Despite the genre, very popular in Matabeleland, being ages old, its musicians have not been held in as high esteem as their sungura counterparts, being continuously overlooked for government-sponsored music shows and a number of awards.
Following an outcry that artists from Matabeleland are being deliberately shunned, Prefect Mvundla, who founded and leads Tsheba Boys, said most of the artists in the genre were not making it easy to defend the claims, as their songs lacked the substance that could earn respect.
“We do need songs that keep the audience laughing and dancing because that is what music is mainly about, but to earn respect, artists need to compose songs that are rich in educational messages,” said Mvundla (29).
“Besides entertaining fans, our music should also teach, guide and motivate people on certain aspects of life. That way, we will be taken seriously as a genre and gain the respect of not only in Zimbabwean, but in outside countries as well.”
After the death of rhumba pioneers, Ndux Malax, Solomon Skhuza and Christopher Shoko, rhumba has taken a back seat of late, with only Plumtree-based Mokis Connection and Johannesburg-based Ndolwane Super Sounds being invited to national shows and nominated for awards.
Mvundla also bemoaned lack of unity among Matabeleland musicians as a contributing factor to the stagnancy of the genre, which has seen families of its fallen heroes being neglected.
“It should be our role to take care of our fallen heroes’ children and widows, so that they do not regret, but benefit from what their departed loved ones did to the country’s music industry. We need to keep organising shows that are dedicated to raising money for the upkeep of fallen musicians’ families and educating their children. I have seen a number of such families struggle to make ends meet. We need to be responsible.”
The seven-year-old Tsheba Boys have been very successful since the release of their first album, Lomhlaba in 2007. Inspired by Ndolwane, they have released other hit albums like Sesiphuma Khona (2008), Umkhuhlane (2009), Sibuyile (2010), MaMgudlwayo (2011) and last year’s offering, Usikhothamathe.
They also have a DVD, which is a collections of their hit songs and enjoys airplay on South Africa’s Soweto TV channel.
Post published in: Entertainment