Urban Groovers are not hopeless, the economy is

Urban Groovers are not hopeless, the economy is

• Musavengana Nyasha: Urban Groovers hopeless

By Isaac Nyambiya

RECENT articles that have appeared in Zimbabwean newspapers seem to have taken aim at the Urban Groovers describing them as “hopeless” and “having no future”.

Suggestions have been made that the least they could do is abandon their passions in the kind of art they identify with and do what the so-called analysts call the "Zimbabwean" or "African" sound.

This week’s Sunday Mail contained one such article by former Radio 2 DJ Musavengana Nyasha which I choose to call pathetic for its patronising and condescending tone bereft of knowledge as it is plain dishonest.

Musavengana’s article is anything but constructive criticism. I wish to make my observations on this and a wide variety of issues pertaining to the Arts Industry in Zimbabwe that have been raised before. To do justice to this topic would require much more than this response.

Present day Zimbabwe is replete with citizens taking arts as a career against odds. This must be not only be applauded but strongly supported not just in word but materially. Many musical groups largely belonging to the Urban Grooves (RnB) have emerged albeit in controversial and difficult circumstances that still continue to erode the viability of an obviously lucrative business especially with the restrictive Media Laws. There has been serious attempts to break into main stream television. Relative success has been witnessed in projects such as Studio 263, Amakhorokoza and Waiters.

It’s regrettable that when projects of this nature are introduced, they are received with such scepticism both from the media, listening and viewing public. One of the reasons has always been that they are cheap imitations of the western culture especially for as long as the main language of transmission is English. Therefore the public, who have been used so much to the “finesse” of western arts would grudgingly watch and listen preferring to maintain the status quo.

The Zambian soap Kabanana has suffered more or less the same fate in its own country with the Zambian audiences dismissing it complaining that the quality of acting is poor. In a twist of fortunes, the same soap has had heart-warming reception in Zimbabwe. One cannot help but wonder if its an African syndrome of “foreign is better”.

Studio 263 is said to have been positively received in the region, and is said to be now also showing in UK on OBE TV. The corporate world in Zimbabwe should be falling over themselves to sponsor projects such as Studio 263. At one point, the project was going without sponsors when PSI withdrew.

Culture can be is defined as “the totality of socially transmitted behaviour patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought, religious culture, musical culture, oral culture, and so on. This also includes the predominating attitudes and behaviour that characterize the functioning of a group or organization.”

Whilst some people (like Musavengana) would be inclined to look at culture from the point of traditional traits that should be preserved (he suggested that Sungura or Museve is the way to go for Urban Groovers), on the contrary, culture in itself maybe a paradox. It is static as it is dynamic. Most importantly culture has an undeniably commercial aspect as it is a sellable commodity.

It is probably worth mentioning that in the present day, a cultural revolution such as the one obtaining in Zimbabwe is also aided by the existence of institutions and technologies that dynamise culture and catalyse some of the aspects of our way of life like music. Needless to mention that there is only one television station. All radio stations are State controlled. How this is really supposed to help the situation for all artists, only the creative genius of the likes of Musavengana will help us.

Most groups in South Africa sing Kwaito which is defined is a “music genre that originated from Johannesburg, South Africa in early 1990s. It is based on American house music (aka Garage music) beats, albeit typically at a slower tempo than those usually found in house music.”

What amazes me about the criticisms levelled against our own stars, is how they are labelled copy cats because they sing RnB songs in Shona or Ndebele, and hence they are said not to be original. But it’s OK if Mandoza or Mzekezeke from South Africa did the same. I bet you the likes of Musavengana would have stakes and stakes of this music defining it as true South African (hence African) music when it is that “hybrid”.

Urban Grooves in Zimbabwe is already that “hybrid” that Musavengena is alluding to unless he is looking for that incessant lead guitar played at break-neck speed akin to Museve. That won't happen very often with Urban Grooves (RnB music).

Big Daddy Yanke of the “Gasolina” fame who does damaging RnB Rap in Spanish (quite comparable to “Yombreman” in Zimbabwe) was actually in the British Top 10 and he appeared in Top of the Pops.

The South African group Malaika has sold more than 350 000 copies of their debut self-titled album and by all accounts, they can easily pass for an Urban Grooves group if they were Zimbabwean. Jah (Apple) Seed and his group Bongo Maffin are hugely successful in South Africa. Theirs is Urban Grooves given another name from another language. Perhaps Musavengana has a problem with the name Urban Grooves because it is English. He will probably be happy, just maybe, if that music was called “Mutinhimira wemuGuta”. Again for the record English is our first official language and it maybe be very difficult to run away from that sometimes, much as we may not like it.

The Live8 2005 show held in Cornwall England featured Diarra J, a group that plays “Urban Grooves” but in Senegal, and needless to say, they have won international awards. At the same show a former child soldier from the Sudan now living in Kenya had the crowd in song and dance doing his rap thing in Arabic at that and the crowd loved it. Both groups were using back-tracks and had the crowd eating off their hands. My own assessment was these groups do not play any better than the crew from the Chamhembe stable.

