Thomas Mapfumo
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Thomas Mapfumo
Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo (born July 3, 1945) is a musician nicknamed "The Lion of Zimbabwe" and "Mukanya" (the praise name of his clan in the Shona language) for his immense popularity and for the political influence he wields through his music, including his sharp criticism of the government of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. He both created and made popular Chimurenga music, and his slow-moving style and distinctive voice is instantly recognisable to Zimbabweans. Mapfumo was imprisoned without charges under the white-dominated regime of Rhodesia, and he was hounded by the Mugabe government of Zimbabwe that succeeded it. He lived in exile in the United States for two decades, and in April 2018, returned to Zimbabwe for the first time since 2005 to perform a concert. Biography Mapfumo was born in 1945 in Marondera, Mashonaland East, a town southeast of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, though at the time the capital was called Salisbury and the country was a c ...
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Mazowe
Mazowe is a village in Mashonaland Central province in Zimbabwe. Notable people *John Bredenkamp * Fortune Chasi * Chenhanho Chimutengwende *Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo * Auxilia Mnangagwa *Grace Mugabe *Joseph Msika Joseph Wilfred Msika (6 December 1923 – 4 August 2009), was a Zimbabwean politician who served as Second Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1999 to 2009.Sydney Kawadza"VP Msika dies", ''The Herald'', 6 August 2009. Early life Msika was born in ... References Populated places in Mashonaland Central Province {{Zimbabwe-geo-stub ...
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Oliver Mtukudzi
Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi (22 September 1952 – 23 January 2019) was a Zimbabwean musician, businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Southern Africa Region. Career Mtukudzi grew up in Highfield, a poor neighborhood in Salisbury (modern-day Harare) in Southern Rhodesia. He began performing in 1977 when he joined the Wagon Wheels, a band that also featured Thomas Mapfumo and fellow guitarist James Chimombe. They were given the rare opportunity by Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo, an African nationalist and music promotor, who provided money and resources to the group. He allowed them to perform at Club Mutanga (Pungwe) which, at the time, was the only night club available for blacks under Rhodesia's policy of segregation. Their single ''Dzandimomotera'' went gold and Tuku's first album followed, which was also a major success. Mtukudzi was also a contributor to Mahube, Southern Africa's "supergroup". With his husky voice, Mtukudzi became the ...
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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. Their style became known as jit, and is quite popular across Africa, with some international success, and has influenced later groups like Nehoreka and Mokoomba. British world music DJ Andy Kershaw said that at the height of their magical powers they were "...the single most natural, effortless, catchy pop band I've ever heard"; the BBC's John Peel famously broke down in tears the first time, when he saw the band perform live. The name came from bhundu (meaning "bush" or "jungle"), in reference to the young boys who used to aid the nationalist guerrilla fighters in the 1970s war against the white minority government of what was then Rhodesia. Lead singer Biggie Tembo (Biggie Rodwell Tembo Marasha) was a Bhundu boy. History Beginnings The Bhundu Boys recorded their first 7" vinyl single (Une Shuwa Here) at Shed Studios in Harare in Au ...
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Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eugene had a population of 176,654 and covers city area of 44.21 sq mi (114.50 sq km). Eugene is the seat of Lane County and the state's second largest city after Portland. The Eugene-Springfield metropolitan statistical area is the 146th largest in the United States and the third largest in the state, behind those of Portland and Salem. In 2022, Eugene's population was estimated to have reached 179,887. Eugene is home to the University of Oregon, Bushnell University, and Lane Community College. The city is noted for its natural environment, recreational opportunities (especially bicycling, running/jogging, rafting, and kayaking), and focus on the arts, along with its history of civil unrest, protests, and green activism. Eugene's offi ...
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Corruption (album)
''Corruption'' is an album by the Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo (credited with his band, the Blacks Unlimited), released in 1989. The album criticized the government of Robert Mugabe. Mugabe's displeasure with the criticism eventually forced Mapfumo into exile, and Mapfumo's music was barred from Zimbabwean radio. The title track was discussed in the Zimbabwean parliament, around the same time as several government officials were indicted as part of a smuggling ring. ''Corruption'' was Mapfumo's first album to be released by a major label in North America. A Zimbabwean version of the album, titled ''Varombo Kuvarombo'', had been released by Gramma Records. Production Similar to the signing of King Sunny Adé, Mapfumo was signed to Mango Records in part due to label head Chris Blackwell's desire to find a "worldbeat" star to replace the late Bob Marley. Mapfumo sang the title track in English, with the rest of the songs sung in Shona. His intention was to inform the world of t ...
