Zimbabwean award-winning guitarist and music producer Clive Mono Mukundu has said that the Zimdancehall music genre will fade away because it is not a local sound.
Speaking to the Sunday Mail’s Takudzwa Chihambakwe, Mukundu said that borrowed foreign genres are destined to fade away. He was responding to the questions of whether Zimdancehall was now past its peak as a genre.
“Looking at our music history, all foreign genres have a shelf life no matter how much they trend. Zim-rock and urban grooves failed dismally. Both failed to produce a single artist who benefited financially simply because they were too foreign.
Although dancehall has a few success stories like Winky D, it will definitely fade away too. It’s just a matter of time. Already it has failed on the international stage. The reasons being that, just like hip-hop, it is a lyric-based genre. Without understanding the language, nothing makes sense. That’s why we also don’t know any Tanzanian or Ghanaian dancehall artistes who sing in their native languages.
If the artiste attempts English or Patois, they won’t stand the competition from the owners of the language. So unless the formula changes, Zimdancehall will never make an international breakthrough and will probably fade away one day.
“Every time when something is said to be trending or fashionable in Zimbabwean music, it is always borrowed from another culture. It is very difficult to be rated A-list on a borrowed genre.”
Popular Zimdancehall musicians in Zimbabwe include Winky D, the late Soul Jah Love, Killer T, and Poptain.
More: Sunday Mail