Living Zimbabwe

Category: Entertainment

  • Step Over Them by Rassie Ai

    Step Over Them by Rassie Ai

    Step Over Them by Rassie Ai (from the album Return to Life). The song is a song of encouragement and inspiration to the struggling masses of Zimbabwe home and abroad. It seeks to encourage Zimbabweans at home and abroad to “step over’ their challenges and maintain a positive outlook. Speaking to Zimbabweans of all ethnicities and social backgrounds. (see below for live performance of Step Over Them being performed at Stormont Buildings (National Assembly of Northern Ireland) on Commonwealth Day, a poignant platform for the expression of African values and concerns)

    Step Over Them – Lyrics

    We till the land, plant the seed, watch over dem, African Kings come we claim we throne again

    Step over dem

    Com we step over them, I see the enemies attack, jump over them

    Nah tek no prisoners, so we no handover dem

    I no have nothin’ ah hide neither prove fi dem – hey.

    Mek we step over them, I see the enemies attack, jump over them

    Nah tek no prisoners, so we no handover dem

    I no have nothin’ ah hide, nothin’ ah hide.

    I originate in distance places, through time and space to a village me ah trace back to Zimba

    I do no ina rat race in this land of waste, choo mi case is to go back to Zimba (I do not partake in the rat race in this land of waste, my case is to go back to Zim)

    Anywhere you deh so better proud you a Zimba, Shona or Ndebele better know you a Zimba (Whatever tribe you are from be proud to be Zimbabwean, know who you are)

    Vanhu veZimbabwe tisu tine simba, same one Zimbabwe build Matombo Dzimba (People of Zimbabwe we have the strength, we built the House of Stone)

    Munhu nemunhu ane kumusha inga, kune vekuBikita kune vekuBinga (Every person has a spiritual home, some are from Bikita some from Binga)

    Ask who ah revolute ah Congo ah Zimba, ask who ah revolute ah Zambia Zimba (Ask who helped the revolution in Congo, ask who helped the revolution in Zambia)

    Do no bring no pill do no bring no syringe ya, Shona or Ndebele better know you a Zimba

    Show me your hand and clench your five finger, if you a Zimba do no bother linger (regardless of political affiliation, clenched fist or open palm)

    Com, com, com, com we step over them, I see the enemies attack, jump over them

    Nah tek no prisoners, so we no handover dem

    I no have nothin’ ah hide neither prove fi dem – hey.

    Mek we step over them, I see the enemies attack, jump over them

    Nah tek no prisoners, so we no handover dem

    I no have nothin’ ah hide, nothin’ ah hide.

    I know some African , wey can speak more than five lingua Dat is when you find out you ah reason with a Zimba (I know some Africans who speak more than five languages, that’s how you know a Zimbabwean)

    If you think ah peace and safety, things serene ya Still ah reminisce Rhodesia, dis ah Zimba (Things have not always been peaceful and serene, do not linger on the past, this now Zimbabwe)

    Ghonarezhou to Matopo dat ah Zimba (Ghonarezhou to Matopo is Zimbabwe)

    Amhlope Makorokoto dat ah Zimba (Congratulations in Ndebele or Shona, it’s still Zimbabwean)

    Zambezi dung ah Limpopo dat ah Zimba (Zambezi to Limpopo it’s Zimbabwe)

    Watch babylon wid dem dutty grubby finger Want tek a little piece out Munhumutapa (Those who hate us want to destroy our ancient Kingdom piece by piece)

    Zimbabwe step out and we start to wrath ya Babylon mi ah com, better clear da path ya (Zimbabweans step out and harness our anger/outrage)

    Mi ah gash dem so bad dem can’t heal with plaster( Clear the path, we are on the way, the battle wounds inflicted will not be healed by plasters!)

    Com, com we step over them, I see the enemies attack, jump over them

    Nah tek no prisoners, so we no handover dem

    I no have nothin’ ah hide neither prove fi dem – hey.

    Mek we step over them, I see the enemies attack, jump over them

    Nah tek no prisoners, so we no handover dem

    I no have nothin’ ah hide, nothin’ ah hide.

    ‘Member blood of men, women and children never stop from spill (Remember the blood of men, women and children never stops spilling)

    Babylon your biggest export is kill, babylon your first resort is kill Babylon your UN report is kill,(Evil nations export death, their first resort is death, the UN reports are full of death)

    An eye fi an eye me say limb fi a limb till you stop boost war upon mi little children (It will be an eye for an eye, limb for a limb until you stop killing our youth)

    An eye fi an eye, fire burning, ready fi a spark babylon come say a ting (An eye for an eye, fire burning, all it needs is a spark, make your move!)

    Com, we step over them, I see the enemies attack, jump over them

    Nah tek no prisoners, so we no handover dem

    I no have nothin’ ah hide neither prove fi dem – hey.

    Mek we step over them, I see the enemies attack, jump over them

    Nah tek no prisoners, so we no handover dem

    I no have nothin’ ah hide, nothin’ ah hide.

