Thomas Mapfumo
Encyclopedia
Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo (born 1945) is a Zimbabwean musician known as "The Lion of Zimbabwe" and "Mukanya" for his immense popularity and for the political influence he wields through his music, including his sharp criticism of the government of President Robert Mugabe
. He both created and made popular Chimurenga music
and his slow-moving style and distinctive voice is instantly recognizable to Zimbabweans.
He now lives in exile
in the United States, although he occasionally returns to Zimbabwe
.
Mapfumo was born in 1945 in Marondera, Mashonaland East, a town southeast of Harare the capital of Zimbabwe. He lived a traditional, rural Shona lifestyle until the age of ten, when his family moved to the Harare township of Mbare. He joined his first band, the Zutu Brothers (Encyclopædia Britannica says it was the Cyclones), as a singer at the age of 16. From then he was always in one band or another, sometimes doing odd jobs on the side as well, including chicken farming. Hence the name of his 1972 band, the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band.
He played mostly covers of American rock and soul tunes, such as Otis Redding
or Elvis Presley
, until he was in the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band. There he introduced the innovation of adapting traditional Shona music
to modern rock instrumentation.
He worked with guitarist Joshua Dube (Leopard Man's Africa Music Guide says Jonah Sithole) to transcribe the sounds of the chief instrument of traditional Shona music, the mbira
to the electric guitar. He also started singing primarily in the Shona language, rather than in English.
Just the fact that he was drawing on the native musical tradition and singing in his native language was a political statement. Rhodesia was ruled by a minority of white individuals who derogated the native black population and culture. But more than that, his lyrics became overtly political, supporting the revolution that was developing in the rural areas, what Mapfumo calls "the communal lands". He called his new style of music Chimurenga. In Shona it means "struggle", and was the name of a previous revolutionary movement in the late nineteenth century. His songs openly called for the violent overthrow of the government, with lyrics like "Mothers, send your sons to war." But since the white government didn't understand Shona, they didn't realize how radical it was.
Eventually they caught on, though. The climax came with a song called "Hokoyo!", which means "Watch out!" The government banned the record from the state-controlled radio and threw him into a prison camp without charges in 1979. But they couldn't stop his records from being played in discos or on radio they didn't control, like the Voice of Mozambique. Large demonstrations in protest of his arrest and an inability to trump up charges against him forced the government to release him after three months.
Free elections were held in 1980 and a new government was installed. Mapfumo performed at a celebratory concert which also featured Bob Marley.
The PRI-syndicated radio program Afropop ran a feature on Thomas Mapfumo in late 1988/early 1989. Host Georges Collinet describes Mapfumo as living in the low-density suburbs with his wife, who worked at a law office in downtown Harare, and his two children - a boy and a girl. And he drove a blue Ford with fake leopard-skin seat covers.
Most of his songs were still political, dealing with poverty and other social issues. Mapfumo comments on the fact that he doesn't sing many love songs: "All you need if you wanna get into the bedroom... You've got a wife. You do it. You don't have to sing a song about it." Collinet also observes that Mapfumo can't sing anything he wants : "Clearly he can't sing 'Down with President Mugabe' - but he wouldn't want to. He supports the present government." However, that would soon change.
Recorded at Shed Studios
Harare, by legendary engineer Benny Miller, Mapfumo released the album Corruption in 1989. It criticized Mugabe and his government, with which Mapfumo was becoming more and more disillusioned. Mugabe wasn't happy with Mapfumo, either, and Mapfumo became the target of government harassment. Mapfumo was accused of being involved with a stolen-car ring. Things got uncomfortable enough that Mapfumo moved to Oregon in the late 1990s, where he lives now.
Thomas Mapfumo tours internationally, and still sings and speaks out about the problems of Zimbabwe. His Chimurenga style of music influenced other Zimbabwean musicians, including the Bhundu Boys
and Stella Chiweshe
.
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
. He both created and made popular Chimurenga music
Chimurenga music
Chimurenga music is a Zimbabwean popular music genre coined and popularised by Thomas Mapfumo. Chimurenga is a Shona language word for struggle. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice...
and his slow-moving style and distinctive voice is instantly recognizable to Zimbabweans.
He now lives in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in the United States, although he occasionally returns to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
.
Mapfumo was born in 1945 in Marondera, Mashonaland East, a town southeast of Harare the capital of Zimbabwe. He lived a traditional, rural Shona lifestyle until the age of ten, when his family moved to the Harare township of Mbare. He joined his first band, the Zutu Brothers (Encyclopædia Britannica says it was the Cyclones), as a singer at the age of 16. From then he was always in one band or another, sometimes doing odd jobs on the side as well, including chicken farming. Hence the name of his 1972 band, the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band.
He played mostly covers of American rock and soul tunes, such as Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
or Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, until he was in the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band. There he introduced the innovation of adapting traditional Shona music
Shona music
Shona music is the music of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. There are several different types of traditional Shona music including mbira, singing, hosho and drumming. Very often, this music will be accompanied by dancing, and participation by the audience...
to modern rock instrumentation.