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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. The company "Shed Recording Studios (Pvt) Ltd" (now defunct) began in 1975, as a collaboration between Steve Roskilly, Martin Norris and Neil Thain, all employees of Rhodesia Television. The beginning Initially housed in a converted caravan, the first studio was based on a half inch 8 track Itam 805 tape recorder and series 2 Soundcraft 12:4:2 mixer, mastering onto a Revox A77 Reel to Reel tape recorder. This outfit learned its trade by making a series of live recordings at various music venues around Salisbury, the capital City, but soon found that the uniqueness of the mobile caravan, became more of a restriction than an advantage and a proper studio was seen as essential for progress. Advertising jingles Both Norris and Roskilly were, by now, working full time for Blackberry P ...
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Afropop Worldwide
''Afropop Worldwide'' is a radio program that presents the musics of Africa and the African diaspora. The program is produced by Sean Barlow for World Music Productions in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is hosted by the veteran Cameroonian broadcaster Georges Collinet, who previously attained renown for his work with Voice of America. ''Afropop Worldwide'' launched in 1988 as ''Afropop'', a weekly public radio series, in response to widespread interest in international pop music. The first of its kind, it later expanded to include the music and cultures of the entire African diaspora. The program is distributed by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) to over a hundred radio stations in the United States. It is also heard in Europe and Africa. In 2014, the program was awarded an institutional Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most po ...
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Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, as well as his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley's contributions to music increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide, and made him a global figure in popular culture to this day. Over the course of his career, Marley became known as a Rastafari icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity, and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. In 1976, Marley survived an assassination attempt in his home, which was thought to be politically motivated. He also supported legalization of marijuana, and advocated for Pan-Africanism. Born in Nine Mile, Jamaica, Ma ...
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The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues covering two-week spans. Although its reviews and events listings often focus on the Culture of New York City, cultural life of New York City, ''The New Yorker'' has a wide audience outside New York and is read internationally. It is well known for its illustrated and often topical covers, its commentaries on popular culture and eccentric American culture, its attention to modern fiction by the inclusion of Short story, short stories and literary reviews, its rigorous Fact-checking, fact checking and copy editing, its journalism on politics and social issues, and its single-panel cartoons sprinkled throughout each issue. Overview and history ''The New Yorker'' was founded by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a ''The New York Times, N ...
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Shona Language
Shona (; sn, chiShona) is a Bantu language of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It was codified by the colonial government in the 1950s. According to ''Ethnologue'', Shona, comprising the Zezuru, Korekore and Karanga dialects, is spoken by about 7.5 million people. The Manyika dialect of Shona is listed separately by ''Ethnologue'', and is spoken by 1,025,000 people. The larger group of historically related languages—called Shona languages by linguists—also includes Ndau (Eastern Shona) and Kalanga (Western Shona). Instruction Shona is a written standard language with an orthography and grammar that was codified during the early 20th century and fixed in the 1950s. In the 1920s, the Rhodesian administration was faced with the challenge of preparing schoolbooks and other materials in the various languages and dialects and requested the recommendation of South African linguist Clement Doke. The first novel in Shona, Solomon Mutswairo's ''Feso'', was published in 1957. Shona ...
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Jonah Sithole
Jonah Sithole (1952–1997) was a Zimbabwean guitarist, vocalist and composer, known particularly for the mbira-inspired style known as mbira-guitar or chimurenga music. Early life Jonah Sithole was born in the province of Masvingo and grew up in the mining town of Zvishavane (formerly Shabani), where his older brother worked as a miner as well as a musician for the mining camp band. Jonah first picked up the guitar as a twelve-year-old. When his brother was at work, he would play his guitar, imitating the sounds that his brother practiced around the house. Jonah eventually moved to Bulawayo, where he attended Mpopoma High School until he was expelled in 1969, when he was a form 2 student. By then he was a decent guitar and bass player, so he followed his brother to Kwekwe and convinced him to admit him to his band, the Jairosi Jiri Kwela Kings, as a bass player. A few months later, in 1970, the band got a bar contract in Mbare, Harare and became known as the Delphans. Jonah becam ...
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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. In Shona music, there is little distinction between the performer and the audience, both are often actively involved in the music-making, and both are important in the religious ceremonies where Shona music is often heard. Mbira The mbira is a traditional instrument of the Shona People often used in religious ceremonies. There are several different varieties of mbira including the mbira dzavadzimu and mbira nyunga nyunga. Shona music is well known as representative of mbira ("thumb piano") music. The performer of the "kushaura" (lead mbira part) often acts also as the lead vocalist, selecting a known melody or mbira pattern to accompany selected lyrics, usually a phrase or a few lines of text which are then commented upon i ...
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