Performance - 7 July 2013
Oliver Mtukudzi was born September 22, 1952, in Harare, Zimbabwe. Mtukudzi,
or "Tuku," as he is known by his adoring fans, is a superstar in Zimbabwe (where he
still resides) and a household name throughout Africa. Oliver Mtukudzi is married and
the father of five, including Sam Mtukudzi, who was killed in a tragic car accident in
2010.
Oliver Mtukudzi's sound, a blend of traditional East African genres and modern
subgenres of Afropop, including chimurenga and JIT, is known as "Tuku Music."
Mtukudzi is a songwriter and a guitar player, and is well-known for his graceful
onstage dance moves, which he performs while playing.
Oliver Mtukudzi first recorded in the 1970s (when Zimbabwe was still known as
Rhodesia and under white control) with a band called Wagon Wheels, which featured
his fellow Zimbabwean superstar Thomas Mapfumo. Later, he started his own group,
Black Spirits, with whom he still plays. With Black Spirits, Tuku has released over 50
full-length albums and several compilations, is a household name in Zimbabwe and
South Africa, and is quite well-known throughout Africa.
Oliver Mtukudzi's music frequently tackles social issues, particularly poverty and the
AIDS epidemic that is responsible for so much misery in Africa.
Imi baba manyanya kurova amai
(Father, your domestic violence against mum has gone too far)
Imi baba manyanya kutuka amai
(You have gone to far with your verbal insults aginst mum)
Moti isu vana tofara sei
(Us the kids how will we live happily under such hostile family conditions)
Isu vana tofara sei
(Same as above)
Kana mai vachichema pamberi pedu
(When mum is always in tears because u are abusing mum right in our eyes)
Hunzi ponda hako ndifire pavana
(Mum says just kill me i wont go anywhere for the sake of my kids)
Tozeza baba
(Us the kids we are now afraid and hesitant to even approach our own father who has grown to become a monster in the house [sic])
Baba chidhakwa
(He is no longer as responsible as he used to be because of his drinking habits which have become worse)
Vauya vakoriwa
(He came back [as he of late usually does] drunk again)
Chavanotadza chii chinomirira madhakiwa?
(What crime did mum commit which u only wait until you are drunk to reprimand her and beat her up?)
Idoro here rinoti mai ngavarohwe?
(Is it the beer which is telling you to beat up mama?)
Idoro here rinoti mai ngavatukwe?
(Is it th beer which is saying tht u must insult mama?)
Hoihoihoi manyanya
(Hai hai hai Papa this has become unbearably too much for our growing little minds)
Translation - Jacqueline Mudzamiri
