Letter to Zim Hip Hop

Hie cde, I hope my humble pen finds you in good health or should I say good spirits. We are just emerging out of the long weekend and it is my sincere prediction that your snares graced the speakers of revelers as they enjoyed an extra day off work.

To cut the long story short, I have a short interlude to chew with you if you may spare a moment. I have a few things on my mind or heart I need to share, okay maybe they are just on my fingertips but hear me out!

Firstly, I would like to congratulate you for lasting this long ,many critics and self- proclaimed experts have given you a time limit on numerous occasions but here you are fighting to leave a mark against a plethora of genres, wangu you are strong. I was a bit late to the party, I could not experience King Pinn`s prowess on a first hand basis but believe me when Outspoken dropped Waiting For The Bus ,that record took me to school every morning. Well my point is, I have seen you grow in leaps never mind bounds they are too cliché from the days Stunner used to sample Rihanna`s songs to the days Kapital K gets to freestyle in front of Diddy. Where the journey will take you? I am as curious as you are, but stop at your own peril there is more than just a light at the end of the tunnel, there is a whole world full of possibilities the space needs to be watched.

Hip Hop Artist Sharky at Mellow Creme`s Love and Hip Hop (Image by Leroy Dzenga)

Zim Hip Hop, do you know that you have fans? No I am not talking about kids who pretend to love you unconditionally on their Facebook walls and then release a mixtape when they get the attention of established artists, not those ones. I am not talking about kids who are filling up Whatsapp and Facebook groups pretending to be staunch supporters when low-key they envy those who are at the spotlight. I am referring to the real fans I met, the ones whose playlists are saturated with your sound and nothing else. Ladies who can rap along to songs from GZE, Sinbad to the Incredible mU.You have people who religiously follow you, people who curate your sound better than the bloggers and the artists. Not because they want something in return but because they love you with no restraint. Even though they are few, they defend you daily and speak highly of each and every achievement you have managed to make. One request I have is: Please think of them next time you give us something, please release content they can defend and use for reference when talking about how nice you are. We all know you are.

I would like to commend how you have managed to shake off the stereotype ,from being dismissed as an escapist genre whose people sing about things they have never seen or touched (VAPFANHA VE ZIMHIPHOP PROBLEM YAVO NDEYEKUTI VANOIMBA ZVAVASINA) to giving us content even our parents can vibe to. When you gave us Sharky you really caught us off guard, who would have thought an ethnic politically correct voice would come from your crevices, you! You have tricks. Who would have thought T Gonzi`s Zvenyu would be listened to in the streets of Kuwadzana with the skeptical ghetto yuts chanting “Mpfanha akamhanya uyu”? On this note, I would like to thank you for the Junior Brown Chibuku endorsement, I wonder what the naysayers will say now, back in the day they used to complain that your people are rapping about Ciroc and Hennesy they have never seen now that you are repping a street beverage we wait and see what other damning excuse they will craft. But do not be deterred!

 Female Rapper:Blacperl (Image by Leroy Dzenga)

The females have been coming in their numbers and they are doing pretty well .My favorites are D Blok and Blacperl, not because I know them personally but I admire how they do not use their feminity to sell their music .In a tough industry you would expect people to take shortcuts and use their sex appeal to draw numbers to their sound, but these sisters are being resilient and are waiting in line with everyone. Now that we are here, I cannot help but wonder what the game would look like had the heavens not called Amelia when they did. The women are doing well, although I feel they are still victims of the patriarchal undertones, being a female artist in a male dominated field comes with suspicions of immorality. I sincerely do hope your artists manage to shake that negative imprint off in the few years to come as failure to do so may lead to an inconsistent run up of artists who stop making music because their spouses are against the idea or they feel overgrown to kick it. We have seen Jean Grae, Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot and other female entertainers fall off the gravy train hope we do not create our own localized versions.

I am tired, I could type more but I need to take care of other commitments and I know that your obligations are yearning for your presence. Shall we not deprive them any further .I have a request though, when you do your videos please take your time. Allow yourself to breathe, meditate and visualize if you take your time on visuals you can actually go to places you never thought your sound would take you. I don’t need to remind you what happened with the Mukoko video, yes you are allowed to copy good things and even improve. You have been a letdown as far as videos are concerned, I also would want you to take into cognizance that not every camera owner is a cinematographer. Value your work, do not leave your visual aspect in the hands of inexperienced charlatans. LAST BUT NOT LEAST ,PLEASE DO NOT RUSH TO CREATE ALBUMS WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE A SUCCESFUL SINGLE : AN ALBUM IS LIKE A MUSICAL WORLD CUP,YOU NEED TO QUALIFY THROUGH SINGLES SO THAT WHEN THE CONTENT GETS ON THE STREET PEOPLE WILL CONSUME IT WITHOUT YOU SPAMMING THEIR POSTS OR BEGGING FOR SALES.

I sincerely hope you will find time to write back.

Ndapedza ndini wenyu

Leroy Gurukota Dzenga