The death of sungura
Concluding that museve/sungura died with Tongai Moyo, is not only oversimplifying a systematic industry decline, but also exposes the lack of appreciation of the genre and it’s roots.
Sungura was generally regarded as ‘farm and rural music’, which is befitting, considering that most successful bands and or artists emerged from farms and mines, with a considerable number of them being of foreign origin (I am that too and proud of it).
Sungura in it’s heydays, was supported by a functional record label structure, where there was ZMC and Grammar being the leading music labels. The market, which was mostly the same farms and mines where most bands emerged from, were also functioning.
It is not a secret that most farm workers were displaced during the ‘Hondo Yeminda’ period, which also took away their income and the closely knit communities they were used to.
The economy itself took a knock, major record labels shut down which was a triple blow for the formerly vibrant sungura industry.
Tongai Moyo and Alick Macheso had that rivalry, but that was not what defined the sungura genre.
Their rivalry made the genre more interesting, but we still had bands like Pengaudzoke and Njerama Boys churning out hit after hit.
If we are going to be honest, the decimation of the Zimbabwean economy ate away a once promising music industry. And to put the blame on the emergence of Zimdancehall would not do justice to a genre that made Zimbabweans dance for over four decades.
It should be remembered that Zimdancehall grew after 2010 and before it was Urban Grooves.
As much as the death of Dhehwa was a loss to the music fraternity, it was not the cause of decline of sungura.
Macheso’s rate of releases is a subject of a separate discussion, but one of the issues he has raised before is the effect of piracy on his music.
The partnership he did with Zimpapers and Econet Street Vendors was a masterstroke, but did it cushion him from the effects of piracy? In the short term it did, but the same can’t be said for the long term.
Tendai Joe is a South Africa based independent A&R Manager, Business Developer and Digital consultant, with interests in music, AI, film, Digital Marketing and software development. He has worked on creative projects with major labels including EMI, Sony/ATV Publishing SA and Sony Music Africa, to mention a few. @Tendaijoe on Twitter.
