell was recently released from prison, the people still ask for that one

thing- Hope, for industrial restoration, the betterment of the future of coming generations, and improvement of the livelihoods of people of Zimbabwe. RODWIN T. MAKANJERA

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

e v i G me ! e p Ho

State of Music Issue 12 39

G R A P H I C : RODWIN T. MAKANJERA

e v i G ! e p o H e M e v i G ! e p e v eHo i G ! e p o H e M e v i G ! e p o H e M e v p o Gi H e M e v i G ! e p o H e M e v i G ! e p o G ! e eH p o H iveMe G H e Hope! M e v i G ! e p o H o veme H e M e v i G ! e p o H e M v i Give G ! e p o H e M e v i G ! e p Ho Giv ! e p o H GiveMe hop e M e v i G e Hope! v i G ! e p o H e M e v i G ! e p o H e M e v p i o G H e M e v i G ! e p o H e M e e!Giv

MUSIC

EAR GROUND INTERVIEW with Sharon Manyika

Women in Gospel Music BY PLOT MHAKO

And also a couple of projects that she has done in the past and all about her music. What she’s up to. And what we can expect this year and also a bit about her journey to music. So, who’s Sharon Manyika?

am a young gospel artist from Zimbabwe. I started singing way, way, way back in church, I think I was nine years old then. Officially to the public, I started singing at 13. I was part of House of David band. I was one of the backing vocalists. My dad was a musician he still is. He is the founder of the Living Word Churches International. And he writes music. It’s more of family thing really. All his brothers. I’m sure you know Noah Manyika of the Chitsike fame. As well and his older brother was in a very successful band called Orange in the UK. So I grew up surrounded by music but I started a while back but I am a gospel artist and that’s what I do in a nutshell.

When did you start recording as a solo artist, putting up your own records. As a solo artist, I recorded my debut album Mufudzi in 2002 and I was 17. That was the most exciting thing ever because I was so young and the reception was so amazing. I had a song that was on number one. Mufudzi was a number one for I think more than three months. It was something crazy like that and then after that it was Simuka Africa and then after that, it was Chipo Chokutenda. After all these songs I then did a jazz album, as well in South Africa. That’s my journey.

How was the reception? I’ve had a very positive response from Zimbabwe from day one because switching from the type of music we used to sing when I was in the House of David, it was more traditional like Jit and all that. Switching from that to do what was on my heart for my debut album which was more RnB sound, it wasn’t usual. It wasn’t

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

common at that time when I released my debut album. There were only a few other groups who had an urban sound. And I remember Tidings of Love. Shower Power was quite urban in those days and there was also Appointed and that was about it. It’s not like now when there is quite a number of urban gospel artists. So yeah, I consider myself to be very blessed and I had so much support from home, from my church, the Living Word Churches, school, Midlands Christian College which I was attending back then and just Zimbabwe as whole. People really embraced what I was doing in a very unexpected way. So I consider myself very, very blessed..

And now you are based in South Africa? Was it a musical decision or it was something else? Yes, I have been here. No, it was not a musical decision because when I left Zim, I was overseas and I went to University and then I came back to Zimbabwe. When I came back to Zimbabwe things were a bit tough but my whole family was leaving Zimbabwe anyway to plant a church here South Africa in 2009. So, we basically all came here, and my parents planted the first church and now we have over

When you organize your event, you have to look at your line-up and consciously bring that balance to the table. So say you invite four men; and this is what I have been seeing. If you invite four men, why not get four women.

13 branches in South Africa, Living Word Church. Yeah, so I just came, we all just came and we planted the church and the first church which was in Benoni and then after about two years, I got married. I just basically started to live here. So it wasn’t a solely musical decision but it was definitely, in God’s plan and I planned on living in South Africa anyway.

There are not so many women that are really occupying the musical space. What’s your take on that? Except for gospel. I mean we have seen Mai Patai, we have seen Shingisai Suluma, you and Janet Manyowa and a couple of other female musicians, Fungisai Zvakavapano. You know these are mainly gospel artists. What is being experience on the musical scene. Do you think women are getting enough support, and equal platform in terms of music in Zimbabwe. Definitely, I don’t think women are getting enough, as in enough exposure in Zimbabwe. Definitely, the arts industry in general in Zimbabwe is male dominated. Now I don’t think it’s an issue of not enough women being forth coming, but I just feel like it’s more opportunities are given to men and as a women you really have to push really, really hard. I think you sort of have to work twice as hard just to make it. So that’s something that I feel could change. Even if you look at most of the musical events, say in the gospel industry for example. Look at all the events that are lined up for the next few months or events that we’ve had since January. If you just look at the line up there is always, just a strange ratio, maybe five men and one woman. So, I’m not sure why but I don’t feel gospel artists, women in particular are getting enough platforms to showcase what they do. I don’t think that’s happening, I don’t know why. I don’t know why because there is so-o much talent in Zim. There is so much

tawa_cali

#ZIMBABWEANLIVESMATTER

fear is the greatest weapon the enemy uses to try to hold us back! State of Music Issue 12 41

talent and there’s women who have been in the gospel industry for years and years and years and I don’t think they are getting the recognition they deserve. Something could change there definitely.

