A Little Bit Of Politics

At the time of posting, the "results" of the latest elections in Zimbabwe are not finalised but it seems an apposite time to be writing about an album by Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited entitled Rise Up. The tragedy of Zimbabwe is all the more poignant because of the way in which the hope of independence, heralded by a joyous Bob Marley concert in Harare and the first crack in the edifice of white supremacist power in Southern Africa, was so totally debased and degraded by the Mugabe regime. Mapfumo as a performer is emblematic of the problems, spending much of his early career in exile from what was then Rhodesia and singing songs of the struggle for freedom, returning for a while to enjoy the fruits of independence before being forced into exile again and to return to composing protest songs. Listening to this album without the benefits of understanding the language, the music comes across as sunny dance music in the main with interweaving hypnotic rhthyms, rippling guitar and mbira ( thumb piano ), often soulful brass and female backing vocals to Mapfumo's gruff voice all adding to the mix. But a glance at the translated titles of the songs ( Suffer In Silence, I'm Not Afraid, It's Payback Time, I'm Mad As Hell, Diseases, What Are They Dying For ? and The Earth's Hunger Is Insatiable being among them ) makes the theme of the album clear. Let's hope he can soon return home once more to help in rebuilding what should be a prosperous and proud nation.