PATIENCE MUSA
If you had to come up with a list of five of the most successful Zimbabwean artists of all time, who would be on that list?
Would you pick Bhundu Boys for their European produced track Jiti Jive and Madonna meeting them and adoring them?
Maybe you would have Oliver Mtukudzi at number one for the number of albums he produced all his life, the stages he graced all over the world and how his music was able to spread beyond borders.
How about Rozalla Miller, for her track Everybody’s Free?
Not sure where she stands at the moment though – born in Zambia raised in Zimbabwe, but she shared the stage with Michael Jackson and that could be success in someone’s eyes!
According to Tabvi Motsi aka Mellowcreame a Zimbabwean hip hop artist the definition of a successful Zimbabwean artists is “Oliver Mtukudzi and Thomas Mapfumo, an artist that represents Zimbabwean heritage, social commentary and storytelling.
Four dimensional – on stage, off stage.”Is success in the arts measured by the number of legends you get to work with and the numbers that are touched by the ‘art’?
Bernie Bismark played keyboards for THE Earth Wind and Fire and wrote songs for The Jackson 5 and she broke bread with Catherine and Joe Jackson.
Is it about the albums sold? If that’s the case we will have to look at Sungura and kanindo artists – John Chibadura, Leonard Dembo, Devera Ngwena Jazz Band, System Tazvida, Penga Udzoke, Simon Chimbetu, only mentioning some – the artists that were big during the era of vinyl and cassettes before the internet made everything ‘soft’.
Hosiah Chipanga could be a contender too for always following his heart and writing songs about whatever he wants whenever and however he wants.
Could it be that success is about the most played or requested songs in bars at growth points, or at radio stations?
Success at times is defined in terms of popularity.
If an artist is played by the radio stations, is out there performing all over town and all over the country, if they appeared in the paper often. If they are well known and on television a lot the likes Phillip Gadzikwa Mushangwe aka Paraffin, Simon Shumba aka Mutirowafanza – then they are successful.
So can a person be successful and yet not have money … be poor at the same time?
According to Prosper Ngomashi aka Comic Pastor success as a Zimbabwean artist is “…as per individual.
Being able to do what you couldn’t do before you were an artist like affording a decent drive, owning or affording decent accommodation and many other small things it’s part of Zimbabwean Artist success.
Getting paid from your art is success because most of the artists hardly make a living out of their art you will see an artist with a 9-5 extra job to supplement their incomes (look at Janet Manyowa for instance).
Getting a paying recognition from the corporate world is also success to a Zimbabwean artist.
Then we come to awards and other recognitions locally regionally or internationally can also be deemed as success.
Last but not least being able to maintain a level of consistency in your art can also be defined as success regardless of you making money out of it maybe you could be funding the art from other sources but as long as people see you year in year out you can be called successful”Is success tangible?
Being human means that we judge people by what they show us, if they dress well and drive fancy rides then we like to conclude they are successful. Do we need to see the success to believe it?
Can someone sell success, look successful and yet not be successful at the same time?
Maybe the Zimbabwean arts industry is just not equipped to produce ‘successful’ artists?
Renowned Zimbabwean filmmaker Joe Njagu is of the opinion that: “A successful artist is one who has managed to be able to make a sustainable living out of their craft.”
Can we therefore state that there are some artists who have made money but not through their art, they are NOT successful artists…successful at other things though?
Maybe success is defined by a universal term, if that is so can we then apply the Oxford dictionary definition which defines success as ‘a person that has achieved a good result or goal—achieving something one wants or has been trying to do or get: the fact of becoming rich or famous or getting a high social position.’?
What about Jesus Christ, in a way God is regarded as the original artist. Jesus Christ had no earthly riches…no donkey or horse.
He didn’t own a house or companies/businesses, was he not successful? This leads us to personal goals, what are the artists goals – to make money, to become famous, or for a message to be heard. Is success in the arts similar to success in all the other industries?
What determines a teacher’s success? The teacher’s bank account of the number of children who pass exams?
Who determines success anyway… fans, journalists, bloggers, critics or the individual himself or herself?
Is it based on where the artist is coming from and what they have achieved? Is success determined by likes, followers on social media, or maybe the numbers voting for the number one song at the end of the year?
Victor Kunonga believes success is “measured by individuals in different ways.
In my view the definition of a successful musician is one that conveys a message that impacts the listener by evoking a reaction that may be in the form of emotions and possible a physical reaction.
One that can deliver a social message which is prophetic and timeless. Remember music isn’t just measured by the message because our message may be in a language we do not understand or may not have words to it. Success is in how one is still able to communicate a message without necessarily singing but through instruments and melodies alone.”
What kind of artists are we thinking of here? The artists that judge their success through how many lives are touched by the art piece and the effect the art has, or the artists that judges’ success through wealth accumulated from art sales.
“When an artist no longer cares how the world sees their art, they are free to become truly successful.” – John R Math.