And what do you think can be done to change? Women constitute the bigger part of the population and if you look at the audience, especially from the gospel side, there are more women that are actually coming for shows. What do you think needs to be done to actually correct and fix that because you are part of the younger generation that’s leading from the front. Right now, we see you, we have artists like Tammy that are putting up amazing work. What can be done to really push and create sort of a bit of a balance and get more women on different platforms? What do you think, because you are there in South Africa and possibly seeing how it’s happening and how South Africans are doing it to get more women? Oh she’s amazing; she’s an amazing vocalist. She is probably my favourite vocalist from Zim. I think it has to be a conscious decision. If we look at the basics from promoters or the people who organize events. When you organize your event, you have to look at your line-up and consciously bring that balance to the table. So say you invite four men; and this is what I have been seeing. If you invite four men, why not get four women. If you are looking for eight artists. If you are getting four artists; why not get two women, two men. Because it’s not an issue of lack of talent gap (technical fault) probably a mindset where maybe our whole nation might be male dominated in terms of culturally, I don’t know if that makes sense. How we perceive gender in general. So, it has to be conscious a decision. I think it’s just a mindset issue where culturally, we are probably a nation that’s just male dominated and everything. And that’s coming through even to the different industries in the country, especially, the arts industry. So conscious decisions need to be made when organizing events to make to make sure we’re giving equal opportunities to women and that, especially with gospel. I can mostly speak for the gospel scene. Because I’m a gospel artist. You know there is neither men nor

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

It’s been a very long interesting journey but I’m in that space now where I’m starting to get more and more opportunities every other month in the South African gospel industry. So yeah, that’s very very exciting.

women in Christ (laughs). I think God gives us equal gifts when it comes to anything to do with media. And if men can praise, women can praise. If men can worship, women, can worship. These gifts are there despite what gender a person is. So is there is absolutely no reason for the industry to be male dominated. It’s just I think it happens subconsciously when people are planning events and when they are looking for artists. So that mindset has to be changed and people have to be made more aware to say hey, look there is so and so; she’s been in the industry for 10 years. Why is she not being invited to this? So and so has been in the industry for such such number of year and I mean that’s about it. It’s just a conscious decision that has to be made.

Do you think it’s to do with talent, or it’s to do with the push that women possibly are not pushing as much? And also some are saying, when they get the stage, they are not delivering as their male counterparts. I don’t know. Do you think that’s correct? I think that’s subjective. It’s hard to tell because how do you measure that, well there’s obvious things. I mean, if you look at someone like Janet Manyowa; definitely, she’s working hard. But then there’s people who are; I have discovered that many artists have financial challenges. That’s the first thing. So even if they want to push, but if they are limited financially, how, how are you; it’s not only about finances.

It’s also about the management of thing, behind the scenes what you do. But with most artists, the challenge is financial. So, it’s not necessarily that some women artists are not pushing. I just feel like it’s just a male dominated industry and people also have certain expectations or there is like a mindset to say, if a woman is performing, she must sing, she must dance like Saba. Something like that. There’s just this comparison thing that’s there and people don’t learn to embrace an artist so that they can have the best of whatever they have. I think once people do one thing once you just learned to embrace an artist and what they do specifically, then you’ll discover that people are, all artists are unique, and all these women are actually pushing are they just not getting the exposure that they need. I would love to mention a few but I’m not gonna do that (laughs).

And before I go back to your music. You are there in South Africa. How is the experience as far as the South African market is concerned. Are you managing to penetrate the native South African music community or music arts or just foreign base. Or you are predominately reaching out to fellow Zimbabweans? Well, I’m predominantly reaching out to fellow Zimbabweans but I’m now well known in some circles. When I started out I was specifically in the jazz industry and now I’ve sort of penetrated the commercial side of things here in South Africa, commercial events but of course that’s not my main thing. So, it’s only now that I’m starting to actually penetrate other circles gospel wise that is. So its been a very interesting journey. It’s been a very long interesting journey but I’m in that space now where I’m starting to get more and more opportunities every other month in the South African gospel industry. So yeah, that’s very very exciting.

