The interface of music and politics : exposition of Tongai Moyo and Hosiah Chipanga's post 2000 music

Abstract

The research is an Afrocentric engagement that analyses selected songs by Tongai Moyo and Hosiah Chipanga in post-independence Zimbabwe. The study is informed by Afrocentricity, which provides the theoretical anchorage to the exposition and elucidation of the pursuit for independence, liberation and freedom of Zimbabweans in the post-independence era. The study analyses selected sungura songs composed and sung by Hosiah Chipanga and Tongai Moyo in post-2000 era. The study indicates that post-independence Zimbabwe of 2000 to 2010 reflects a decade of crisis. The exposition unfolds through a critical exegesis of selected songs by these sungura artists. The two sungura musicians are among the leading musical voices in Zimbabwe. The study is largely qualitative in nature and used interviews and questionnaires to solicit information from research participants. Respondents comprise musicians, music producers and academics in the Zimbabwe. The study stimulates more interest and research in sungura music as well as illuminating the significance of their messages to ongoing debates on the Zimbabwean crisis/crises thereby establishing the relationship between music and politics. This position is made against the backdrop of their commitment and courageous efforts by such protest musicians to comment on ‘big’ political and economic issues seriously affecting the performance of Zimbabwean economy. The study also establishes that cronyism, patronage and corruption have become major industries of the day in Africa. Through fighting for the voiceless masses, the study argues that Zimbabwe is faced by the crisis of governance and the nation has taken the medals of humiliating its own people. Pertaining to the leadership crisis in Zimbabwe, the study also shows that musicians who include Hosiah Chipanga and Tongai Moyo insinuate that the deep seated Zimbabwean challenges are a manifestation of a nation that is parentless. In their protest music, the artists reiterate that poverty, hunger, diseases and other forms of sufferings that the country encountered and continue to face are a sign of a country that is an orphan implying the dearth of people centred leadership. Additionally, findings from the study show that the land issue is one of the commonly identified factors that are ascribed to partial independence in Zimbabwe translating into crisis. The land question invited attention from Hosiah Chipanga as reflected in his post-2000 music where he suggests that Zimbabweans were to a larger extent betrayed by ZANU (PF) leadership.