BEHIND THE MUSIC

Behind the music is the massage. A massage is of consequence and value to different people and in that respect music becomes a social commentary in our daily lives.

The massage essentially gives meaning to music and joy or dismay to those who listen to it. The message can be of awareness, can be of love, warning or any other elements which are of consequence to humanity and other living elements.

In the African context music such as ‘Neria’ by Oliver Mutukuzdi communicate a massage to take heart in time of bereavement losing your husband is not the end of the world. The lyrics point us in that direction: “Neria usawore moyo ka Neria Mwari anewe...kufigwa nemurume kunoda moyo waka shinga.”The other one also by Oliver communicates the message of the deadly virus AIDS which is slowly eradicating the human race in his song “Kuseri kweguva akuna munamato barume” with lyrics such as tachavigwa nani ko?-who will bury us. In this song Oliver was lamenting about how the virus is slowly killing everyone and who is going to bury the other person, tears have all dried up because of constant crying as the disease is killing almost every day. Thus the song acted as form of awareness to the people.

In the other music especially RnB the dominant message is of love and heart breaks. In songs such as “Ndashamisika” by Trevor Dongo otherwise known as Trevor ‘D’ marvels at a lady’s beauty and is amazed by her beauty such that the whole song is about him having fallen for this lady’s beauty. So the message at the end of the day is about love love love...

In gospel music the massage is about loving God and being faithful to his commandments, and making prayer a central practice in your life. Massages behind these songs fundamentally point to living your life in the right way and to abide by God’s teachings. Some gospel singers such as Mai Charamba, Debora Fraser, Rebecca Malope among others are popular in this genre of music.

The message at the end of the day  is adopted according to the kind or type of music that appeals to an individual.

Oliver Mutukuzdi-www.newsday.co.zw