The Pen & Lighter EP(2006) - Karizma

I seem to come across so many people who doubt our ‘youthful’ Zimbabwean genres. Hip Hop falls in that category. Not many have faith in our MCs. I guess it boils down to preference, though I am so tired of hearing peeps bigging up old school music like nothing new is nice. Not! Anyway before I get carried away this week I got hold of the debut album by Karizma. He is the man who gave you the ever popular Red Bull Song around 2004/5.

He is part of KYN Records headed by Begotten Sun of the Asi Chii Nhai fame. Karizma’s Pen & Lighter EP is testimony to the growing breed of current MCs. Young and full of energy with those bassline thumping beats that you gotta nod to. The album starts off with Hands Up which was dropped as the lead single a few months ago and damn, I love the track. Sometimes you just have to put the ‘Haterade’ down and give thanks where it is due. The song is simply hot and I’m down for the semi mellow flow as well. By any means I always prefer a good start to an album; it gives me more cause to listen further. I have to say production-wise the album is quite something. Zimbabwean Hip Hop is hot and like Karizma says on Hands Up “…f**k what you heard in fact f**k what they telling you!”

If you into dance floor type bangers on a hip hop tip then get a copy of this CD and listen to Get Wild because that is a party track to mash up the scene. That song does things to me each time I listen. The only problem I have with it is the song is too short mhani! Throughout the whole CD I marvel at how Karizma flows. Man can rap. Period. With that sometimes comes one or two problems and for me his biggest downfall is rapping about ‘how nice he is.’ A song, maybe 2 is fine but when you exceed that you suppress other possible concepts. I would have loved to hear a song about who Karizma is as a person, a love song with some emotional expression etc. In one word: Versatility. A collabo would have done the album good as well. All this adds an extra dimension to the music, which is what The Pen & Lighter EP lacked.

I was impressed by Let Me Politik which is a song urging people to keep on going strong if they have a dream. It’s great to see some positive lyrics, add to the talent. Other songs to watch out for are When The Sun Comes Up and The Banger. Overall, it is a good album that hip hop heads will dig and Karizma surely raises the bar among the MCs.

Get it @ http://www.itskarizma.com

Cover Art – 6.5/10
Music – 7/10
Mixing & Mastering – 8/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 6/10

The Banger

Kukuda/Loving You(2006) - Cindy Raw

This year has seen more and more artists releasing albums far more than I have seen on the Urban Grooves circuit. From my recent trip to Zim I made it a sure point to stack on CDs. I bought this album based on the advice of my friend Akili and I surely want to thank him right now. Having never heard of Cindy Rufaro Munyavi ever before, I was a bit skeptical about her abilities. That feeling did not last, rest assured. She is a good singer and I found it hard to believe that she hadn’t topped charts yet. Some people just need a chance. Call it Urban Grooves sure but this lovely lady is straight Zim R’n’B. Some really hot R’n’B at that! The main concept about the album is love. She handles so many issues through her music one might end up being convinced she really went through this stuff!

Ruva is a gem I tell you. It features one of the genres most refined artist, Alexio Kawara. Their collaboration is just beautiful and they both sung very well. It might not quite compete with Tinodanana by Alexio & Teererai but it will leave you with goose bumps! The production throught the album was generally good and not monotonous and I managed to listen to every track. I appreciate it when artists acknowledge their religion and Praise You does justice. It has a bouncy beat and talks about praising God because he is the one who makes everything happen. My song of the album is Dhindindi and the title says it all. No Zimbabwean party can be complete without this tune. Take 5ive really produced a quality tune to rip through the speakers. Wreckless totally murdered his verse; he did himself a favour by switching from Hip Hop to Ragga. Other songs to watch out for are Handidi and All That I Am.

The album has the potential to do very well, some good songs and lovely singing. The let down comes in the production. Some of the instruments were not very clear and the vocals were not properly mixed and/or mastered. You can tell that some songs were recorded, mixed and mastered at different studios by different people. I think quality should be emphasized in her next project.

