Many may agree that the local music scene has gone through some drastic changes over the past few years.
Drum Beat with Silence Charumbira
Dynamism aside, the demise of the yesteryear heroes like Leonard Dembo, Simon Chopper Chimbetu, James Chimombe, Marshal Munhumumwe, Biggie Tembo and many more has created a vacuum that has been difficult to fill.
Following our inheritance laws and belief systems, it is not surprising that the offspring of the departed have tried to follow in their fathers’ footsteps.
The idea of filling the void poses lots of challenges and compromises the quality of music.
Most will agree they have heard the phrase: “Magitare enyu haachanakidza. Dai kari kare kedu…” (Music nowadays is no longer as good as it was in the past).
And quite true; the majority of the sons and daughters of late musicians have failed to match the prowess of their fathers. Expectations and promises made by consumers and artists respectively have often fallen short.
What is also true is inasmuch as genetics and heredity may mean a musician’s son may also be a musician, talent is not transferable. The day Dembo died all the expertise that he possessed in strumming the lead guitar was buried with him.
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Humankind is resistant or rather afraid of change. We tend to get married to the past, which is why we are disappointed with young Morgan and Tendai Dembo.
They will never be Musorowenyoka Dembo.
Sulumani Chimbetu will never be Chopper, whether we like it or not. The only way out is to let the young artists be themselves. We also cannot expect another Lullabye from Sulu because there is no way he could ever pull that.
Another challenge comes from the fact that most artists do not realise there is more in being different. One of the major attributes to the late musicians’ success was originality.
They had no one to copy from hence they remain larger than life icons even past their lifetime.
This explains why Jah Prayzah has become an instant hit. It explains why Blessing Shumba’s music — as simple as it is in structure — has made him one of the most sought after artists on the land.
Talk of Winky D, Extra Large and even young Freeman of the Joina City fame, they are all different, hence their creative edge is conspicuous.
A classical case would be the Dendera scene where the number of artists keeps swelling.
Sulu is different and many have even written him off because he does not fit into the template that Chopper designed but in all earnest, that is his major strength.
Who would have thought of Dendera with an acoustic guitar?
