I know it might be too soon for a write up on Oliver Mtukudzi but I just wanted to commemorate his life & his music the best way I knew how.
For me, it is clear Tuku was more than just music, he embodied everything that Zimbabweans had left behind for England. Between Tukus music and finding Iwisa in ASDA, Zimbabweans clenched onto any piece of home they could. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know there are many moments I remember growing up in England that Tuku brought the sun with him.
Are you even Zim UK diaspora if you didn’t attend at least one Tuku show in Stratford? The venue was not brilliant and it was never cheap but without fail we all came out in floods, waiting for our greatest musical treasure to hit the stage. I was probably too young to be in that club but looking back on it, it was worth the risk. I’m sure your mums and dads dressed up, rallied the crews and headed straight to Stratford ready to groove to BVUMA WASAKARA of course!
Now music is associated with a lot of things but every baby shower, kitchen tea, birthday or lobola was graced by the staples including PINDURAI MAMBOand TOZEZA BABA . Were you even at the party if you didn’t jump into the circle on time for the Ah! Ah! Ah! in MUTSERENDENDE?
I’m 27 (ndasakara-I’m old) now and I have lived the majority of my childhood listening to Oliver Mtukudzi associating his music with the happiest and the saddest moments of my life.
When my friends graduated at Brunel University, we sang TOTUTUMA as if we were backing vocalists of The Black Spirits. How can you resist singing “Nhasi ndezvedu, ita makorokoto wedu wadadisa”💃🏽 And even on the other side after ‘kubata maoko’ (a wake) top 3 songs that eased in the drinking and celebratory aspect was always TODII reminding everyone that “kuseri kweguva hakuna munamato varume!”
His music was beyond just a good beat filled with memories it was a reminder of being Zimbabwean, the issues we faced as men and women and the way we were raised. TAPINWA NEI speaks on molestation in the homes and the fear of speaking out on it, an unspoken issue that goes beyond Zimbabweans but Africans as a whole. HANDIENDE is an all too familiar conversation of a woman who despite the circumstances refuses to leave her matrimonial home for the sake of her kids. TSIKA DZEDU quite literally speaks about the way you were raised and your mannerism as a Zimbabwean which is all you have when you’re trying to maneuver in a foreign country with nothing but the hope of returning home one day.
The number of times my mother has told me off when I’m asking questions that have nothing to do with me, mind your business was always “Zvimwe hazvivudzwe”. Please let’s not even get into KUNZE KWADOKA because my mum will read this but let’s just say coming home late at night, alone, as a girl is not a thing, here or in Zim!
I could go on about how different songs were used throughout my upbringing in the diaspora (UK) to remind me of who I am and where I am from but it’s obvious. The upkeep of my mother tongue and exposure to life lessons that are beyond my environment were through his music. His music was filled with lessons, joy, sadness and politics.
Zimbabwean music has grown and changed since Tuku first came out and now we have younger musicians who are telling a different story, a different Zimbabwe one our mothers and fathers over here are no longer familiar with but clench onto regardless for a piece of home. My aunt once told me “Mwana wamambo, muranda kumwe” I guess it didn’t mean much to me then as it does now.
I always knew my mother was homesick when she was playing Oliver Mtukudzi. There would be sadza on the stove, mufusha on the go and a story of the Zimbabwe she once remembered. The current state of my home country dims the light of our parents of ever returning to the homes they have spent so much money maintaining.
However, somewhere in that small light is where Tuku stands nostalgic, wise and hopeful. His music will live forever and his words will continue being symphonies that ring true to every Zimbabwean, no matter where they are in the world.
“Ramangwana harirongerwe, chimwe nechimwe chinenguva yacho. chisinga pere chinoshura”
RIP Oliver Mtukudzi 23/01/2019
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