Kukuda/Loving You is a good album and many fans will enjoy it. I think it is worth a buy. This lady is going places and I give her 1 year tops to become Urban Grooves hottest female artist.

Cover Art – 6/10
Music – 7/10
Mixing & Mastering – 5/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 7.5/10

Spice It Up(2006) - Tia

Now this album was so vigorously marketed before release it must have hit platinum by that alone. I was really looking forward to this project especially after the success of ‘Boy U Got To Know’, after all it seemed like everyone was talking about it.

As I expected Spice It Up is full of RnB flavour and is mostly produced by Sipho 'TBA The Playboy' (ex-Chamhembe, current Chigutiro producer). The man sure knows his stuff and having said that I still believe his combination with Take 5ive of Chamhembe was a cut above the rest which saw Chamhembe become Zimbabwe’s default Urban Grooves crew. After they parted ways I don't think one of them could really rediscover that touch that once made them so popular but don't let that be an excuse to underestimate them because vanogonesesa.

The title track is bouncy and I liked the instrumental which was very well done with great instrumental clarity. Unfortunately Tia’s voice leaves a lot to be desired. The first thing my other half said when she heard the song was ‘Uri kunzwa discord iro?’ and I had a good laugh. I still like the song though! ‘Come A Lil Closer’ has a very colourful video (available on Youtube), the song is ok and not really outstanding. I reckon it will be a great song for high school disco slow jam sessions. The lyrics wouldn’t really appeal to the 21+ age group, they are just shallow. This applies to just about the whole album, there is no real maturity to the content. Lyric rake harina punch.

I was not really surprised by the inclusion of ‘Boy U Got To Know’ since it has been doing rounds on Channel O and has become somewhat popular in Southern Africa. Props to W.O.Fman Fortune Mparutsa for the production on the song, very well done. What’s with artists and putting original versions, remixes and remixes of remixes on one project? If it’s a 12 track album with 5 versions of one song I just find that a rip off. The song has 4 versions. Munodarireiko nhai as’kana? I won’t even mention the luke warm attempt at doing a Shona version. Most of Tia’s vocals on the songs had the autotune/vocoder effect that T-Pain has popularized and for me it sounded more of an attempt to disguise the sometimes dodgy vocals when she ‘attemped’ high notes. This is proof that making it in the music industry is not directly proportional to talent. She tries though.

All in all, this album is all hype with no action. It will sit in my library ,sure, but probably won’t see my media player for a few months. You will probably like this if you are into the likes of Cassie and so on without being bothered by vocal ability. Good attempt for someone who probably lacks the natural talent compared to other females in the industry.

Cover Art - 7/10 (very nice!)
Music – 5/10
Mixing & Mastering – 6/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 4/10

Come A Lil Closer

In The Beginning(2005) - B-Kay n Kazz

My first experience with these guys from Masvingo was on Channel O & MTVBaseAfrica where their video was on the charts being played at least once a day. Definitely it was quite an achievement because that kind of exposure around Africa is priceless and will go a very long way. This prompted me to search high and low for their album which I found in one of the local record stores. It’s good to see new names coming up in the music industry, we the listeners NEED it.

I can describe the music on the album, In the Beginning, as Zimbabwean commercial dancehall (a subset of Urban Grooves if you wish). For this album they seem to have taken a chunk from Richie Stevens especially on the song That Lady. It is a catchy tune where B-Kay & Kazz sang well and I’m sure many people will fall in love with it. The song everyone has been talking about is Ndikati Hello featuring Decibel. It’s a song about the joys of meeting the most beautiful people at parties and the chorus is such an easy sing along. This song is most likely what has made this album sell like hot cakes. The song has graced many Zimbabwean charts across the globe and is set to be one of the songs of the year. The great thing about the music is that the guys sing very well and back each other with such ease.