We’ve seen you video. What else is coming? What more can we expect this year? I don’t know if you have been following about the album and what not. But I started actually working. Okay, NaMwari, I work NaMwari in 2010 and I actually got to record it live in 2013 where we did an LDC Choir DVD. LDC Choir is my dad’s project. Living Word Deliverance Choir. Its an amazing choir. So I got to sing NaMwari live there and recorded it and that’s when

I want to keep the music simple. I don’t know if you can say NaMwari is simple but the sound will pretty much go in that direction a little bit soft rock for the whole album. So that should be done by end of

the year. I just want to post it when it’s done. I don’t want wanna say here or there it’s going to be on such date. I’ll announce literally like two weeks before it’s out. That’s when I’m going to announce. The hatched plan for this year and just a simple DVD like Jonathan McReynold’s Make Room. I don’t know if you have watched it, but it’s a very small, intimate audience. I saw that’s the way to go.

Any shows lined up for Zimbabwe? Not for Zim right now. But people can follow my page. I’ve got quite a number. I’m going to be posting all the shows that I have this side in SA for this year. For Zim, I think more towards the end of the year, September/December. Normally, that’s when I do shows in Zim or invites and things like that. But for now and for me specifically, I’m not planning anything in Zim at the moment. I’m planning all

my promotional stuff here, since I’m based here.

And what would you say to a young female Zimbabwean artist or a young lady who’s trying to get into music or wants to do music today in Zimbabwe? What I can say is not even the sky is the limit, like there’s no limit to what you can do. You need to be open and to recognize the gift that is in you to the fullest. And you don’t need to be afraid of anyone. You don’t need to postpone. If you are gifted, you are gifted and you need to use your gift and you mustn’t be intimidated because it’s a male dominated industry. Have focus and you will make it. Focus, focus, focus and you will make it. Do your best in everything even how you present yourself your image you will make it.

G R A P H I C : CARL KHOMBE

people started to see NaMwari. But a year; exactly a year ago, I was working on my album. Then last year I fell pregnant. It wasn’t really planned. So everything literally stopped. I had planned tours and all these things but it stopped because my baby was not in a healthy space, and I was in and out of hospital the whole of last year. So, we only started re-working on things and we started NaMwari towards the end of last year and this year, I’m planning just a simple. I don’t know if I know Jonathan McReynolds the gospel singer. He won quite a number of Stellar Awards this year. So I’m planning on doing something.

State of Music Issue 12 43

MUSIC

EAR GROUND INTERVIEW with Sharon Manyika

The 3 Pillars Of Music Success BY MCPOTAR

ad an interestingly thought provoking chat with Asaph one morning and I had promised to share the perspective below with him. My heart then said; let me share with whoever was fortunate to click. There are of course many ways to discuss success, it is a broadly subjective term. The 3 pillars of artistic success I will mention here are fairly conventional. The 3 pillars of success I will mention here are.

1. Artistic Brilliance 2. Popularity 3. Financial gain & Milestones Many readers may already agree that on consensus an artiste has at mininimum, one of these though in rare cases you find an artist who is at the peak of each paradigm. Some artistes have popularity but they are broke and don’t earn as much money. Some artistes are exceptional but known less than many artistes who they are more artistically gifted than. Again this is subjective. Big Shaq probably gets more views than Hopsin for instance.

Financial gain and Milestones usually don’t walk alone. Either one gets paid a lot because they are popular or maybe they are brilliant or both. In rare cases some artistes that get grants under civic groups and NGOs, may not be the best of their craft nor popular but may be granted cheques for tackling issues a donor is funding. Of course sometimes the civic organizations may have granted the funding based on brilliance. However

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

sometimes the more brilliant artist may be unfit for the subject matter based on bad PR or scandal or previous subjects. E.g A brilliant artist who wants to glorify drugs trying to get a grant with UNFPA which is holding programs to eradicate drug abuse will not get the grant whilst someone who is tackling the subject the way they want may get it even if they were not a better artist as far as brilliance.

On another end of the spectrum if a comedian like Big Shaq were to get a nomination ahead of Lupe based on… well ” Check de stoh-tis-tics” to those who favour impact it would be deserved, but loyalists to craft may even boycott that ceremony in defiance. I guess that’s why people like Jay Z have a midline balance.

Milestones

He doesnt do rubix cube rap but his rap is above average.

Think of K’naan when he did a FIFA World Cup Soundtrack.- Milestone

Not the best rapper (debatably) but is more popular than better rappers.

Artistes that get contracted to spray graffiti on a cultural space.

Add to the fact he earns a lot.