    We till the land plant the seed watch over dem

    Dem same one send police patrol again

    Just get release African parole again

    African Kings come we claim we throne again (repeat)

    This has been a submission by Takura Donald Makoni aka Rassie Ai.
    You can connect with Rassie Ai via the following: https://twitter.com/DonaldMakoni, https://www.facebook.com/galleriakwamurongoarts.
    You too can become a Citizen Journalist by submitting your story here: Citizen Journalism by Living Zimbabwe
    The views expressed in the article are those of the author and not necessarily Living Zimbabwe.

  • Jam Signal: that Zimbabwean Urban House Fusion band you need to know about

    Jam Signal: that Zimbabwean Urban House Fusion band you need to know about

    On a night when most of the people in Harare were scattered around town, Carnival was ending and downtown looked like a scene from a post apocalyptic movie, Longchen Plaza’s Deep House gig was turning out to be a flop event and Old Georgians Club which was hosting Beer Fest was surely packed even with their ridiculous cover charge, in other words, Harare had plenty events at in one night.

    A chance stop at Pariah State Borrowdale (after being rejected from another bar for wearing shorts) led me to enjoy the a 3 man band covering some of the well known songs. They consisted of a Saxophone player, a drummer and a fellow on the keyboard.

    Saying they were playing to a small crowd would be an overstatement but the few people that were there were surely feeling the tunes., though the crowd was small the band did not dial down on the energy and the talent was surely there as most of the bar was on their feet dancing along.

    One can only wonder how many hours they had spent practicing, and being in Zim, its tough out here for artists and everyone in the town had plenty of other options to enjoy their night, but i thank these guys for at least saving my evening as it was surely bound to be a dead night.

    I salute them, I do hope they continue and if they do release their own music, i just hope its good..

    This has been a submission by an anonymous contributor.
    You too can become a Citizen Journalist by submitting your story here: Citizen Journalism by Living Zimbabwe
    The views expressed in the article are those of the author and not necessarily Living Zimbabwe.

  • Popcaan Set To Perform in Zimbabwe on New Year’s Eve

    Popcaan Set To Perform in Zimbabwe on New Year’s Eve

    Over the last day or so, there have been reports that rising Jamaican dancehall artist Popcaan will be making his way to Zimbabwe at the end of the year. This report was confirmed by Popcaan himself who sent out a tweet (below) stating that he is set to perform his first show in Africa on 31 December 2012 at the Harare International Conference Centre.

     

    Over the last couple of years, Popcaan has released tracks such as “Ravin”, “Party Shot”, “Only Man She Want” and “System”, all of which have caused a stir in the dancehall world and are seeing him rise to international stardom!

    Are you a Popcaan fan looking forward to seeing him perform?

  • Zimbabwean Music Legend Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi is 60!

    Zimbabwean Music Legend Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi is 60!

    Rest in Peace ‘Tuku’ – 23 January 2019

    22 September 2012 marks the day that one of Zimbabwe’s greatest musicians Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi turns 60. Over the decades he has entertained generations of Zimbabweans and to this day he is still making a contribution to music and society. He is still recording, has just released his 61st album, ‘Sarawoga’ and has 3 more ready to be released. To add to that, he mentors young aspiring artists at Pakare Paye Arts Centre (a centre that he founded in 2003) so that they too can one day realise their dream. What more can one do to be classified as a legend?

    Turning 60 doesn’t mean that we will be hearing less and less of him, in his own words, “As long as mankind exists, there is always something to talk about and as long as there is something to talk about there is something to sing about. And so I shall sing always”.

    Happy Birthday Tuku!

  • Meet The Miss Black Africa UK 2012 Semi-Finalist: Elizabeth Mbofana

    Meet The Miss Black Africa UK 2012 Semi-Finalist: Elizabeth Mbofana

    My name is Elizabeth Mbofana, I was born in Zimbabwe. At the age of 4 I moved to the UK and have lived here all my life. I am 18 years of age and have joined a Beauty Pageant called Miss Black Africa, this pageant is about finding a lady that is committed to taking the role of being an ambassador for young Africans in the UK and also helping less privileged children. I would like to become Miss Black Africa as I have a passion for children and I am committed and willing to take that role of helping other children who are in need.

    I entered Miss Black Africa back in May in order to make a change to the less privileged and become a role model to our youth, we started as 643 girls and got down to 43 which made the semi-finals, in order to get in to the finals I need the public’s vote,

    For all the Zimbabweans out there I need your support!!

    How to Vote :

    Please Click on Link below then click on stars under my name Elizabeth. All Things are Possible with your Vote. Thank you in Advance, remember you can re-vote as many times as you like

    This has been a submission by Elizabeth Mbofana.
    You can connect with Elizabeth Mbofana via the following:
    You too can become a Citizen Journalist by submitting your story here: Citizen Journalism by Living Zimbabwe.

  • Cassette Tapes Still Thriving in Zimbabwe

    Cassette Tapes Still Thriving in Zimbabwe

    A large majority of you have probably had a good laugh about how decades ago cassette tapes were a popular source of media that was used when buying, storing and of course “dubbing” music. If you went through this era then you probably also remember rewinding or forwarding tapes using an Eversharp 15M ball point pen and knowing that in order to get to a particular song, you had to turn it so many times clockwise or counter-clockwise. For some, having to pick and chose songs with a pen became a necessity when the fast-forward or rewind button on their trusty cassette player stopped working.

