Like fathers, like daughters . . . Black Umfolosi children join group
AFTER four decades of excellence, during which fans got used to the booming voices of an all-male ensemble enchanting them with tales from the southern tip of Africa, imbube fans overseas are being treated to a new version of Black Umfolosi, with two songbirds, both daughters of the group’s founding members, giving the troupe a delicate feminine touch that is delighting audiences on tour.
For four decades, Black Umfolosi has been torch bearers for local musicians, blazing a trail across the world as they took imbube from Bulawayo’s humble beer gardens to some of the most respected stages around the world.
Four decades after they emerged however, the overwhelming perception is that imbube is still largely a male genre, a perception that the group is now intent on confronting, beginning with a three-country tour that began in the United Kingdom and is set to progress to the United States and Canada afterwards.
While the tour is meant to be a victory lap celebrating Black Umfolosi’s four decades stay at the top of the imbube ladder, it also serves as an introduction to Sandy Dube and Luzibo Moyo, daughters to group members Thomecki Dube and Sotsha Moyo respectively. The tour will end in December in North America.
Thus far, this new version of Black Umfolosi, a merger of two generations, seems to have struck the right chord, with audiences taking a liking to imbube harmonies with a female twist.
In an interview, Sotsha Moyo told Sunday Life that despite his best attempts to encourage his daughter to stay away from the music industry, she had decided to follow his illustrious footsteps. Luzibo has in the past made an impression in the world of music as an Afrosoul songstress going by the name Luchi Shiki.
“As Black Umfolosi we have always had training programmes for youths, where we train both boys and girls. This is usually done at Enkundleni which is a Black Umfolosi project. So, these girls are a product of that project. Personally, I didn’t encourage my child to get into music. But I guess she is like father like daughter because despite the fact that I didn’t encourage her, I saw her gaining interest and she started doing music with her agemates instead of with us as Black Umfolosi. I tried to discourage her because I have seen the challenges that artistes face, especially the young girls in the industry.
“However, she thought she could handle it and she would bring her recordings and one of her songs Sugar Sugar was nominated I think at the Skyz Metro awards. So, for this particular project we are celebrating our journey as Black Umfolosi so we thought 40 years into the music industry my child and Thomecki’s daughter are both interested in music why don’t we bring them along and let them help us celebrate our journey,” Moyo said.
Moyo said that taking the girls on tour was also their attempt to inject new, female blood into the imbube genre.
“We want them to see the kind of places that we visit and we also want to bring fresh blood and a fresh sound to our music. Imbube is known for being male dominated but we are trying to prove that imbube can incorporate females as well. To our fans, it is something that is unique and so far, we have been getting very good feedback because the girls are doing very well,” he said.
Moyo said that while as young people the girls had their own musical tastes, they had always respected their parent’s artform because this was what had always put food on the table at home.
“The purpose of this journey is celebratory and I have also alluded to the fact that we train girls because we don’t discriminate against anyone. Whether they continue with us its up to them because for now we had asked them if they are willing to be a part of this particular tour. We wanted to celebrate with them and because they are musicians they agreed. However, they have their own interests and perhaps the music that we make might not be as appealing to them. I know they respect our music because they know this is what raised them and put them through school. They respect our sacrifices so they’re the right people to travel with us as we celebrate our journey,” he said.
While Moyo acknowledged the advisory role they play in the two girls’ artistic choices, he said that the decision to continue with Umfolosi or not was up to them. Whatever they chose, female voices would now be a part of the Black Umfolosi ensemble.
“It was a bit of experimental taking them on board and it seems to work quite well. So, they might be the ones to accompany us on tour in future or it could be another group of women that are interested in shaping imbube in a new way. We are open to that but as father figures we won’t impose of them,” he said.
While some might fear for the future of traditional genres like imbube in a world where new genres seem to be imported every year, Moyo said imbube was a part of Zimbabweans’ cultural identity and thus could not be lost willy-nilly. He said that the group was ready to pass the button to young people who could take imbube to the next level.
“When we first arrived, imbube was a genre that was sang in places like beer gardens and that’s where our elders would sing and compete.
“They would be rewarded with goats or alcohol but as young as we were, we fell in love with it and afterwards we took imbube from the bars and presented it in a professional way. Like every genre, it’s up to the community itself to show appreciation of the genre. You will not fail to find young people with an interest, as long as they grow up watching the artform.
“I think imbube is here to stay because it’s part of us. Its what opera is to Italians or ballet dance to Europeans. Imbube is like that and it shall find new voices.
“There are young people who have grown up watching Black Umfolosi who will gain an interest. As the founder of something, there are others that are always coming along that will improve on whatever you built because they are in a position to see all your mistakes,” he said.