Of The Voice Of Music

What is music? Beats, bars and notes fused together into a rhythm so much more than its sum total.

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

-Bob Marley

I think man has had music in his life from when he could first talk, before that even; when he could not talk only hum and grunt or even way back from that moment when out of curiosity he clapped his hands for the first time…..

Music was our first voice, our first story…..

Here is a free tip: if you want to predict whether a song will be a hit…. Play it for kindergarten toddlers, if they start dancing, without anyone telling them to dance, you have yourself a chart topper……. simple

Music is the first voice you hear, I don’t mean the words to a song but the song and its story in all its entirety; how it all blends in and makes you feel… that voice….. And then we grow up, we start trying to pay more attention to the lyrics, to make sense of them, or the beat and trying to dance to impress, like someone is watching…

Are you surprised, you willalways look back on music from yester-year and say, that’s when they made good music….?

Music is dynamic, music changes but the voice is always the same you grow up and cant hear it anymore.

I remember this old song barely but my sisters loved it, when it played they danced their little hearts out it. I used to pick them up after school and we would walk home and this one day the song was playing loudly from the speakers outside a shop, we stopped and they danced. A small crowd of people gathered, they even threw money…..

Ndochi by Papa Jose…… shamwari tamba iwe (dance my friend)

No party was complete without this song.

Growing up, waiting impatiently for Thursday nights, because that’s when ZBC TV showed the music program, Mvenge Mvenge; Mutinhimira weMimanzi Ezomugidho (translates to The Sound of Music) My brothers recorded the good stuff on the VCR so we could watch again and again.

James Chimombe and John Chibadura were popular favourites. Years later I am all grown up and I realise some of the songs had a weird touch of melancholy they sang about death, heartbreak and loss and we danced to it on Christmas holidays.

As a country I don’t think we have had a particularly distinct music sound that is ours and ours alone,  the most popular genre Sungura started as a spin-off from the popular rhumba ndombolo music from the DRC.

In the late 90s the government instituted a media blanket which only allowed airplay of 100% local content, partly to help boost and encourage the local music and others less benevolent reasons. It left a void for those who loved western type music hip hop, the rhythm and blues, and the gap was filled by a genre of music called Urban Grooves.

Artists who rose to fame then were David Chifunyise and a collection of artists from his Shamiso records studio and the man who did the beats Delani Makhalima

David Chifunyise – Tauya Naye

And then there Pax Afro a group sponsored by the then Minister of information and publicity who was the writer and composer of the songs too, the jingles were catchy though

Let it play – Pax Afro

One of my all time favourite local songs Chidzoka by Rocquie

I will still dance to this.!!!

And today a new genre is talking over inspired by dancehall music from Jamaica. Zim Dancehall to the world, its fast paced, the new youth culture, the new voice of music….Popular Artists  include Soul Jah love, Tocky Vibes, Bounty Lisa, Winky D

I love music by Jah Prayzah, I don’t know what genre his music is but he has various local award and nominations.

Hello – Jah Prayzah

 

And it my list would not be complete if I did not mention Oliver Mtukudzi, he has been churning out hits from before I was born… and still going strong, now that is legendary!!!

We are born loving music and dancing,…..then innocence is lost

 

~B

PS How could I forget to mention this song, I really loved it and I was gravely crashed while looking it up to find out that’s it’s a cover….

Rusike Brothers – Cecelia

Day 7 Blog Everyday Challenge

photo Credit Oliver Mtukudzi