By Zwelibanzi Mguni

OVERSEAS-BASED Zimbabwean musician, Lucky Moyo, believes, like most Zimbabweans that the president’s time in office is up and he must step down.   The seventh song in his recently released album is clear on that. It is not surprising that a remix of the same song concludes the album.  Most Zimbabweans believe that the president has run out of ideas to pull the country out of its crisis. The radicals believe that he is in fact the crisis.

In his album, I’ve Got Issues, Moyo is a man on a mission.

“I have always written songs that have an element of social commentary in them. I have written songs commenting and urging people not to neglect the good old cultural values. When Cont Mhlanga, a long time friend, approached me I indicated my interest. This is about our beloved Zimbabwe and not any party politics,” he said about his inspiration for the album.

Moyo started off his music career with Black Umfolosi, an imbube group from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city. Imbube is a genre of accapella music practiced in Zimbabwe and South Africa. It relies strongly on vocal prowess.  Moyo is an arts lobbyist, event manager, producer, director, singer, songwriter, and voice coach, teacher and workshop leader.  He is a devoted performing artist.

“Every time I perform, it doesn't matter if its a song I've done a hundred times - there is always something I learn in the process...I learn about myself and the people I am performing for,” he said. His love for the motherland is reflected by the fact that even though he has lived and worked in well over 30 countries and performed for dignitaries like Nelson Mandela, he has not forgotten the leadership home. He has composed songs for President Robert Mugabe, the late Joshua Nkomo and for Zimbabwe’s 10th Anniversary. It is the irony of history that today he is on the president’s case telling him to step down.

“I continue to be one of Zimbabwe’s cultural ambassadors on so many international cultural events,” he said.  To underlie his love for the country this album opens with his own rendition of the national anthem.  Moyo has shared stages with international artists like Peter Gabriel and the teenage-celebrated Craig David. He is a firm believer in the role of music as a vehicle for change, communication, healing and problem solving. This is the challenge that he takes up in his latest album.
Asked to comment on the beauty and quality of his album, the musician plays down his achievement.

“I could do better. I am not worried about how much money one makes or record sales but I am for the content and message conveyed in the songs,” he said.  Moyo said his album has received encouraging sales and reviews in North America. He still hopes it will make a break in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe’s former colonizers.  He has however received very discouraging responses from some reviewers and record labels.

“I have sent copies to many Zimbabwean websites and record labels and a good number have indicated they do not want this kind of stuff. They want the ‘baby touch me here songs’ and I respect that,” he said. Moyo is also looking for a distributor in Southern Africa.

Outside the madness of composing music, Moyo believes the Zimbabwean crisis must be faced squarely. “We praised and praised our politicians and the artists’ community is particularly guilty because all our arts have been “toyi-toyi art” rather than the works that mirror our civilization,” the musician said. “I am glad we have woken up-albeit late to this realization. We have also left all issues of governance to political systems leaving artists as spectators. Things should have been the opposite. We should have been critically questioning from the start.”

“As artists today, we inherit the role of imbongi, umculi, umdlali. I am afraid we let Cont Mhlanga and only a few others to keep guard on our human values while we all went to sleep,” he said.  An imbongi is a traditional poet erroneously referred to as a praise poet. His role was to record the history of the people and to chastise the king.

“This is the time for the artists to work as prophets and point us to where the road must lead. I am not talking about singing hondo yeminda only to get land and not know what to do with it. A true artist is like a true journalist who without bias tells his story and let the public debate. So if our arts where a reflection of where we are those that have brought us here should be listening to what the voice of reason is saying,” said Moyo.

Hondo Yeminda is an album recorded by pro-government artists with the support of the government in order to win the public’s support for the land reform programme.  Moyo said Zimbabwean art in the diaspora has to reflect and learn from people like South African Mirriam Makeba and Nigerian Wole Sonyika.

“Did their art play a role in the socio-political and cultural issues of their time?  The answer is yes. They reached out to some sections of the media and world those at home could not,” he said.  He believes the Voices for Change project is steeped in the traditional lore of AmaNdebele.  “Voices for Change are only a reminder of that which we had deserted once we felt we were comfortable. We need to reflect on King Mzilikazi ‘s time where the artist was some kind of newspaper, social critic, adviser, educator, - you name it. Voices for Change is only one amongst so many other avenues that are needed for the whole arts and cultural industries to function professionally, efficiently and sustainable,” he said.

Moyo said he believes the project is a starting point as there may be need to go from Voices for Change to Voices for Arts Funding and Voices for the Recognition of the role of the arts in the economy.  He emphasized the point that the project was apolitical.  “This is not about ZANU (PF), MDC, ZUM, ZAPU, UANC or any other political party. This is about the creative community of Zimbabwe all coming together and saying we are going to do art that is not just praise and propaganda but art as a vehicle and medium for social change or let alone expressions of that which we yearn and yawn for,” he said.

Zwelibanzi Mguni is a writer and free lance journalist based in Bulawayo.