Our review this week is on one artist who really has changed the face of Zimbabwean dancehall music, Wallace Chirumiko popularly known as Winky D. He was born in Zimbabwe on 1 February 1983 in Harare’s Kambuzuma.
Winky D is a conscientious social vocalist, a storyteller who speaks about the everyday life in the ghetto, the ordinary that we see as a norm from afar. But there is nothing ordinary about it.

At the age of eight, Winky D was a devout collector of ragga audio tapes and vinyls. At the age of 16 he gave his first performance at the Ghetto Lane Clashes which were and still are DJ battles that showcase the best of talented and emerging Djs. It is in these battles that Winky’s nimbleness in ‘scratching vinyls’ that earned him the name Wicked Deejay hereto Winky D. At the Ghetto Lane Clashes, he competed against some of Zimbabwe’s most prolific Djs of ragga, from Alkebulani, New Generation, Shocking Vibes and Delta Force to mention but a few.
As with all artistic forms of expression, the evolution of local ragga was inevitable and what was known locally as ragga had been progressively taking a new shape to an extent that it was seen to be on a “on a downward spiral” to near extinction (The Sunday Mail, May 2-8, 2010). The natural progression to reggae – dancehall genre put Winky on a path of stardom that is so far uncontested in the African continent in this genre of music. Wink D’s lyrics took the rigour of local vernacular mixed with ghetto slang and carved out a unique place for his music and its audience. English had become too much a general tool, inept and lacked the insight to translate and convey the message in a manner that resonates with the crowd. Winky D’s unique ghetto approach to afro-centric ideals and realism, although positive, gave reggae-dancehall a thuggish – rude boy in the hood tune that struck the right chord with the masses. It became a common trait in his music and among his detractors, revolutionising ragga to the current reggae-dancehall genre. The spat he had with his archrivals; Badman and Daddy Distress all shared a common stage in this revolution. And his spat with the lot, whilst innocent, is evidence of that thuggish and abrasive attitude that we often see in ghetto boys.
Winky D is characteristically a social advocate who vocalises his beliefs in social justice through his music. Born in the ghetto himself, his lyrics tell of his own experience and of his community. Winky D’s music speaks of human toil in the ghetto and failed socio-economic systems that perpetuate social injustice even further. In the lyrics of “Dem Nah Care” single he says “them don’t even care if we’re live or die…they don’t care if we smile or we cry…Them never care we go for days without a meal…But know we strong we no thief we never steal… For more than 20years my mother work in the fields to bring the best for the family that was the deal…No electricity but still we pay the bill…We can’t afford to buy no basic commodity coz nothing here is basic…everything is luxury”. To him, the ghetto is a living creature that preys on souls, the downtrodden who must have an exceptional will to survive, least perseverance – unlike the average and well-to-do urban elite.


source: http://www.last.fm/music/Winky+D/+wiki

Alick Macheso Profile Review

We review this week’s artist,Alick Macheso dubbed the king of sungura music most probably because of his magnificent guitar skills. Macheso was born in 1968 in Shamva, 90 kilometres to the north of Harare, to parents of Malawian origin - a fact that was to inspire him to be able to speak and sing in five languages - Shona, Chichewa, Sena, Venda and Lingala. Growing on a farm, especially before Zimbabwe's Independence from Britain in 1980, the environment did not offer him many opportunities. In 1983, at the youthful age of 15, he left the farm compounds of Shamva to head for the dizzy lights of Harare

Macheso came onto the scene in 1998, with his debut album Magariro. However,the album didn’t receive much recognition, the following year he was to release Vakiridzo. Similarly, the response was not too good and in the next year he released Simbaradzo.

Simbaradzo was the turning point is his career,the most noticeable songs were Mundikumbuke and Mai Rubhi, which remain national chants even to this date. He became a phenomenon that the music industry had been waiting for. Zvakanaka Zvakadaro, followed as his next album and it heavily confirmed his position as a guru in the Zimbabwean music industry.

