BY MUNHU MUTAPA
Who Will Remember Our Arts Heroes?
In 1996, when Leonard Dembo the musician passed on, l was a newly recruited district clerk at Chaka (Mvuma) District Development Fund. I heard the news of his passing at Chaka township shops through the radio broadcast, with some disbelief. I could not believe that of all the people ‘ mukoma’ Dembo has gone forever. Amongst my favourite musicians, in the late 80s till to date are, the late Mukoma Oliver Tuku Mtukudzi, Leonard Dembo and Jonah Moyo of the famous Devera Ngwena Jazz Band.
When brother Dembo was buried at Mhere Village (Chaka) cemetery, near his homestead, every shop at Chaka Business Centre was playing his music.
It took the whole month after his burial that shops could not stop playing his music as an honor and sorrow that their icon had gone.
Till today they are shops at Chaka that strictly play his music, 80 % of their play is reserved for him.
Recently, I visited his final resting place around midday and my friend took some photos of me at his graveside. Although he is not a good photographer, l appreciated the shots he took.
It took me all those years before l could visit Mukoma Dembo’s tomb, because l was in denial. I could talk with friends about his good music and why he died young, my best musician of all time, why not another stoner and why him? That kind of thinking made me dislike visiting his final resting place.
So now in my country of Zimbabwe, people in arts and sports are quickly forgotten. Their music can stop being played whilst some are alive, like Mukoma Jonah Moyo, Thomas Mapfumo, Nicholas Zakaria, Leonard Zhakata, Hosea Chipanga, the Zig Zag Band etc.
If you listen to their music at the moment, you wonder why their music is being archived not to be heard again. If you don’t visit You Tube and other social media outlets you will never hear their voices again.
Our latter day DJs and their employers are not taking us the old school generation seriously. They are also burying us and our history whilst we are alive. They don’t care about us.
Since when did you last hear those mentioned above musicians’ music aired on our many dotted around, spineless and out of touch radio stations. Almost every province has two or three radio stations.
They rarely play the old music from yester year musicians, that is the sorry state of the radio in Zimbabwe. They all play Amapiano and Zimdancehall music only. I don’t hate the two types of music. In my phone l have music from Winky D, Killer T, Tocky Vibes, Baba Harare, Sauro mwana wa Stembeni, DJs Tariqo, Ganyani, Amaphorisa etc.
We are old school but we listen to these new genres. So why do these radio stations do not cater for us our old genres? You mean our musicians from our days were not smart enough? Listen to Oliver Mtukudzi’ s 1980 hit, Nyika Yedu YeZimbabwe, Chimusoro, Tozeza Baba, Devera Ngwena’ s Solo na Mutsai, Taxi Driver, Gremma wepamoyo, Mapfumo’s Pfumvu Paruzevha, Mugarandega, Zhakata’s Moona Kunaka Kwangu Ndisisipo, System Tazvida’s Ndaida Kuti Usvetuke Gomba Iro and Magobo.
These are master classes and who in his right sense can avoid such nice music. On Mukoma Dembo try to listen to all his first single Venenzia and to his last album, Ndiri Mudiki, then you will wonder why God took him so early.
To newly licensed radio stations, please up the game (pfekai masokisi). You need to be original, you need to have a mixed bag of music, you need to compare, in South Africa, half of the stations are dedicated to their fallen musicians, the likes of Ray Phiri, Peta Teanet, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Brenda Fassie, Danny Tshanda, Mahlatini, Patricia Majalisa, Sipho Makhabane etc.
So, why not in Zimbabwe, please lest we forget our yester year’ heroes. If you tune on to our local radio stations 75% of their content is South African current affairs. You might think you are in Thohoyandou, Malamulele or Bophuthatswana. Local is lekker guys.
Let’s be more adventurous and taste this old music again. You can’t build a business to cater for a single generation, please. We are also here and we need to be entertained too.
