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Afro Crop
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Philadelphia Weekly, Afro Crop >>
Since the beginning of his career in the '70s, Oliver Mtukudzi's unique mix of mbira (thumb piano), the South African mbaqanga, jiti music and a handful of other sounds-called "Tuku music"-has been hugely influential. He's recorded an astonishing 40 albums in 20 years, and dominated Zimbabwe's cultural landscape-as an actor, producer and musical director. Perhaps to safeguard his mainstream success, Tuku's always given politics a wide berth, even when his lyrics address Zimbabwe's social ills. But right before the recent presidential election, Tuku's fans got angry at him for playing at a government-sponsored concert. The outcry forced him to clarify his political position. He released an unequivocal antigovernment statement that said in part: "As a musician, I have been appalled that the government has used its mono-poly of the airwaves to restrict airplay of artists who they see as unsupportive of its policies." The personality behind such a strongly worded statement is nowhere in evidence on Nhava, a collection of gentle songs meant to instruct and advise. The electric guitars, shekere and tinkling piano are a pleasing backdrop for Tuku's soulful voice as well as for the harmonizing backup singers he employs to embellish his message. Whether about environmental concerns or abusive parents, the songs are pretty, melodic and uplifting, making Nhava an amiable, unchallenging effort that'll probably get him out of the doghouse with longtime fans, but won't do much to garner new ones. 04/20/05 >> go there
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