The multi taleneted macheso also was the pioneer of the dance commonly known as ‘mseve’.He can dance, sing and play the guitar - a rare combination of skills among musicians. He is an entertainer par-excellence. Besides such a pile of talent, Macheso does his own song-writing.

Zvakanaka Zvakadaro was followed, in 2003, by Zvido Zvenyu Kunyanya, yet another confirmation that Macheso had not only arrived on the Zimbabwean music scene, but that he was determined to stay there for as long as possible. It is only a question of time before Macheso becomes the first Zimbabwean musician to sell a million copies of his music. And that should be very fitting for a musician of his stature.
more about Macheso can be found on his website www.alickmacheso.com

Our review next week will be on one artist who really has changed the face of Zimbabwean dancehall music,Winky D

We review this week’s artist,Alick Macheso dubbed the king of sungura music most probably because of his magnificent guitar skills. Macheso was born in 1968 in Shamva, 90 kilometres to the north of Harare, to parents of Malawian origin - a fact that was to inspire him to be able to speak and sing in five languages - Shona, Chichewa, Sena, Venda and Lingala. Growing on a farm, especially before Zimbabwe's Independence from Britain in 1980, the environment did not offer him many opportunities. In 1983, at the youthful age of 15, he left the farm compounds of Shamva to head for the dizzy lights of Harare

Macheso came onto the scene in 1998, with his debut album Magariro. However,the album didn’t receive much recognition, the following year he was to release Vakiridzo. Similarly, the response was not too good and in the next year he released Simbaradzo.

Simbaradzo was the turning point is his career,the most noticeable songs were Mundikumbuke and Mai Rubhi, which remain national chants even to this date. He became a phenomenon that the music industry had been waiting for. Zvakanaka Zvakadaro, followed as his next album and it heavily confirmed his position as a guru in the Zimbabwean music industry.

The multi taleneted macheso also was the pioneer of the dance commonly known as ‘mseve’.He can dance, sing and play the guitar - a rare combination of skills among musicians. He is an entertainer par-excellence. Besides such a pile of talent, Macheso does his own song-writing.

Zvakanaka Zvakadaro was followed, in 2003, by Zvido Zvenyu Kunyanya, yet another confirmation that Macheso had not only arrived on the Zimbabwean music scene, but that he was determined to stay there for as long as possible. It is only a question of time before Macheso becomes the first Zimbabwean musician to sell a million copies of his music. And that should be very fitting for a musician of his stature.
more about Macheso can be found on his website www.alickmacheso.com

Our review next week will be on one artist who really has changed the face of Zimbabwean dancehall music,Winky D

Overview of the Zimbabwean Music

The Zimbabwean music industry is rapidly growing and such should be noticed as we have to compete with the South African and Nigerian industries that have made a mark in Africa and internationally.

We also witnessed recently the launch of star FM a new radio station that is also geared to capture the hearts of the young and old Zimbabweans through music.

This week I will dwell mainly on factors I think are necessary for our Zimbabwean music to reach international level, we have artists likeMetaphysiscs,AudiusMutawarira and cam just to mention a few who have managed to play on the international scene.

Good music revolves around a proper instrumental, good rhyming lyrics and an excellent video. With the ability to combine all these elements there is no doubt that Zim music would takeover as Africa’s number one.

It would be great to see our local artists collaborating with ‘international stars’ like what the Nigerian duo P Square is doing. This would also make our artists internationally recognised because the hive of international music seems to the United States of America.

In Zimbabwe there are quite a number of genres including; Urban grooves, Kwaito, Rhythm n Blues,Hiphop,Gospel,Pop, Sungura,Traditional (mbira) music.

We also have the NAMA awards which are the major national music awards, the categories in these awards include mainly – Outstanding music video,

Outstanding Screen production,

Outstanding dance group,

Outstanding mixed media work,

Outstanding theatrical production,

Outstanding three dimensional work, and

Out standing arts reporter.

There is need for more categories and consistency in these awards, for the past years the NAMA haven’t drawn much hype like the South African Music Awards do.Therefore,these are some of the sectors in the Zimbabwean music industry which also need to be revised to help put our artists on the international map.