Do Music Genres Die?

Do genres of music die? Is Zimdancehall going to die? I have heard several people predicting the imminent death of Zimdancehall. I almost joined the bandwagon. But then stopped to think a bit. Probably music die. Genres die.

Think of Soukous. I love Sahlomon but... It's all gone now. Panzura of Ntombi Marhumbini and Gelly Mafura. It's all gone. Black Mambazo choral music. Beautiful but dying or is dead already? Country music! I don't know where it's going now if not to the graves. It seems music actually die.


But then coming back to Zimdancehall. A lot has been said about the genre and how it's building (or building down) our cultural and societal pillars. Explicit content. Copycats. Undisciplined lyrics. Lack of creativity... You name it. There's no doubt some want this genre to die as soon as possible. The sooner they see its demise, the better. But is it going to die? Soon? Just like that? Maybe not.

Let's go to South Africa. In the 1990s South Africa was known for it's diversity in music. Peter Tinetti. Penny Penny. Hugh Masekela. Sankomota. PJ Powers. Mzwake Mbuli. Rita Mbuli. Ringo. You name them. Nobody dreamt of an immature, content and message devoid musical genre to take over. Kwaito then only served in upholding the diversity of South African music. Nothing more. But a few years later, Kwaito - now SA House Music - has completely took over. And now its close cousin, Gqom, has completely colonised the musical space like an invasive species. All the other genres are gone, dead. Buried. Why? How?

Is Zimdancehall going to die? Someone said yes. Urban Grooves Music is dead. Yes, that genre is dead. But maybe the name has a clue on why it met its fate. What of me, born and bred in the village, do I need Urban Grooves Music? Do I identify with it? In short, Urban Groove Music, was mainly for those in cities and towns - in the upmarket suburbs - those then known as 'salads'. Not villages. Not farms. Not ghettos. It was exclusive somehow. But again before we talk about its 'acceptance' we may need to know how it came into being. It was largely pushed and shoved on us by Policies and Laws. Local content policy, for example, is mostly credited for birthing that genre. Radios and broadcasters were left with limited options of what to play on air. You can't play Sungura all the time. Boom! Urban Grooves Music came was born,  giving diversity and alternatives despite it being upmarket music. Or something like that.

So is Zimdancehall going to last the distance? Well, I have no definite answer. I can't say with certainty. However, Zimdancehall was borne in the ghetto, 'representing' the ghetto, the poor and the downtrodden. Never mind the lyrical content, it's the 'For Us By Us Philosophy' that matters here.  It's our music. The ghetto here is not physical but rather metaphorical. Statistics on employment, bread basket, consumer spending, unemployment rate, poverty datum line etc can help us define ghetto.

Is Zimdancehall going to die? Maybe yes, maybe not. It's hard to predict. Yes, Killer T seem to be drifting away from the genre. But Winky D does not seem to tire. There are lots more in the ring. Are they are going to last the distance?

Given its 'collective ownership' in the ghetto, Zimdancehall might not die that easily. I look at it with the same lens as South Africa's House Music and Gqom- now the most accepted and widely listened musical genre. All ages. All people. Can you believe that African Jazz was shaped and given breathe in South Africa? But it's gone. I'm fearing for Sungura. The custodians are far and sparsed. For example, the ever visible and energetic Alick Macheso is now 50. The passionate wordsmith, Leonard Zhakata also 50, has revised his beat to something else. Sulu Chimbetu is playing saxophones. It's no longer the same Dendera (Sungura). The other Chimbetus are struggling to make names. There are a few budding guys but they're 'one hit' sort of guys. They drop a hit and literally drop with it, sinking into oblivion. Does Music Die? Probably we need someone to explore more at Masters or PhD in Music... I'm just an observer and a curious listener.

Winky D. Photo Credit: Pindula