BY DR TONY MICHEL MONDA
Unique and vivacious, Zimbabwean songstress, Anita Jaxson engages us with her smooth blend of hybridized soul.
The sunshine in her voice, with its warm rays of clear, sparkling notes has the buoyant, bouncy feel of a Caribbean Island Calypso, the syncopation of Old School Funk music and the infectious reverberation of Reggae Dance Hall music.
Her music transports you back in time to the late 1980’s era of the funky, bubbly sounds of Evelyn Champaign King, Lisa Stansfield, Gwen Guthrie, Anita Baker, Imagination, and the timeless sing- along appeal of the romantic soul sounds of that era and more recently, the post-2020’s smooth funky sounds of Bruno Mars.
Anita Jaxson’s music is an important example of a new revival of Shona RnB fusion, composed and created by women musicians in Zimbabwe.
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Anita undoubtedly benefited from constant support and encouragement from supportive family who recognised and encouraged her talent at an early age.
She benefited from constant support and encouragement from her parents and immediate family.
Her mother, conscious of her daughter’s nascent talent sought to give her a high profile by entering Anita In a number of talent contests.
Not short of the positive influence of her nurturing family growing up, Jaxson always had a strong interest in music. Greatly inspired by British musician Adele, she began singing at the age of 12 after she joined the school choir in elementary school. She later joined the Carlo Band which was led by JBone, where she continued to express herself eloquently through music.
Endowed with multi talents, Jaxson absorbed various Soul vocal sounds from a very young age, which were perhaps her first impetus of her passion for singing. From a tender age Anita set her sights on honing her vocal skills and song writing, and recorded a series of demo songs s in 2018.
As proof of her prodigious talent, she released her debut album entitled ‘Anita Jaxson’ in 2020 at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic. Her first highly original solo album effectively mixes R&B and hip-hop styling.
The album which proved a popular success among young people of all races soon garnered regional attention- which saw her receive an invitation to perform in Johannesburg South Africa. In 2020, she featured on Poptain’s ‘Duffle bag’, which received critical acclaim for her performance and vocal talent. Her smash single ‘Fire’ with Poptain, also received public endorsement and media interest.
Since then, Anita Jaxson has had several successful singles, including ‘Ndiwe’, the high–energy dance floor, house flavoured ‘High on Your Love’, ‘Numb’, ‘Mercy’ and the reggae inflected ‘Unonzani?- which features Zim dancehall artist – Jah Master.
The eclectic nature and aura of Anita’s music defies strict, rigorous categorisation. Hybrid in nature, her style, persona and vocal delivery is her unique signatory trademark. Her first highly original solo album effectively mixes R&B and Hip-Hop styling.
Anita, who possesses a wide range of talent, is the only female R&B singer on the roster of both Zim rap and Shona hip-hop talent in Zimbabwe. Her naturally cheerful voice and effervescent persona transports her listeners into a feel-good-space.
Typical of a seasoned professional performer, the characteristic rhythmic sway of her body, as she delivers her harmonies and synchronized groove is infectious and makes the audience want to follow suit and dance. Cheerful and chirpy, her ebullient personality is echoed in her vocals. Her emboldened stage presence adds to her public appeal.
In 2018, Anita Jaxson astutely zeroed in on the RnB genre; a largely an untapped field for many local female performers who tend towards producing Shona gospel or Ragga music.For most amateur musicians, Shona when sung in the unusual genre of RnB Soul music presents many problems, concerning the correct intonations and inflections of the language.
However with Anita, who is fluent in Shona and English- the force and nuance of her voice and her natural mastery of language make up for the somewhat synthetic quality of some of the backing instruments in her recordings.
This is a reflection of the strength versatility of her voice.
Should she have orchestral backing, her music would be deservingly richer.
Engaged in the task of refining her performance range, Anita also finds time to lend her talents to several small projects. The talented musician is also the author of a few books and children’s
literature. A fresh voice on the Zimbabwe music scene, Anita Jaxson is part of the next generation of musicians that are changing the country’s music landscape. Given time and the right international exposure, we might soon be reading about Zimbabwe’s Anita Jaxson in US Billboard Adult Contemporary, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stones and other important contemporary music tabloids.
Dr. Tony Michel Monda is an arts, culture and music critic for Gemnation News. He holds a PhD. in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA in Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. He teaches and plays multiple instruments. For Comments E-mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com
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