The National Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), Dzikamai Richard Bere, has said Jah Prayzah’s song “Walletically” promotes the “Mbinga” culture and endorses a culture of impunity.
Mbinga is Zimbabwean slang meaning a rich young person living a lavish life, driving expensive and fast cars.
The song (Walletically) has divided opinion among Zimbabweans, especially after the release of the video of the song over the Christmas period.
While some commentators have argued that artists should not be gagged, but rather be allowed to be creative, others have said “Walletically” embraced soft porn and commodified women.
Posting on Facebook, Bere argued that “the actual tragedy of the song Walletically is this – the seduction targeted at young people to the mbinga worship of ill-gotten wealth and promise of impunity for the atrocities committed – havatye kuchachura poto.” Wrote Bere:
The Real Tragedy of Jah Prayzah’s Walletically the Message: Mbinga Culture, Impunity and False Freedom!
A day before Christmas, (24 December 2023), Zimbabwe’s popular musician Mukudzei Mukombe aka Jah Prayzah released a video of one of his songs Walletically from the album Maita Baba.
The album was released earlier in the year together with Chiremerera. Chiremerera features mainly traditional beats while Maita Baba features more urban beats targeting youths.
The video which features half-naked women gyrating explicitly has been described as ‘soft porn’ by offended viewers who castigated Jah Prayzah for sexually objectifying women.
Loyalists complained that Jah Prayzah’s music is consumed by families and needs to be family-friendly.
What I find interesting is that before the video was released, the lyrics of the song were already problematic, and no one raised an issue.
The album Maita Baba targets young people and artists like Mukudzei are popular with the capacity to shape culture. The content of their music must certainly be a cause for concern.
We are living in a country that is locked in an economic quagmire owing to corruption and economic mismanagement.
A lot of young people are struggling to make ends meet due to high levels of unemployment, ending up resorting to drug abuse and crime.
The mbinga culture has emerged, the worshipping of a few filthy rich elites, usually linked to the ruling party with access to the feeding trough.
This culture is usually associated with showing off what are usually the proceeds of corruption. Those with access to the feeding trough tend to insult those living in poverty, often accusing them of laziness.
Many young people, under the seduction of this mbinga culture, with no options tend to be attracted to this way of life and the set of values that disregard hard work and ethics.
Those who work hard and try to earn an honest living are insulted as ‘backward’. Young people no longer find it helpful to work hard and earn an honest living.
The mbinga culture often seduces young people to connect with the ruling elite so that they can make it. It worships unexplained wealth and corruption.
Those linked to this class, enjoy immunity from the usual consequences of crime and corruption.
Winky D and Holy Ten’s Ibotso song tackles this phenomenon and tries to dissuade young people from this seduction yemacooler box muboot.
The repeat chorus ‘Vanotora zvevapfupi nekureba’ clarifies that there is nothing like miracle wealth – it is all loot at the expense of the poor, creating mansions for the elite and graves for everyone else.
Ibotso – unforgivable crimes that shout high to the heavens – the atrocious destruction of an entire generation.
The song Walletically does the opposite. It celebrates the worship of materiality in the mbinga culture, with the persona praying for access to so much money so that they can do as they please and be worshipped.
He speaks about the impunity that comes with this status. “Handingatye kuchachura poto ndine mari.”
The tragedy in the pun with the video showing half-naked young women dancing around Mukudzei, who in the past has faced accusations of sexual abuse, is not lost.
This is reflected in our society where some of the elites believe they can get away with anything.
There are cases of connected political leaders who have been implicated in unthinkable cases of rape, violence and corruption, and nothing happens to them.
The elites who in broad daylight have looted public funds and yet still bought their way out of prosecution.
Meanwhile, the communities that are subjected to this wealth of pornography are languishing in poverty.
A healthcare system that is supposed to care for the poor is on its knees. And the mbingas live lavish lifestyles in which everything flows. ‘They do thega,’ Walletically says.
Well, nothing works like that. Behind this wealth we see, are great crimes and atrocities that have impoverished the nation and sent over 4 million Zimbabweans into exile.
The actual tragedy of the song Walletically is this – the seduction targeted at young people to the mbinga worship of ill-gotten wealth and promise of impunity for the atrocities committed – havatye kuchachura poto.
The song Chiremerera encourages us to pay a blind eye to how artists behave in the public space.
It is meant to discourage the kind of critique that is shared here. I disagree. Artists are public leaders.
They form culture and provide thought leadership. Their words affect behaviour and reach out to thousands of young people who look at them as role models.
They have a moral duty of care to the community that has made them stars. They must lead their lives positively and shape positive ethical values of hard work, accountability, good governance, care for the poor and moderation.
When they fail to lead with integrity and shape positive values, they not only lose the opportunity to contribute to an important nation-building agenda, but they become active agents of destruction. We mourn with their name and regret every dollar we put into their art.
And that is the real tragedy of Walletically, beyond just the explicit videos. A real failure by social models to model positive values.
More: Pindula News