The album features the likes of H.D and Blue Jeans of the Masvingo Riddim fame who also helps produce the piece. Most of the songs are love songs which has become the main criticism of most Urban Grooves acts. Come Together is a song about AIDS and I hope it will educate many because we have all lost someone through this disease. I respect the effort in trying to raise awareness through music. After about 6 tracks or so I was rather over the hype. Ndikati Hello is really the stand out track and somewhat overshadows the rest, not even saying the other songs are bad because they are all ok. The beats just became a bit monotonous for me. Generally the album is still listenable and if you like ragga music with some smooth vocals then this one is definitely for you. I think with more exposure these guys will be a force to reckon with and I look forward to hearing more from them.

Cover Art – 3/10
Music – 6/10
Mixing & Mastering – 7/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 5/10

Ndikati Hello ft Decibel

Video Diaries - Akili

Another talented new age artist in Zimbabwe who has featured on many projects including Souls of Africa, Bhodho Size 1, Chamhembe to name a few... introducing Akili. Another one of Gweru's finest.

Video Diaries - CBlud

More videos from my recent visit to Zim, this time around my good friend Masimba Mukoki a.k.a CBlud with his new single dedicated to his parents, Ruregerero ft Clara Sisya

Video Diaries - Nasty Trixx

Gweru's finest! A video i took @ Consuming Fire Studio with the guys... in this particular video featuring Trust Dojiwe better known as Nasty Trixx the man who gave you the hit song ChiDanger (Chimoko). Our work is our play... Zimbabwe is rising!!!



@ Home in Gweru with Nasty Trixx

Zim Diaries Part Two

The night I landed in our beloved Zimbabwe ndakaona mashura vakomana! We are in trouble people… I thought kuti pamwe iropa rehuku randibata coz magetsi akaenda my first few hours in Zim. Shura racho rakanyanya pakuti tanga tiri muhotera husiku ihwohwo. No electricity in a hotel? I simply could not believe it. What a way to start off my holiday! I remember my beloved mother saying to me “Ko wati waonei hako?” There was no need to say more. I knew exactly what she meant. I began to have that uneasy feeling when you are out of your comfort zone. Nechemumwoyo ndichingoti “Dai nguva yamhanya ndangodzokera, zvekuno haa kana!” Ko ndanga ndati ndaonei zvechokwadi?

The next day kusvika kumba back to the place I love to call Sleepy Hollow (that is Gweru for you, don’t ask) after travelling a seemingly endless 250km or so from Harare what did we find? Another blackout. *sigh* All I could say was “Gees, thank you very much to whoever is responsible. I am having a beautiful holiday.” Can you sense the undertone in that? My Dad being the man he is (can turn any bad situation into a light-hearted affair) says to me “Ah maSupporter ejongwe maakuzviona kuti chibhakera chenyu chaakukurovai ka?”. I can almost see you laughing while you are reading this. Ndakazvionera ndega veduwe-e.

I wanted to get back on that plane I tell you. As time went on it was a very simple day to day thing kuti magetsi aende. Izvozvi muZimbabwe every town, city or village kune magetsi there is a timetable yekuti aende. Yes, ZESA goes at given times in a given place and people are used to that now. Kana neni ndakatojairawo. Kwedu Tuesday neThursday manheru makenduru nekuvesa moto panze. ZvehuSalad ndakasiya kuno kudiaspora muchiverenga kudai, ndakatotema huni (haa horait we have a gardener at home who took care of that, don’t be fooled but getsi remuZimbabwe harina musarurwa chero kumba kwaMayor anoenda).

The bigger the city the more the blackouts. Very simple indeed. Sekutaura kwevaneruzivo "it is only set to get worse!" As a result I missed some World Cup games (I don’t know if I can really forgive these guys seeing that this tournament occurs only once every four years). Gadzirirai hama dzenyu maVISA kana muchikwanisa shuwa hamusati machiona chakatadzisa imbwa kuseka kuhukura ichigona!