    Technology has taken a great leap forward and now people buy and store their music in digital formats such as mp3’s. If you are to roam around flea markets in Zimbabwe you will be sure to find someone sitting at their stall with a laptop ready to take requests of and make a copy of whatever music or movies you are after and only for a few dollars. This practise seems to be okay with the only material that you cannot be openly seen to be making and selling illegal copies of being anything by Zimbabwean artists. The Zimbabwean authorities do try to take a hard line against copyright infringements of material by local artists.

    To that end, there was a recent feature on CNN by Robyn Curnow about the resurgence of cassette tapes in Zimbabwe. She featured a cassette manufacturer, Diamond Studios that saw an opportunity and set up operations 3 years ago. Their current output is 10,000 tapes a month, which they ship to customers in not only Zimbabwe but Mozambique and Botswana as well. This has provided them with a more lucrative revenue stream than producing CD’s alone because of how quickly and easily they are pirated.

    The interesting bit is that going back to an old technology has been more beneficial for artists than CD’s. The reasons stated for this were that:

    • making pirate copies of tapes for profit is not as simple and easy as it is with discs
    • people in many areas of the country do not have a steady supply of electricity or any at all. This means that they have to run their radios on batteries and tapes are not as power hungry as CD’s so it makes sense to play them instead

    Even though cassettes tapes may be a dead technology in most of the world, it is still thriving in a few places and working to the advantage of many people. Manufacturers are making a living, musicians are getting paid their dues and consumers have their favourite music in a format that suits their needs.

  • We Are Africans – Zimbabwe Mix Video Premiere | 18 April 2011

    We Are Africans – Zimbabwe Mix Video Premiere | 18 April 2011

    18 April 2011 marked the day that Zimbabweans celebrated 31 years of independence. The day brought about a mixed bag of emotions because of the definition of the word INDEPENDENCE but that is a whole story in itself. The 18th also marked the day of the video premiere of We Are Africans – Zimbabwe Mix by JJC, a Nigerian producer, songwriter and vocalist. This Zimbabwe Allstar Remix features Zimbabwean artists Jusa Dementor, Cynthia Mare, Bkay & Kazz, TK Paradza, Decibel, Roby Gee and Jonah. In the day or so that it has been online, It has proved to be quite popular and the three words at the end say it all, “UNITED WE STAND”. The Official We Are Africans Zim Allstar Remix can be downloaded for FREE at – Enjoy!

  • Chicken To Change – Mugabe Political Satire

    Freshlyground released a music video, “Chicken to Change” a few days ago which will probably attract a bit of attention. At the beginning of the video you see the latex Mugabe saying, “I Robert Gabriel Mugabe do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Zimbabwe and observe the laws of Zimbabwe so help me God” and goes on to cross his fingers close to the end of the speech.

    With lyrics like, “An iridescent example of honour for the coming generation… You promised always to open the doors for us… Indeed it is you and only you who sleeps with the key… You are chicken to change!” it is plain to see that the video is a message or challenge to Mugabe to let go of the power he has held on to for decades. But, he is too chicken to do so.

    The latex Mugabe character is the creation of the well-known cartoonist and co-creator of ZA NEWS, Zapiro. This may mean we will be seeing more of Mugabe on ZA News.

    Given Zimbabwe’s political history is taking such a stand against Mugabe really worth the while or is it a waste of time?

    Watch the video and draw your own conclusions.

    ‘Chicken to Change’ Freshlyground / ZA NEWS music video from ZANEWS on Vimeo.

     

  • Speak ZimLove Tour 2010 Fundraising

    Speak ZimLove is a joint tour between two powerhouse Zimbabwean groups, “Outspoken and the Essence”—one of the country’s most cutting-edge hip-hop groups— and international touring band, “Bongo Love” – Zimbabwean Afro-coustics-style at its best — will soon take the stage together to launch their joint USA tour. Coming from a country of extreme human rights violations and rampant poverty, these young African musicians will bring their message of hope and activism through music and poetry at a time when American audiences are becoming more aware than ever of the plight of their African brothers and sisters.

    We are appealing for your support in helping us bring these musicians over here. We’re doing the tour on a shoestring budget, so have launched a fundraising campaign at http://kck.st/b6nfE8. We hope you will help us exceed our goal by August 7! Please visit our tour website: www.speakzimlove2010.com for more information about the bands and the tour.

    Guest submission by: Verity @ Speak ZimLove

  • Zimbabwe State Lotteries – Safest In The World!

    Zimbabwe State Lotteries – Safest In The World!

    During the 2009/2010 festive season, US$1 could have instantly made you US$100,000 richer. How? All you had to do was buy a scratch card from the State Lotteries and all going well you could have won that amount. Another popular game that was introduced was Bingo which people could play Monday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm.

    As with lotteries around the world, the chances of winning are very slim but the winnings are big. Just imagine someone in Zimbabwe going from a few dollars to being $100,000 richer? One thing that you can be rest assured about though is that the State Lottery in Zimbabwe is the Safest Lottery In The World!