TAWANDA MARWIZI
Dancehall music in Zimbabwe has always resonated with the ghetto. This is not only because its lyrics are reflective of the day to day lives of the youth in such areas, but also because it is an expression of power and lifestyle. To buttress this lifestyle, dancehall lyrics have become part of the street lingo. Some of the lyrics are motivational and are what most would consider life-building but of late, dirty lyrics have become the order of the day. These are mostly lyrics, which encourage violence, relay messages of sexual dominance and the objectification of women or sometimes lyrics that are just vulgar.
Recently, one of the genre’s most touted musicians Soul Jah Love pulled a shocker on his newly- released album “Naka Dhula Dhaka” that has a controversial song “Matambudziko”.
‘Matambudziko’ is a word that simply means “problems” but the musician decided to go naughty with the song.
He is not the only one.
Musicians like Jah Signal, Seh Calaz, Enzol, Silent Killer and Killer T, among others, going overboard with vulgar lyrics.
Jah Signal has a song “Mubako” which has been widely condemned and reports have suggested that he is singing these songs differently at live shows.
Zim-Dancehall is a borrowed phenomenon from Jamaican Dancehall, a genre characterised by hate speech, fights, insults and vulgar language.
According to veteran producer Bothwell Nyamondera, studios should not record an artist without scrutinising the message and its impact to society.
“In the past there used to be studio committees that would make deliberations on content. Musicians would submit their lyrics first and there was strictness on vulgar or hate speech,” Nyamondera said.
Though these songs cannot be played on radio, they have found their way to the public through various social media platforms. And analysts say this is so because of the mushrooming of backyard studios.
The Censorship and Entertainment Act states that a publication, picture, statue or record shall be deemed to be undesirable if it is indecent or obscene or is offensive or harmful to public morals, is likely to be contrary to the interests of defence, public safety, public order, the economic interests of the State or public health or discloses, with reference to any judicial proceedings.
“Any matter which is indecent or obscene or is offensive or harmful to public morals or any indecent or obscene medical, surgical or physiological details the disclosure of which is likely to be offensive or harmful to public morals; or for the dissolution or a declaration of nullity of a marriage or for judicial separation or for restitution of conjugal lights, any particulars…..,” reads part of the Act.
However, at present, the country does not have a Censorship Board after the one then Home Affairs and Culture minister Obert Mpofu dissolved the Aeneas Chigwedere-led directors.