I found myself getting used to the system so quickly it was like I had not gone anywhere! Twumukoto twuya twandakasiya a year ago ndakawana twuripo. That is when my holiday truly began. Zvinhu zvakatanga kufamba manje. Reconnecting myself with everyone else, the familiar faces yet again. Munhu wese aingobvunza “Ko wakadzoka riini? Where were you? Haven’t seen you in a while.” Then waiwanawo vamwe vanokuti “Ko wakadzokerei?” Dai vaiziva kuti hakuna kusina nhamo yako ka vaisambodaro. Oh yes, and the one that became somewhat cliché, “You are back, ko wakativigirei?” Seemed everyone expected something for some odd reason (not like I care but with the way things are I do not blame them). Most of them think kuti being out here is a breeze and money ‘falls’ from the sky and all we really do is go outside and pick it up. "I wish"

Ndakati ndatumwa kuSupermarket kunotenga grocery the prices were a straight shocker. With three extra zeros suffixed to every price, haa ma1. Ndapedza kutenga zvangu I’m asking the cashier for a ‘paperbag’ and she says to me “Mukwasha muri kurarama muZimbabwe ipi? Aya ari apa kana muchida "one" riri kuita $30 000.” Ndakangoburitsa mari ndinyerere ko ndipo pandaizomuudza kuti ndiri kubva kuAustralia here?

Throughout the whole holiday more often than once I found myself ndichinonotsa kufamba kweQueue wherever I was ndichitadza kuverenga mari. It almost made me feel stupid but the number of notes I had to count in a day was totally ridiculous. You have to be one heck of a Math student in school to get through each day munyika yedu, no lie.

Ukaona chaunoda kana une mari yacho just buy it! Usafunge zvakawanda chingotenga chete. Chances are ukati “Ndozotenga mangwana”, either unowana chisisipo, price yakwira kana kuti unenge usisina mari yacho. PaATM the maximum amount yaunokwanisa kuburitsa is $2 000 000 at any one time chero bank ripi zvaro. In a day the total you can withdraw is $10 000 000. Sounds like a lot huh? Hapana kana mari apo, kuiwana $10 000 000 iyoyo is unlimited toil though. Those ATM queues are endless all day long.

To withdraw an amount of $50 000 000 or more from your account you have to write a letter to the branch manager explaining why you need the money which could either be turned down or approved. Imagine ipapo kuendesa mwana kuCreche (or Kindergarten) could cost up to $30 000 000/month. Ko kuzoti vekuchikoro? A friend was telling me kuti at Uni the number of people dropping out keeps rising. Not saying kuti chikoro chaoma but they simply cannot afford it seeing that fees are ranging between $55 000 000 and $75 000 000 a semester. Panotodiwa minamato apa.

Let’s talk prices here.
Cellphones:
Motorola RAZR V3, V360 - $100 000 000, Motorola V550 - $50 000 000, Motorola V600 - $75 000 000
Nokia 1100 - $25 000 000, Nokia 3200 - $60 000 000, Nokia N91 - $450 000 000

Unbelievable, huh? True Story.

Zim Diaries Part One

The reason i went back home to Zimbabwe was very simple but crucial to me. I had had such a terrible semester my confidence was low and i needed a boost! With the forex problems in Zimbabwe coupled with the University wanting their dues from me, all it spelt in my life was STRESS! Half the semester I was just jumping from office block to office block explaining, 'financial situation' yangu to these guys. All i wanted was peace of mind and learn with no worries about payments. And thats the one thing i never got all semester. I needed a change, see my parents and fall back on someone. As if to stress the point when i got home all everyone ever really said to me was 'ii waonda shamwari' . Ko kundisiya nhai imi?

