Ex-Q: The exquisite urban groover

Standard Style
Enock “Mr Putiti” Munhenga, popularly known as Ex-Q, is a legend and true star. I last saw him performing live at the Nasty C concert held at the Wingate Golf Club in 2018. He was on stage as the support act at the concert.

Enock “Mr Putiti” Munhenga, popularly known as Ex-Q, is a legend and true star. I last saw him performing live at the Nasty C concert held at the Wingate Golf Club in 2018. He was on stage as the support act at the concert.

in the groove:with Fred Zindi

Two of his accompanying dancers wore a beard, just like him. I am not sure whether wearing a beard and ripped jeans was part of their fashion statement, but they gave a polished act. This concert was my first introduction to Ex-Q as a live performer and I was blown away. I actually felt like I was there on stage with him as he belted out Musalala, Musikanzwa, Tezvara Varamba, Nhema, Mazirudo and Tsvigiri. I screamed, sang out loud to the songs that I knew a few lyrics to, cried and did everything expected from a fan. Mr Putiti put on a real show from the vocals to the dancing to the pyrotechnics and the overall theatrics.

He paved the way for King 98 and Nasty C, who incorporated hip-hop and rap to the urban grooves movement. Ex-Q had his own unique style of stage movement which was very impressive. If you have seen many of our current rap artistes and Zimdancehall entertainers put on a show today, you would agree with me that this is where they picked up the craft from.

Last year in April, I attended the Pato Ranking show at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) where Ex-Q was one of the supporting acts. I missed his performance by about 10 minutes as I got to the venue rather late, but the people who had watched him perform told me that he and the Military Touch Movement had delivered stellar performances.

Ex-Q’s music speaks to the soul of the people of Zimbabwe enabling them to understand the importance of place and culture in their lives. His exquisite and tender voice, coupled with his innovative approach to urban grooves and Zimdancehall music, has created a sound that has reached the essential core of listeners alerting them to the beauty of this land and our place within it.

Although I had not seen him live on stage until 2018, I had been following the EX-Q story from as early as 2000.

In 2005, I was booked at the Cardoso Hotel in Maputo with Oliver Mtukudzi. I went into Tuku’s room to check on what he was up to. Tuku told me that he was busy working on a new collaboration song he and EX-Q were putting together. It was titled Pane Rudo. I remarked jokingly: “So you are also getting into urban grooves? I wouldn’t be surprised if you also got into Zimdancehall. Soon you will have empty beer cans and other missiles thrown at you by some crazy Zimdancehall fans.” Tuku’s response was: “There are no limits to music. Music is music and this is one way I see myself as supporting and encouraging these youngsters to be proud of their music careers. If the fans want to throw stones at mudhara (the old man) for doing so, then let it be!”

We have since heard many collaborations Ex-Q has done with other artistes such as Wakatemba with Tocky Vibes, Expandables with Extra Large and Nhema with Killer T. He has also done several albums on his own. These include Exquisite (not sure whether this is where the name Ex-Q came from), Love is My Religion and Tseu Tseu.

Some of these works have earned Ex-Q national and international acclaim. These have found him touring countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Australia, China and the United Kingdom. I am told that he gave spectacular performances in all these countries.

In 2005, Ex-Q received a National Arts Merit Award (NAMA) in the Best Video category. He also received a series of ZIMA awards in 2014 and in 2018.

According to Ex-Q, he came up with the idea of forming Jah Prayzah’s Military Touch Movement. “At first, Jah Prayzah was not keen on the idea although he already had the infrastructure for such a formation. He had a studio and other facilities which made it possible for him to support other groups. He eventually succumbed to the idea. That brought guys like Nutty O, Andy Muridzo, Tahle We Dzinza and myself on board. We roped in DJ Tamuka as our producer and conducted a few recordings. However, there were a few misunderstandings when Jah Prayzah wanted to bring in contracts. I eventually quit. We are still very good friends, but are working separately now. That is the business,” he quipped.

Just like Winky D, Ex-Q hails from Kambuzuma in Harare. He is a year older than Winky D, but they are from the same neighbourhood. (Winky D was born on February 1, 1983 while Ex-Q was born on January 11, 1982). He attended both primary and secondary schools in Kambuzuma. He started music aged 14 in 1996 and has not looked back since as his musical groove keeps growing from strength to strength.

Like many a musician with hordes of fans, romance and relationships become very complex. Controversies arise in such situations. Without going into detail, Ex-Q says he has had a few ups and downs in relationships as he was growing up as a musician. He is divorced from his first wife with whom they have two children, Trey, aged 14, and Tiara, now aged 10. He is currently married to Mandisa, a counselling psychologist who is very supportive of his musical career.

I asked Ex-Q what his plans for the future are and this is what he told me: “This Covid-19 has put us and other musicians in a dilemma. We have had no shows for a long time and music is a full-time job for me. We only managed to perform once two weeks ago since April. We gave a performance at the United Nations’ 75th Anniversary celebrations. In a way, we are grounded until this coronavirus has disappeared. We have tried online performances, but these give you peanuts!”

I asked him to explain to me the meanings behind Mr Putiti and Tseu Tseu, which are titles to his songs. He was kind of vague in his explanations. He said that it was guys in the studio who came up with such titles. Some said that Tseu Tseu sounded Chinese and others just argued that it was a Shona word. “As for Mr Putiti, a lot of people think that there are sexual connotations to that title. A lot of fans now call me Mr Putiti. Some say ‘Put it in”, others simply say ‘Put it there’, but we left it to the fans to interpret it the way they wanted.”

Since the rise of urban grooves recordings with Delani Makhalima as the main producer, Ex-Q found himself in that fold and decided to make music an integral part of his career. Any comprehensive account of the history of Ex-Q over the last 20 years requires at least some understanding of how music fits into the picture. While it is certainly important to include into the picture the music of other urban groovers such as Rocqui, Extra Large, Mafrik, Stunner, Sniper Storm, 2BG, Plaxedes WeNyika, Betty Makaya, Roy and Royce, Decibel, David Chifunyise, Leonard Mapfumo, Saani Makhalima, Maskiri and Tehn Diamond, Ex-Q remains exquisite as he progresses with time.

It must be noted that many of these artistes have gone under leaving only those who have taken their art seriously to survive. Ex-Q comes within that range.

He has taken his music seriously and it has made him live a reasonably comfortable life. Music journalists, musicologists, music theorists and ethnomusicologists are finding it hard to ignore this rising star and very soon Ex-Q will be a household name and an international music and cultural icon. We hope that the new curriculum in our schools, universities and colleges of music in Zimbabwe will add to the names of those musicologists being studied such as Tchaikovsky, Haydin, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Schoenberg local names like Ex-Q, Jah Prayzah, Winky D and Alick Macheso.

When studying popular music, scholars address a number of issues that deepen our understanding of the music and the variety of contexts in which it figures. Ex-Q remains relevant and vibrant. He has a bright future.

l Feedback: [email protected]