He worked with guitarist Joshua Dube (Leopard Man's Africa Music Guide says Jonah Sithole) to transcribe the sounds of the chief instrument of traditional Shona music, the mbira
Mbira
In African music, the mbira is a musical instrument that consists of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator...
to the electric guitar. He also started singing primarily in the Shona language, rather than in English.
Just the fact that he was drawing on the native musical tradition and singing in his native language was a political statement. Rhodesia was ruled by a minority of white individuals who derogated the native black population and culture. But more than that, his lyrics became overtly political, supporting the revolution that was developing in the rural areas, what Mapfumo calls "the communal lands". He called his new style of music Chimurenga. In Shona it means "struggle", and was the name of a previous revolutionary movement in the late nineteenth century. His songs openly called for the violent overthrow of the government, with lyrics like "Mothers, send your sons to war." But since the white government didn't understand Shona, they didn't realize how radical it was.
Eventually they caught on, though. The climax came with a song called "Hokoyo!", which means "Watch out!" The government banned the record from the state-controlled radio and threw him into a prison camp without charges in 1979. But they couldn't stop his records from being played in discos or on radio they didn't control, like the Voice of Mozambique. Large demonstrations in protest of his arrest and an inability to trump up charges against him forced the government to release him after three months.
Free elections were held in 1980 and a new government was installed. Mapfumo performed at a celebratory concert which also featured Bob Marley.
The PRI-syndicated radio program Afropop ran a feature on Thomas Mapfumo in late 1988/early 1989. Host Georges Collinet describes Mapfumo as living in the low-density suburbs with his wife, who worked at a law office in downtown Harare, and his two children - a boy and a girl. And he drove a blue Ford with fake leopard-skin seat covers.
Most of his songs were still political, dealing with poverty and other social issues. Mapfumo comments on the fact that he doesn't sing many love songs: "All you need if you wanna get into the bedroom... You've got a wife. You do it. You don't have to sing a song about it." Collinet also observes that Mapfumo can't sing anything he wants : "Clearly he can't sing 'Down with President Mugabe' - but he wouldn't want to. He supports the present government." However, that would soon change.
Recorded at Shed Studios
Shed Studios
Shed Studios was responsible for the production of hundreds of band recordings and a large body of music used for various advertisements and films in Rhodesia, and later in Zimbabwe, from 1975 until 2000...
Harare, by legendary engineer Benny Miller, Mapfumo released the album Corruption in 1989. It criticized Mugabe and his government, with which Mapfumo was becoming more and more disillusioned. Mugabe wasn't happy with Mapfumo, either, and Mapfumo became the target of government harassment. Mapfumo was accused of being involved with a stolen-car ring. Things got uncomfortable enough that Mapfumo moved to Oregon in the late 1990s, where he lives now.
Thomas Mapfumo tours internationally, and still sings and speaks out about the problems of Zimbabwe. His Chimurenga style of music influenced other Zimbabwean musicians, including the Bhundu Boys
Bhundu Boys
The Bhundu Boys were a Zimbabwean band that played a mixture of chimurenga music with American rock and roll, disco, country, and pop influences...
and Stella Chiweshe
Stella Chiweshe
Stella Chiweshe is a Zimbabwean musician. She is internationally known for her singing and playing of the mbira dzavadzimu, a traditional instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe...
.
External links
- Home Page
- aNOnym reCOrds
- Read an album review of Rise Up by Thomas Mapfumo at Fly
- Musicologist Massimo Milano interviews Thomas Mapfumo / FinisTerrae Magazine - November 2008 (in Italian)
- Afropop Worldwide
- profile written by Banning Eyre
- March 2002 interview
- Encyclopædia Britannica (entry written by Elizabeth Laskey): "Mapfumo, Thomas." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2003. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 30 July 2003
- The Leopard Man's African Music Guide
- Global Village Idiot
- Banning Eyre, "The Lion In Winter", The WalrusThe WalrusThe Walrus is a Canadian general interest magazine which publishes long form journalism on Canadian and international affairs, along with fiction and poetry by Canadian writers. It launched in September 2003, as an attempt to create a Canadian equivalent to American magazines such as Harper's, The...
, April 2005. - Thomas Mapfumo's Music Page on Calabash Music
See also
- Zimbabwe Music Online
- AfropopAfropopAfropop or Afro-pop may refer to:*African popular music*Afropop Worldwide, a weekly radio program from Public Radio International...
- ChimurengaChimurengaChimurenga is a Shona word for 'revolutionary struggle'. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice, specifically used for the African insurrections against British colonial rule 1896–1897 and the guerrilla war...
- MbiraMbiraIn African music, the mbira is a musical instrument that consists of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator...
- Music of ZimbabweMusic of ZimbabweZimbabwean music includes folk and pop styles, much of it based on the well-known instrument the mbira which is also popular in many other African countries. An annual Zimbabwe Music Festival is held each year in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. People from all over the world attend...
- Shona musicShona musicShona music is the music of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. There are several different types of traditional Shona music including mbira, singing, hosho and drumming. Very often, this music will be accompanied by dancing, and participation by the audience...