When 23-year-old rapper/songwriter Tinashe Gonzara aka Ti Gonzi rhymes, his lyrical content depicts an outspoken young man with no feeling of restraint whatsoever.
Kennedy Nyavaya
The self-styled freestyle rap sensation who has for long carried the “bad boy” label on his back does not only express his utter thoughts but just has a way to make one pay attention when he is at it.
The singer behind last year’s Hip Hop anthem Zvenyu who recently launched his debut 22-track album titled Hipu Hopu Yekughetto, which is laden with constructive messages, told The Standard Style on Wednesday that his craft is misunderstood by many thus the bad mouthing.
“The problem is that when people define or narrate what we (rappers) do, they think that we represent ourselves as artistes but Hip Hop music is poetry and as poets we come in personas,” he explained adding that his ultimate goal is entertaining his audience.
“At the end of the day saying someone is a bad influence does not make any sense because I do not do music for message but rather to entertain the people.”
Growing up in a high density suburb setting, Ti Gonzi claims that his inspiration is drawn from the past, present and future endeavors he sees or feels daily in his environs.
“What I see, what I hear is what inspires me and basically I can say life inspires me to write all those tracks plus the music that I make depends on the mood,” he said.
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Once viewed as an uptown genre, Ti Gonzi has so far established pole position with hard-hitting vernacular lyrics which touch on sensitive socio-economic issues to religion, in what he views as a way to amplify suppressed voices in the community.
“I believe that in life there are different jobs so as a musician and a sphere of influence I portray show how we think as a majority and I feel like if do not do it no one else will so I represent the people as I say their thoughts out loud,” said Ti Gonzi.
He has so far bagged a number of awards with last year marking his peak when he walked away with three accolades at the annual Zim Hip Hop awards.
His short stint as a professional recording artist has so far yielded fruitful results but he insists that his new album is a major turnaround.
“I define Hipu Hopu Yekughetto as my whole life because this is the music that I have been writing for the past years, some of them were not released as I was waiting to release them when the marketing strategy gets better,” he said.
He also believes the new project proves a point that he is in the game to stay as opposed to speculations by critics that he is a one-hit wonder.
Although Ti Gonzi’s rising star has been marred by controversies and beefs with other rappers, he is confident that he is the “savoir” of the genre in the country and that he is destined for more triumph.
“I just want people to understand who I am as a person and I cannot continue speaking (but) I believe I am the savior of Zim Hip Hop eve some artistes who are against us should just support us as we represent them,” he boasted.
Local Hip Hop is ostensibly gaining momentum establishing a well-represented culture which is inclusive among all communities as opposed to the past where it attracted a few elite individuals or mere wannabes.
This has seen the rise of big names like Tehn Diamond, Junior Brown, Stunner and Bulawayo-based Cal_Vin among many others who have significant followership countrywide.
