The album entitled Shasha Dzengoma is a product of the group Super Magamba which consists of lyricist Tarambanapo and singer Mushumi as well as featured artists such as Sabeta. Speaking to independentextra on his promotional tour of the album the South African based Sabeta said that the album was created to pay tribute to the greats of Zimbabwean music.“We decided to come up with our own interpretation of the classic Zimbabwean songs of days gone by as a way of giving tribute to the musical greats who have gone before us.”“We took the original tracks and laid them over R&B, hip hop and dance beats that can be bumped in any night-club or urban radio station. We know that anyone who grew up listening to radio from 1980 onwards will remember these songs — but not like this!” This was also done, according to Sabeta, as way of showing the enduring power of these songs as well as to “upgrade” them to the 21st century.“We are very much aware that there now exists an African hip hop generation which is very much disenfranchised from our musical legacy. This is our way of connecting them with their roots and helping them appreciate the talents of their predecessors. According to Sabeta the album consists mainly of dance tracks whose style can be paralleled to that of the Black Eyed Peas.The lead single is a redone version of the song Nyama Yekugocha which Sabeta rather ambitiously insists will become the national anthem for all Zimbabweans, whether at soccer or other sports games such as soccer, as well as on radio and in the clubs. It however seems to have lost its “soul” in its metamorphosis into a dance track. The other tracks include Chachimurenga, where lyricist Tarambanapo spits a plaintive about how colonialism came to Zimbabwe, and a remix of John Chibadura’s Zuva Rekufa Kwangu along with Leonard Zhakata’s Mugove, Soweto, Lovemore Majaivana’s Ngivulele and Paul Matavire’s Tanga Wandida.The album is now available in all leading record stores. Fans can also become friends with Shingirayi Sabeta on Facebook to sample the tracks and view the video.
Ngoni Muzofa