Awa’s pictures getting space in a German museum. A producer doing all the music you hear in a movie. Sometimes these are not widely known but upon assessment awards nominations boards check exhibits given in submissions. So while the un-informed public may see certain award nominations as unjustified, the panelists who received the info knows exactly why.

Rare! Especially in Africa.

Why I Think Artistic Brilliance Is The Future, Past and Present… Leonardo Da Vinci has been dead for a long time but his ideas very much alive for a reason. Popularity driven success may pop for a while but over time it pops like a bubble. Artistic Brilliance has longevity because as anything becomes common people look for the best.

The Problem Is

What I mean is…

When award shows happen whichever criterion they use, they may catch flack from one camp or another.

Before cell phones were popular, you got respect for just having a cell phone. The model did not matter.

I have seen people look at a NAMA or ZIMA nominees list and say something like, “Who is AWA” or “Who is Yolanda Candice”.

As mobile phones became common place even among the lowest socio-economic groups the functions began to matter, the features, even the name.

The innocent public will not be knowing that the unpopular names may have been listed on the basis of brilliance or milestones which even their TV star may lack.

Think about it… A decade ago, recording was hard. Laptops and condensers were not as available. No YouTube Tutorials on beat-making or rap.

Popularity Whilst being brilliant is good perhaps one must attack topics in popular conversation. Depth has nothing to do with conspiracy theories and philosophy. I believe music can do better if it is relatable and gives depth in the simplest way possible. At best, find balance. People often look to entertainment as a source of relaxation and sometimes being too complex with something that could have been framed in simple terms may throw off fans. Not because people are dumb, but because even if I am intelligent I may be too exhausted after work to engage my mind with big puzzles. I just want something that allows me to relax.

Finance? I am unfortunately not a pro yet at monetization, but I am sure many resources online and seminars can equip you on this end. What I think works is this! Have a part of your revenue model which is only accessible by paying. If any part of how you get revenue can be obtained with no payment then you can make a party anthem that can be used all December and see not see its impact on your net worth. So if you are monetizing the music, make it accessible only on a platform that gives you revenue per stream or per download. This could be Youtube if your channel is monetized or a Spotify playlist. You will not get money from Datafilehost links. If you are monetizing the merchandize make sure you make people aware that they can support you in that manner.

Over the years I have realized that certain artistic things such as some dance moves or rap or certain type of beats are now doable by anyone who can take a month to learn them at entry level. Artistic Brilliance thus makes you the iPhone of your craft because while the talent is now common.

Your way of execution becomes unique to you as a unique selling proposition. You can then add other factors as well like OkMalumKoolCat. He has his own way. The Migos have their own techniques and Kendrick Lamar and J.Cole have pushed brilliance to the edges.

If DSTV gave access to its content completely to non subscribers no one would top up subscriptions. I am still a novice in this but hopefully the general advice is helpful.

Milestones Whatever craft you are in network with other industries and figure out how your art can be of benefit to their goals.

State of Music Issue 12 45

OBITUARY You can do service exchange agreements or be paid to do it. Research Festivals, events and gatherings, start small. Most of all make sure that you document your milestones and leverage them to be newsworthy. The more features in traditional press you get the more perceptual value you gain to your followers. I do not frown upon online media but I have over the years observed that people regard traditional media a bit higher as they probably realize that anyone can start a blog these days, thus it is easy for anyone to give credits to their friends via some Wordpress blog.

Oliver Mutukudzi

Lazarus Boora

1954 - 2020

1973 - 2020

Munyaradzi Mazarira

Mgcini Calvin Nhliziyo

1981 - 2020

1985 - 2020

Prince Musarurwa

Delroy Maripakwenda

1989 - 2020

1991 - 2020

Whilst the same can happen with the Herald or Newsday, it is more to do with cognitive biases. Do not be afraid to read up the psychology of the fans of art you are in.

With that said! My opinions are not gospel truth but one of many alternative ways of seeing it. It is possible that you see it different or partly agree. I am free to hear your agreements or disagreements on @Mcpotar via twitter.

THE POVO JOURNAL December 2020

Be a part of the Movement! POVO depends on your contributions. The main thrust being to get people to document their opinions, showcase their work and share them on a wider platform. We are not looking for reportage, there are millions of sites and magazines reporting the news and issuing press releases. All Opinions, Features, and Interviews have to be unpublished, it must be published on POVO first and then can be published elsewhere. By sharing your opinion and showcasing your work you become a part of the POVO movement. If you have an article that you may consider to be of relevance to the youth in Afrika then feel free to send contributions to journal@povo.africa

State of Music Issue 12 47