By Kennedy Nyavaya
Each year, musicians worth a mention in Zimbabwe make it a point to release music towards the festive season to take advantage of accompanying party mood in which song and dance take centre stage.
This year is no different although the new normal under Covid-19 pandemic restrictions appears to have played a great part when it comes to the timing of most music releases.
The battle for the “Christmas” song is on, fully fledged and well established musicians are virtually at each other’s throats in the tightly contested clash. A dog-eat-dog affair
The past week has proved in so many ways how music plays a major role in local festivities. Needless to say when music giants Jah Prayzah and Winky D randomly release music, which they usually do almost the same time nowadays, debate about even the slightest thing in relation to them arises.
The releases of JP’s Porovhoka and the Gaffa’s Reply or Reggae M’sambo a few days apart last week could have ultimately disrupted ongoing conversations about what will be in people’s playlists or on the repeat button over the holidays. There just will not be conclusions on who is better than the other and that is the ugly beauty of diversity.
Not even families can agree as has been proven by the Chimbetu clan where uncle and nephews Allan, Sulumani and Tryson have all released music in the past weeks, a reality that could temporarily split the clan.
Individually they will each be hoping that either of their works reigns supreme but the jury is still out and only fans can determine.
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What about the forgotten lockdown hits?
However, as the battle to find out whose music will be on rotation this week, in the build-up to December 25 and all the way up to year end, some musicians who hogged the limelight during the lockdown are starting to grapple with the idea of falling into the abyss.
The contribution of chanters Jah Master, Van Choga and Poptain, among others who made music that made life bearable as the global outbreak gripped all spheres of life, may momentarily be forgotten in the “Christmas song” craze owing to the influx of new music particularly from the old guard.
But, whether or not they miss the days they were leading the pack is less important now than the fact that they should have kept some of that magic for the period we are in.
Not only is having one banger for this jovial time of the year a big deal, it has proved to help musicians stay relevant in the following year. The final verdict
Eventually, the reality is that no one can pick unreservedly the best Christmas song or one that will be played the most because that is an absolute fallacy.
People have a wide-ranging variety of music. This is why disc jockeying is even a job because people need certain kinds of rhythms at different junctures of an event.
Be it any song from Winky D’s Trilogy, Jah Prayzah’s Porovhoka, Zuro Ndizuro from the sungura maestro Alick Macheso or the Chimbetus, all that matters is letting the music play because after all everyone must have a great time and music plays a key role in that.
