When Tuku sang for women Neria Tozeza Baba
…Looking back at Tuku’s and
LAST week, as the country joined the rest of the globe in celebrating World Womens Women’s Day during Women’s Month, one would have been hard pressed to find a hit on the airwaves that spoke for the gender being celebrated. From rappers whose lyrics drip with uncontained lust for the fairer sex to singers crooning for the damsels of their dreams, there is no shortage of songs that glorify women or their bodies. When one listens to the radio, women it seems, are the sun around which the worlds of most musicians spin. However, in a society where women’s oppression is still a big talking point, precious few of those songs touch at the heart of their suffering. Beyond their beauty or curvaceous bodies, where are the songs that show the ugly side of being a woman? One man who has not been shy to touch on the not so sweet or romantic side of woman is Zimbabwe’s own superstar Oliver Mtukudzi. As a veteran with over 60 albums to his name, Tuku’s discography is littered with gems that shine the light on the trials and tribulations of the everyday Zimbabwean. F ewe w of those songs however, have had the profound impact of Neria and Tozeza Baba, two songs whose message is timeless. The inspiration behind Neria is common knowledge in Zimbabwean music. The song’s lasting effect perhaps was aided by the fact that it is a rarity on the Zimbabwean showbiz scene: the perfect soundtrack to an equally outstanding movie. On its own, even without association with the 1993 movie from which it took its name from, Tuku’s effort is cinematic. Through T hrough metaphor m etaphor and double meaning,m eaning, the lyricist, has always beenb een knownk nown to paint moving pictures with his words.
However, on Neria, he proves that his pen does not need his lyrics to inspire head scratching for him to paint a vivid picture. In this song’s case, it is indeed a bleak portrait that the master musician conjures up.
“Vanhukadzi vanobatwa senhapwa, kugara senherera
Usaore moyo ka Neria, Mwari anewe,” he sings.
As heartbreaking as theset lyrics, they capture life as it is for manym Zimbabwean widows, who are often as left as destitute as the children that depend on them when their husbands pass away.
Before even the last bit of dust has been shovelled on their loved one’s graves, they become subjected to the most humiliating treatment from people they consider kith and kin.
Musically, the song showssho Tuku at his irresistible best. Mtukudzi and his acoustic guitar are the co-stars in the track as, stripping the song of almost every other instrument, Tuku delivers his message w with heartbreaking precision.
Neria is sorrowful yet b beautiful and does a good job of showcasing t the fact that Tuku is perhaps aware that a son song’s message alone will not carry the day. It is only when a song is dressed in good instrume instrumentation and catchy melody that fans will give it an audience.
While Neria sees Tuku in an advisory role, telling a widow to hold ono as the vultures circle above, Tozeza Baba seess a fully grown Tuku take on the role of a c child disgusted and dis disgruntled by a fa father’s actions.
While in Neria h he sounds like a concernedcon brother or un uncle whispering motivational advice to a downdo and out sister, on Tozeza Baba he sounds likel an agitated son standing outside a growth p point bar, pouring his scornful heart out for the whole village to hear. Besides his admit admittance that he was so poor that he never worewor shoes to school, not much is known abo about the musician’s upbringing, making it ha hard to tell if the song’s subject matter is a refl reflection of his own childhood.
Regardless of the fact whetherw the song’s lyrics are Tuku’s biography in song or not, what is not in dispute is tha that he touched on a subject that is relevant and t timeless.
Years after he put pen t to pad and wrote that masterpiece, dome domestic violence is still a problem of epidemicepide proportions in Zimbabwe. Last year, police noted that domestic violence cases werewe on the increase in Zimbabwe, with police records showing that some 40 500 cases were reported between January and September alon alone.
Unlike Neria, Tozeza Bab Baba can be described as a fun track, which is su surprising given the topics that it tackles. A Abusive husbands, traumatised children and alcoholism are all woven into a tune thattha moves along at breakneck speed. That th the song was not weighed down by its heavy subject matter is perhaps further testament to Tuku’s mastery of song, as it is a track that one can dance to despite the issues that it rais raises.
“Imi Baba imi manyanya”ma begins, admonishing a father who has clearly gone overboard with his wife bashing.bash Tozeza Baba, the song’s chorus says, bu but throughout its duration the song’s tone is that of mockery and admonishment rather than fear. Clearly this is a child that has had en enough of an errant father’s behaviour.
As the song reaches its en end, Tuku maintains a playful tone, with the ex explosion of drum, mbira and guitar taking a track that mixes fun and seriousness in equ equal measure to an exciting, climatic finish.