Zimbabwean hip hop

There are many Zimbabwean "Hip Hop" acts, in and around the world, with varying degrees of success, but none has yet reach Akon like heights. The majority are heavily influenced by American east coast hip hop, with the younger ones leaning more to the new dominant American "Dirty" South sound, which is evident when you listen to most of their songs (generic musically and lyrically). There are however, a few acts who are now trying to move away from the American stereotype and reinvent themselves by building and branching off form the remnants of the "Urban grooves" era which saw the ballooning of urban music culture in Zimbabwe after the effecting of a 100% local content directive in 2001. Though "Urban Grooves" was an umbrella term (for lack of a better word) for all the urban genres of music that were popular in Zimbabwe at the time (Hip hop, R'n'B, Dancehall, Afro Pop etc.), its heaviest influences were borrowed from Hip hop, hence most people mistook it for "Zimbabwean Hip hop". The "grooves" movement and those within has been maturing, and at the same time, the laws have been steadily re-integrating International music according to the growth of the Zim local industry, what where the sub-genres of "Urban grooves" are now developing into whole and independent genres of their own. amongst them is hip hop. Our new breed of Zimbabwean artists are now no longer just mimicking our American brothers, there's is a significant and very visible effort on the part of a lot of current MC's to experiment in order to redefine and own a sound that will then become and be recognised as Zimbabwean Hip hop. Some are doing this by using more of their own traditional languages (Shona & Ndebele) and instruments like the Mbira, Marimba, Ngoma (traditional drums) or Hosho (traditional shaker), whilst some argue that the difference should lie more in the content of the rhyme. It's a work in progress, and a destination shall be arrived at sooner than later.

Zimbabwean Hip Hop was initially championed by the Zimbabwean middle to upper class low-density suburban youths, who had access to satellite TV and or overseas connections, living in the major cities (Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru Mutare etc). However, over the last 10 years, though no where near as popular as the Museve, Reggae and Kwaito/African House, the youths in the high-density working class areas have also started to participate in the genre.

Artists and groups

Zimbabwean hip hop emerged to significance in the early 1990s.

Notable Zimbabwean hip hop artists are Mizchif and Maskiri.

External links

* [http://www.zimvibes.com Zimvibes-(Zimbabwe Urban Culture)]
* [http://www.rudeboy-records.com RudeBoy Records (Zimbabwe Hip Hop label)]
* [http://www.kynrecords.com KYN Records (Zimbabwe Hip Hop label)]
* [http://www.dkrepublic.com Divided Kingdom Republic (Zimbabwean Hiphop/Mbira Band)]
* [http://www.metaphysics.de Metaphyics (Qwela POE)(Zimbabwean Hiphop Pioneer)]