Icons like Youssour Ndou of Senegal singing in both his language and English teamed with Nene Cherry of the United Kingdom and won a World Music Award at Monte Carlo in Monaco, a feat which has been emulated but Dr Alban of Nigeria and none other than Rozalla Miller of Zimbabwe in the late nineties. They all sing the Urban Grooves genre of Music fused with their traditional sounds and instruments. That is the dynamism of culture which is also obtaining in Zimbabwe at the moment.

The Tanzanian prodigy Mr Nice real name Lucas Mkenda, 26, is now arguably the highest paid musician in East Africa (at least US$4 000 a show) with his version of Urban Grooves referred to as Takeu (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda). The corporate world have also largely supported his shows which is a whole lot more than can be said for Zimbabwe’s mainstream industry, who in my opinion would rather reap where they did not sow. Most of his shows are done with back tracks but he commands crowds as big as 15 000.

By giving these examples I am not celebrating that RnB is the best music there is, far from it. I am simply recognising that creativity behind these groups coming up with a kind of music which is acceptable to their society by blending the backbone of RnB with local languages and indigenous beats. This is largely because RnB itself from America has been a commercial success worldwide and hence it tends to influence music genres world wide.

I also don’t agree that one has to be the “great great great grandson of slave” to be able to sing in manner that is RnB. Absolute gibberish! Audius Mtawarira has created a name for himself in Australia but speaks fluent Shona. Justine Timberlake and Eminen are as white as they come to mention but a few.

For the record, I love Leonard Dembo, Admire Kasenga, Pengaudzoke, Tuku, Mukanya and Cephas Mashakada for the music that they play or played and have never wished that they started singing Urban Grooves. It may also be unfair that comparisons are made between the Urban Groovers and these seasoned players who are old enough to be grandfathers to some of the Urban Groovers. Never mind that some of these music gurus have only started to enjoy relatively good returns late in their lives, which comes from a lifetime of investment in their carriers.

Contrary to what Musavengana thinks, Roqui doesn’t need to sing like R. Kelly to be accepted. He just needs to sing like Rocqui in Shona, Ndebele or English because he cannot run away from the person he is period. That is his selling point if serious business people an exploit this for a world wide audience. That is the point right there that makes him and his ilk sing in their own manner which marks uniqueness to R Kelly singing. Its a fine line and unfortunately, I don’t expect the likes of Musavengena to see it. For starters I don’t think he/she likes Urban Grooves so the best he/she can do is dismiss. That’s expected. Laggards like him/her are best left to their own devices.

I hope he is not suggesting that if Urban Groovers start singing what he suggests, then they will start selling more records. Believe me, Roqui, XQ , RoynRoyce, Sanni etc , are as bad as they come. Give them one good chance in different market such as in the Western World assuming there was someone willing to make such as investment, Musavengana would be singing from a different hymn book. There is no question that a of host Urban Groovers are extremely talented.

The quality of the music is good if not superb and requires professional management and marketing. Whilst many people may not like the way the young people like Maskiri carry themselves around, what is without question is the fact that he is talented. Good management is a prerequisite for success but it is equally important that these new artists are able to manage their success and celebrity status, otherwise they will end up suffering the fate of the likes of Brenda Fassie or TK of South Africa.

The only reason in my mind why the young but talented artists are not yet being recognised is simple. It is the economic hardships, stupid!!.

This has eroded the buying power of most Zimbabwean citizens. But more importantly, the Urban Grooves has popular appeal to the young, who in Zimbabwe have little if any buying power compared to their counterparts in the Western world. Never mind the unemployment rate is at 80%. They are not competing for the traditional Sungura/Museve market which is most likely not going to buy their music anyway because like Musavengana, they dismiss them as clones of the western world and yet this market is the one with the means.

Hence the popularity of the Urban Grooves is not matched with record sales or attendance. This is not difficult to see. It is also not difficult to see that if the Urban Groovers hold free concert as what happened at the Youth Freedom Hangout in Harare at Avondale Shopping Centre as many as 30 000 young people without the money to pay for entertainment are the ones who turn out in these large number. To Musavengana this is a hard mathematical equation. Assuming the youth had the means to pay competitive prices, these huge turn outs can equally turn into a huge dividend.

I also hope Musavengana does not expect that the Urban Groovers can start selling millions of records in other markets before they have actually conquered their own market unless someone is willing to massively invest in what I personally see as sellable product. As their own key market matures along with the music that they like, it is not unfathomable that the status of their superstars will be enhanced as dot.com-generation begins to fend for itself in Zimbabwe. This is exactly what has happened to those musicians that are a commercial success in Zimbabwe now.

Its easy for the promoters to cry foul when they don’t realise any returns, but they have to also recognise that need to nurture the massive talent there is in Zimbabwe if they entertain any hope of meaningful returns in future and sustaining their business. The traditional Zimbabwe music players are not going to be around forever and yes, this is also a fact!

Personally here in UK, I have tried to get some prominent promoters to engage with the Urban Groovers. The attitude I get is no different from Musavengana’s and yet in my heart of hearts, I know that the Urban Groovers in Zimbabwe are a huge phenomenon that requires a true business person to be able to exploit the talent for the local market and ultimately for the world wide audience.

Isaac Nyambiya is a student and writes from Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. You can e-mail him at: isaacuz@yahoo.com
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