Dai zvakapera mazuva ekutanga ka. Till the day i came back chero wandaiona aingoti wakaonda wena. Mufunge, i was never fat anyway but, mukuonda imomo already they could see that i lost weight futi! It gave me a good laugh and also motivated me kuti next time ka, ndive a stronger person to face my challenges mudiaspora. So that was part of the therapy i needed. Seeing familiar faces and the number of people looking up to me for being the one who managed to 'escape' nhamo yemuZim was even more, made me realise that as much as things are tough, i still have a lot to do out here. Talk about a remedy for all the problems.

One department i had faltered greatly out here was religion. Going back home to the church i call 'home' was revealing. I felt like i wanted to know God again after those many days of giving excuses ndichiti 'I have work saka i can not go to church' etc. This time i had NO excuses not to go. I made the best of it and the times i went to church gave me more strength and God was just showing me the signs that life will never be easy but, also never to lose faith or focus. Now that im back it means a new challenge: no more silly excuses to distance myself away form Him, i still need God in my life to make it.

Talk about surprises.. Last year ndairara mumaQueue efuel nevamwe. Gore rino hakuna iyoyo. Fuel mazariro ayakaita asi kudhura kani. Cheapest we could find was $430 000 a litre. Elsewhere it could even go up to $600 000 a litre. Saka to fill a tank would need roughly $25 000 000 for most cars and considering that on average people earn around $35 000 000 a month it simply means to be able to keep a car running you have to be among the rich folk. Put 2 and 2 together and you get the reason as to why fuel queues do not exist anymore...it is available but less people can afford it now! Personally i think it is better that way, rather it be expensive and available than cheap and nowhere to be located! (Disagree if you wish, i did this in Economics this very year)

The other big surprise for me was the way people seem to carry a lot more brief cases and bags around. Ok, not too long ago we had every joke possible about how Zambians carry money in wheel barrows to buy bread and end up exchanging the wheel barrows for the bread. I'm sorry to say but we are not far from the jokes being reality. Wallet-makers are definitely out of business now. Who needs one? Yes, they (or should i say we) now carry bags with money in Zimbabwe if we are to have any decent amount of money on us. As you read this ndiri kutonzwa musana so-o (kutamba hangu ndanga ndatojaira). Our dollars are millions and our cents are now thousands. Zvamunoona kudai kombi chaiyo yave $65 000 - $100 000 mufunge, chingwa $150 000, Kokora (Soft drinks) $100 000 and so forth. Kune vanoda zvechirungu-rungu maPizza aya Large $2 200 000 zvichikwira. We need a Saviour in the place i tell you.

Musically...ok to be honest i hate to say this. Zimbabwe was DEAD. Quite a siginificant number of the same generic so and sos we heard 2 years ago are still on the radio rotation list. Gees what a development. So let me stop hating (though i said all this in complete honesty). Now that international music can be played it is somewhat a breath of fresh air. Well, for those who have not yet been exposed to the diaspora. Maybe it is just me but the DJs back home just loooooooooove to play washed out, 'we've had enough of it' typa music. I mean Let Me Love U WAS a lovely song, WAS. Get me? Eventually i couldn't even bother to tune in. Radio just sucked (forgive me if im a bit too blunt, i don't actually care).

On to our very own Urban Grooves scene dubbed Urban Guvhu whatever that means. (Before we knock that one, too bad i missed the Rocqui/Pauline/ Shyleen drama. Point to note ever noticed how the two ladies names rhyme, not that it matters lol dai ndakaziva would have stayed a day or 2 longer ndakauya ne1st hand info chaiyo, fresh). First thing is i don't have anything against these guys (ok any artist really) maCD aakuita $2 500 000. Anotenga ndiani? So what happens when they want to make money but as much as people want to buy very few can afford it. So can music be a career in Zim yes or no? Take your pick. I don't think so

2005 ZIMA Video of the Year

From the one and only straight salad to come outta Zim - ExQue (ndiro zita rebasa, otherwise known as Enoch Munhenga). The video was shot in Mozambique for a cool US$500 through one of ExQue's connections which explains the lovely background scenery huh?

Ndokutevera ft Roki