BY DR TONY M MONDA
From records to cassettes and Beat Boxes, to CDs, DVDs and now EPS, the Urban Grooves genre and musical movement was a turning point on the turntables of Zimbabwe’s musical history.
The history and early sounds of Zimbabwean Urban Grooves is most meaningful to the reader who has had some acquaintance with its genesis. This article is merely a surface analysis of the music we came to know as Urban Grooves, to illuminate some important aspects in the evolution of this original Zimbabwean urban genre of pop music.
Urban Grooves is essentially a hybridized amalgam of various popular Black music genres. It is informed and influenced by melodies and arrangements typical of R&B, Soul, Funk, Jazz and Rap music.
The content and context of the music however are highly original and reflective of the Zimbabwean urban social milieu. An important quality of this genre is that due to its wholesome content, it appealed to a wide socio demographic- from teenagers to grandparents.
The urban grooves genre of music in Zimbabwe evolved technologically and artistically as a natural departure from the older Zimbabwe music genres and demography of jiti, sungura, kwaito and mbaqanga audiences.
Most older genres of local music which were sung in vernacular languages based on traditional indigenous instrumentation and vocal patterns.
The resultant generational gap between pre-independent and post independent Zimbabwe and between the rural and urban divide, and the new urban social cultural milieu meant that the music of the past had lost its relevance to the young mostly urban based generation of the mid-1990s.
With the advent of computerisation in Zimbabwe came an influx of a new generation of musicians creating digitally generated music.
The musical possibilities and variations intrinsic to digitally recorded music- gave the new young Zimbabwean artists an opportunity to express their sentiments and flaunt their talent. The new technology also enabled the musicians to explore new possibilities in electric sounds through the use of digital keyboards, synthesisers and computer-generated drum machines that introduced a Zimbabwean version of techno-music.
The urban groove genre was created by kindred independent producers with computers and musical instruments in independent home-studios.
Digital music studios were set up in urban homes, mainly in the main city suburbs of Zimbabwe. Young talented artists teamed up with professional record producers to create the new urban grove sound of the mid-1990s, in Zimbabwe. Some of these musicians had rudimentary elements of musical composition, others played guitars and keyboards, but most were self- taught and many had a natural ear for music.
Interestingly, the musicians were not restricted by the cultural cannons of traditional Zimbabwean music nor were harnessed by the use of indigenous language in their lyrics. Many Urban Groove musicians had tertiary education and high literary acumen and some were university graduates.
Many combined local languages with English or contemporary township slang in their lyrics. Whilst mostly secular, some urban grove musicians had originally sung in church choirs, whilst others received some training at the Zimbabwe school of music.
Conventional music recording studios in Zimbabwe became defunct in the 1990s. Due to the lack of foreign currency to import new technology, the quality of reproduction had deteriorated as a result of obsolete recording equipment. Thus, with the advent of new technology the recording studio was no longer the determinant factor for sound quality or responsible for music production and distribution or promotion of the artistes.
It was against a background of socio-economic turmoil and austerity measures in the country with factory closures and unemployment; shortages of essential basic commodities and endless cues, coupled with an unstable currency and new indigenisation policies that Urban Grooves emerged as a sign of hope and a voice of the voiceless youth.
Land reform in the late 1990s witnessed an escalation of socio-economic and racial tensions characterized by violence and migration.
Many working-class people were rendered jobless. This resulted in a mass urban migration to townships, suburbs and cities in search of safety and employment. Many indigenous Zimbabwean families emigrated to South Africa, Botswana, UK, Australia, the Americas and Europe.
As a result, Themes of distant love, economic migration, broken homes, prohibited love, obsessive love, escape, uncertainty and commitment, economic imbalances, individualism, and even the shortages essential commodities occur and re-occur in the lyrics of Urban grooves.
Although some urban groove musicians were one hit wonders, many made a career for themselves and are still performing today. Amongst them perhaps 30 or so stood out and created the historically relevant and danceable sound of their times.
Compared to other musical genres, urban grooves sparked the introduction of more female pop musicians, in Zimbabwe than ever before – each with their own unique voice and style. Some of these gifted female Urban Grooves musicians included: Betty Makaya, Tererai Mugwadi, Ammara Brown, Diana Samkange, Pauline Gunduza, Cynthia Mare, Vanessa Sibanda, Sku, Portia ‘Tia’ Njazi, Plaxedes Wenyika, Patience Musa, Sharon Kahvu Jacquie Madondo, Cindy Munyavi and Jean Masters.
Male artists of this genre included: Roquie (Rockford Josphat), Leonard Mapfumo, Trevor Dongo, Roy and Royce, Decibel, Maskiri, Nox, Alexio Kawara, Sani Makhalima, Jamal Mataure, Dino Mudodondo, Ngoni Kambarami, ExQ, Stunner, Extra Large, MaDiz, Pastor G, and the Groups Chamembe, 2BG, Prince Tendai Mupfurutsa, an initial proponent of urban grooves in the early 1990s, had introduced Barbed Wire Music, a precursor to urban groove music, whilst Alex Goho and Raider, Fortune Muparutsa and The Runn family counted amongst the initial musicians of this era each with their unique funky soul–inspired music sung in English.
Urban grooves music was an economically orphaned genre of Zimbabwean music, responsible for its own genesis, growth, success and popularity. It was the first independently produced Zimbabwean genre of pop music by relatively young indigenous producers and artists, relevant to their needs, times and epoch.
From Roquie’s eclectic soulful rhythms’, Decibels funky electro rock Shona groves, to Extra Large’s humorous and satirical ghetto lyrics, Tererai Mugwadi’s heartfelt sopranos, Alexio Kawara’s romantic Shona ballads, Trevor Dongo’s Shona Neo-soul, Stunners contemporary Shona Rap and Betty Makaya and Praxedes Wenyika’s memorable soulful love ballads, Zimbabwe Urban Grooves music still provides a variety of melodies that are inspired, wholesome, engaging and timeless.
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. For Comments E-mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com
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