By Zwelibanzi Mguni

AS the Zimbabwean crisis escalates without any tangible solution in sight, a Zimbabwean musician, Lucky has taken to the mic releasing a no holds barred album, I Have Got Issues, which is addressed to the ruling elite of Zimbabwe, the continent and the rest of the world.

The album has fourteen songs and the musician says it is all social commitment.  “I have always written songs that have an element of social commentary in them,” he said.

The album opens with a song adapted from the country’s national anthem where the musician affirms that he, “can’t forget Zimbabwe.” He talks of the beauty of the country, abundance of skills and the greatness of the people as his reasons of holding on to the country. He challenges the world not to forget the crisis-ridden Southern African country. In the song Moyo reminds the world about the Conventions and International Treaties that the country is a signatory to. The song is in imbube style. Imbube is a genre of music that relies on the vocal power of the singer.

Moyo started off as an imbube musician when he toured world over with the group, Black Umfolosi.

The second song, in reggae style, is a cry for help from the world. The musician laments the silence of, “all those who heard us cry aloud saying our house is on fire/all those who heard us cry for help.” He says the Zimbabwean government is daily butchering innocent citizens while innocent women and children are raped. He challenges the whole world to act and wonders if they are waiting to set up some commission, “for justice after injustice.”

The musician takes aim at African countries and challenges the Pan-Africanists who are watching as a fellow African ill-treats his people and witness a neighbour killing his children. In this situation he argues strongly that silence is not an option. In what could be directed to South African President, Thabo Mbeki and his government, he says “diplomacy means constructive engagement”. Mbeki has for years pushed a quiet diplomacy policy towards Zimbabwe, which a lot of people including Zimbabweans have seen as a monumental failure.

The song is not wholly a blame-song as Moyo takes time to salute those who have spoken up about the crisis in the country. He salutes South African musician, Hugh Masekela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu for their stand. Masekela released a song that told Mugabe to go.  The song is laid back and meant to inspire deep introspection on the world on the issues affecting the jewel of Africa. The final words of the song are poignant for their truthfulness, “constructive criticism breaks no friendship.”

The third song talks about repatriation time and opens in imbube style, with melodious voices, before busting into reggae style. The musician is looking forward to the time after the crisis, which is probably the time beyond the current government. He says that would be a time for reconciliation and reconstruction, a time when most Zimbabweans who are in the Diaspora would come back home for reconstruction. His reasons for adopting reconciliation is simply that he doesn’t want another person to go through what he has been through, even his tormentors. It is not lost to the musician that he would return to find his home in ruins and contends that, “such is the price of war.”  For him Zimbabwe is in a war situation and therefore it is counterproductive to perpetuate the situation because in a bitter war nobody wins.

The fourth song is all about singing and singing. It is in reggae style. The musician says he has taken to the mic not because he is a good singer but is singing because he’s got some issues. This is the song that anchors the album and explains its title. Moyo says he sees a lot of things in his everyday life, things that confuse him. He says some of the things he sees everyday in the media and overhears in pubs. When night comes, his dreams take him to the US and Europe and the kind of people he meets over there, their conversation, the kind of issues they want to discuss and the kind of questions they raise are the issues that he sings about.

Here the song is full of symbolism. Since he is singing in the Diaspora, Moyo may be referring to the fact that the problems in the country take him to exile in Europe and the US. Night is the country’s crisis. Here he becomes the face of the many faceless Zimbabweans who have been pushed out of the motherland by the crisis.

The fifth song is tied to the fourth song. It is adapted from a traditional song and is in IsiNdebele, the second biggest language in Zimbabwe. The singer says, “Ngikhalela abantwabami (I mourn for my children)”. He is lamenting the exiling of a lot of Zimbabweans some going to Europe and others to the US. He notes that some people leave their land because of natural disasters but Zimbabweans are forced by manmade disasters. They have been displaced because of their political affiliation, ethnicity, political opinions, and their social and political conscience.

The musician is objective enough to admit that some people have left because of opportunism. He laments and lambasts people, who gather in seminars and discuss issues in Zimbabwe as if they know what it means. He then offers to tell them what it means because he knows. What he knows is that: “All we need is freedom.” This is sung out more than once without any accompanying beat to conclude the song and drive home the point. What Zimbabwe needs is freedom!

