When Tanatswa Hove, a PhD candidate at the University of Zimbabwe came to me in 2020 for supervision on her thesis titled:, 'Speaking the Unspeakables' :Vulgarity in Zimdancehall’, I was at first shocked wondering how far she would go with this topic, but she insisted and I agreed to supervise her.
Zimdancehall is a popular music genre in Zimbabwe that blends roots rock reggae and dancehall rhythms with local Zimbabwean sounds. The word Zimdancehall was coined from Jamaican Dancehall music with Zim added to it to make it Zimbabwean. The lyrics often touch on social and political issues, as well as love and relationships. It has gained a massive following both in Zimbabwe and internationally.
The use of lyrics which are vulgar and dirty is commonplace among some Zimdancehall artistes. However, some of them are so creative and clever that the real meaning behind some songs gets hidden. Up to now I am still struggling to understand the meaning behind some of Enzo Ishall’s songs such as Kanjiwa, Muchiround and Chiita Kwacho.
He is so clever and creative to the extent that he has managed to ‘fool’ some of us.
It is disheartening to note how artistes with talent and the potential to strike it big are fast losing their credibility as they direct their energy towards vulgar and dirty lyrics with the hope that they will make hits.
Quite a few youngsters seem to believe that in order to become a rising star in Zimdancehall, one only needs to find piercing vulgar words to sing about and that will sell lots of records. It works for some such as in the case of Jah Signal’s Stonyeni, Kupinda Mubako and Boom Betto’s Munodonhedza Musika, but in most cases, that is an illusion.
As if by telepathic communication a Jamaican lady named Tanesha Gibbs who is also undertaking her Ph. D studies at Rhodes University in South Africa, came to me last month armed with a list of artistes she wanted to interview in Zimbabwe. She also wanted my assistance as part of her research. In particular she wanted to interview Zimdancehall artistes such as Jah Signal of Stonyeni fame, Enzo Ishall who sang Kupinda Muround, Seh Calaz and Killer T.
Tanesha Gibbs who was a magnetic guitarist and songwriter in a reggae band in Jamaica, was fascinated by the rhythms coming out of Zimbabwe which were similar to the sounds she grew up with in Kingston, Jamaica to such an extent that she decided to make this sound the theme of her Ph.D studies.
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On investigation after listening to music from artistes like Silent Killer, Winky D, Daddy Distress, Tocky Vybes, Takura, Freeman, Saint Floew, Kabza de Small, Voltz JT Radio, Ninja Lipsy, Lady Squanda, Templeman, D.J. Fantan. Trevor Hall aka Ras Jabulani, Nutty O, Ti Gonzi, Ishan, Jah Signal, Sniper Storm and Seh Calaz, she found out that that sound was called Zimdancehall. She had compiled that list of artistes while she was still in South Africa and was determined to speak to most of the named artistes in Zimbabwe but one month in Zimbabwe with its expensive transport costs was not enough to conduct this research. However, she managed to speak to D.J. Fantan of Chillspot Records where many of these artistes record Zimdancehall tunes as well as a few other artistes.
Zimdancehall, as we know it, is mainly patronized by ghetto youths and the genre itself is often associated with vulgar lyrics, sexually seductive dances, violence and drug abuse. I don’t mean to be mean about the genre, but these have become the hallmark of dancehall music.
A point to note is that not all of these Zimdancehall artistes are ghetto youths, neither are all of them into the bad things that I mention above. Even if they were, they have found an outlet for themselves which they regard as employment and also use it to reach out to the rest of the society. That, in itself is a good thing. In all honesty, music is a powerful force. Its impact on society should not be taken lightly. Artistes interrogate and demystify the hidden dimensions of societal experiences, fantasies and perceptions.
Chillspot Records are at the forefront of bringing the Zimdancehall music genre to Zimbabwe. When this genre swept onto the scene, it was almost impossible to ignore. The genre was being recorded mostly in backyard studios like Chillspot in Mbare and was given a lot of exposure through Star FM by the likes of Simbarashe Maphosa aka Templeman The Godfather and Garry B.
Zimdancehall became associated with the culture of drugs, sex, misogyny, violence and alcohol which are domains of the delinquents in our society.
According to Tanatswa Hove’s study, vulgarity refers to the use of swear or curse words despite the fact that they can be used for different goals. Vulgar language also refers to the taboo layer with disgusting and obscene lexicalisations generally banned from any type of civilized discourse. Primarily but not always, vulgar language addresses the lexical fields of sexuality (sexual organs and activities, in particular) as well as specific body parts. This definition is based on the argument that when used in regular social settings, the language is considered inappropriate. Such a language often includes sexual references, blasphemy, objects eliciting disgust, ethnic-racial-gender relationships or offensive slang. It is also an employment of words that are sexual in nature to form one’s lyrical content.
Vulgarity is a language that has been utilised in many countries such as Jamaica. In Zimbabwe, vulgar language has been mainly associated with Zimdancehall which also borrowed it from Jamaican Dancehall and Rastafarian culture. Jamaican Dancehall music also includes gyal or discussion on sex and sexuality as one of its themes. Inclusion of sexuality in dancehall music is influenced by the need to deal with homosexuality. What one can gather from the information above is that vulgar language serves as a weapon to negate homosexuality as it is a threat to heterosexual male identity as seen in songs such as Buju Banton’s Boom Bye Bye. Words such as Raasclaat, Bumboclaat, and Battyhead are all vulgar in Jamaican society and the words pussyclaat and punany have got sexual innuendos, dancehall’s trademark.
Interviewed by Hope (2017), a Jamaican artiste known as Yellowman opines that sex lyrics are used to promote Rastafarian sexual ethics or right morality as well as entertainment purposes.
From Yellowman’s point of view, one can note that vulgar lyrical content is influenced by religion, identity and beliefs. This is also supported by Hagerman (2017) who argues that Rastafarians’ utilisation of vulgar language in music is a result of Rastafarian ideologies. This information leaves one with no option than to agree to the fact that vulgar language in dancehall and Rastafarian culture is morally acceptable.
Now, back to Tanesha Gibbs: She was introduced to me by well- known author and University of Zimbabwe lecturer, Memory Chirere as a visiting scholar who needed my assistance.
Tanesha Gibbs is currently a Doctrate student at Rhodes University in South Africa. She comes from Kingston, Jamaica where she did her B.A. degree in Philosophy in 2018 and her Masters’ degree in Music and Musicology at the university of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Her M.A. dissertation was on Rastafari: Third Space. Now she is undertaking her Ph.D studies on Jamaican Dancehall versus Zimdancehall with assistance from Professor John Ayotunde Bewaji who is based in Jamaica.
Last year, in November 2023, she gave a paper on Poetic Slackness: Music as a Contest Power and Space in Nairobi ,Kenya.
I immediately sat down with her and tried to get in touch with those Zimdancehall artistes which she had already identified. Johnathan Banda, Winky D’s manager informed me that Winky D is now living in the rural areas and is also preparing for his U.K. tour next month. Therefore, he was unavailable. We tried to get hold of other artistes but was successful with only a handful who included D.J. Fantan who gave a lengthy interview on many of the artistes he had recorded.
According to Tanesha, she would like to make an impact on the education of and professional careers of young adults. This is one of the aims of her continued studies. Hopefully by next year we will all be in a position to call her Dr. Tanesha Gibbs just like we are just about to call Dr. Tanatswa Hove.
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