The sixth song is about need to preserve the environment as there is only one world. In imbube style the musician insists that, “there is only one world, the only world.” The sweet voice reminds one of Tshabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The singer says we can recycle paper and other things but we cannot recycle the world. He says we have to leave the world in better shape for future generations. He challenges us to think about the birds, the trees and the grasses, the ozone layer and the space. The song exhibits the range of his talent. This song is relevant to Zimbabwe, which has seen a lot of plundering of the environment as a result of the chaotic land reform programme implemented since 1999.  

The most interesting but very incisive song is the one challenging the chief to retire. This is the seventh song of the album. The song is in reference to the Zimbabwean leader who has ruled the country since independence and seems bent on creating a monarchy. This beautiful and laid back song which mixes the guitar with beautiful voice reminds the leader that the time is nigh. The song later changes into a kwaito style as practiced by South African musician Mduduzi Tshabalala (Mandoza) and takes to slang to pelt out displeasure at the continued stay of the leader.

It says, “awusaqavi nex, ngoba wena usuyehlulekile (you have lost touch, you have failed)”. When it changes to ChiShona, the president’s mother tongue, it argues that it is surprising that his henchmen don’t tell him to go and that he is making himself a life president.  There are points to note here. The use of kwaito and slang drives the point that young people are disillusioned and angered by the 83-year old man’s stay as leader. Kwaito is a youth genre that is mostly in slang language. The use of ChiShona may be well meaning but over the years people in Bulawayo have used the language when they want to insult the status quo. The language may also be used in jest.

Song number 8 is a hip-hop song, which however says it doesn’t have to rhyme or to do all the violence and the guns. The musician says his rap is wicked and cool and an old song meant to challenge responsibility and to restore dignity and revive ubuntu (humanness/humanity).

The ninth song questions who gave the ruling elite too much power. The musician says in a country called nqwanqwanqwa the president took all the power but in every rally said power to the people. He single handedly nationalized all the mines, the national institutions, all cultural institutions and even the national team.

In a country called hahahaha, the president made decisions all by himself. The musician says because of that boys and girls lost their lives. When the president was confronted about this he was arrogant. In black American vocals style the musician says the president retorted, “This is a war.” This president took the power away from the musicians, journalists, grassroots, NGOs, chiefs, ordinary people and a host of other interest groups.  A president in a country called hehehe introduced a Patriotic Act that said once you criticized then you are in trouble. The musician states that, “when a government does not protect its own citizens, the purpose of that government is nil.” There are no countries by that name and there is no denial that the musician is referring to one country, which is Zimbabwe. Under the constitution the Zimbabwean president has a lot of power which has recently been curtailed by the controversial Amendment number 18.

The tenth song speaks about what happened long ago in Africa. It refers to slavery and colonialism. The song mourns neo colonialism as it says that what happened then has caught up with the country today. The musician challenges Africa to arise from its slumber.

The eleventh song is all about a time for reflection. It is a Christian song where the singer states that: “my sins were higher than the mountain when the Lord saved me/ my sins were deeper than the oceans when the Lord saved me.” Probably the God of Abraham can pull Zimbabwe out of the economic wilderness it finds itself in. the country is like a sinner who is beyond repentance. That churches have come together to drive an ambitious Zimbabwe we want project shows that the musician here is not alone. Most Zimbabweans believe it is now left to God’s hands.

In song number 12 the musician, probably feeling that he has said a lot, states that he must die. In the true Ndebele style of ukulayezela (announcing one’s departure), he addresses all his relatives. The musician says he has criticized the leadership and has pointed out the Emperor’s nakedness and therefore must die. This is a satiric song. He says, “before you all know it I’ll be involved in some accident, he would have been promoted to some far away land, involved in some poisoning.” This is all because those who preach democracy by day do something else in the cover of the night.

All the methods that the musician lists are not new to Zimbabweans as allegations are abound that some people met their fate through those means. People like Rashiwe Guzha have disappeared, politicians like Sidney Malunga and recently Paul Gunda have died in dubious accidents, and one man has been promoted as a way of getting him off some leader’s way. The musician revokes this as a way of teasing the establishment and ruffle its feathers further.

The last two songs are remakes of two songs in the album. The last but penultimate one is a remake of repatriation time. The last song is a remake of the seventh song challenging the chief to step down. Probably it is the signature song as a reaffirmation of the fact that, “because of all this that I have said, I believe it is time you step down.”

In a nutshell in all the album is a piece of art as well as a good protest music. The songs have good instrumentals that are a mixture of drums and guitars and the keyboard. What is important is that the songs reverberate with the issues that Zimbabweans are facing daily as their country daily slides into murky waters.

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