Entertainment / Music
Zim Hip-hop Singer "Mau Mau" starts own recording label
15 Dec 2011 at 04:05hrs | Views
Shingirai Sabeta, better known as "Mau Mau", is one Zimbabwe's pioneer hip-hop artistes whose music is steeped in issues of African pride, struggles, dreams, aspirations and Black Pride.
"Mau Mau", whose nickname is derived from the Kenyan anti-colonial movement - has gone a long way in changing the face of hip-hop locally and in the region.
Starting off his musical career in the late 1990s with the song "Chi Chinonzi Mau Mau", which had a lovely video to it, "Mau Mau" proved his unmatched lyrical prowess.
Now at the helm of a new recording label - Marcus Garvey Records - Sabeta says he is out to change the game: "Marcus Garvey Records is a whole new concept that will take Zimbabwean hip-hop to another level as well as disillusion the African youth's mind.
"We took the global sound of hip-hop and localised it, making it relevant to Zimbabwean ears and culture", he said. The record label has signed up several producers, songwriters and artistes and it is expected to release new material early next year.
"Mau Mau's" debut album in 2000, "Coup d'Etat", established him as one of the pioneers of urban hip-hop on the local scene. Since then, he has matured and maintained depth in his lyrics. As a result, he stands out commanding much respect as one of the finest hip-hop artistes Zimbabwe has ever heard. With a strong pan-African thrust, Sabeta's music talks about black consciousness and the quest for mental emancipation.
"I am very conscious of the way that I put down my lyrics - the way I put words together.
"I am African and most of all I am Zimbabwean, I will never escape it and I have respect for that," he said.
Shingirai, who over the years has made it known that he wishes to have his name live on, was honoured for a lifetime achievement at the recent hip-hop awards.
His last album, "A Luta Continua (The Struggle Continues)", dwells on the challenges facing Africa.
Other tracks to his name include "Kure Kure", "Jezebel", "Africa is Dying Silently", "No Man is Safe", "Angola Flower", "Malaika" and "Sophinda S'bonane" in which he pays tribute to his late grandparents.
"Mau Mau", whose nickname is derived from the Kenyan anti-colonial movement - has gone a long way in changing the face of hip-hop locally and in the region.
Starting off his musical career in the late 1990s with the song "Chi Chinonzi Mau Mau", which had a lovely video to it, "Mau Mau" proved his unmatched lyrical prowess.
Now at the helm of a new recording label - Marcus Garvey Records - Sabeta says he is out to change the game: "Marcus Garvey Records is a whole new concept that will take Zimbabwean hip-hop to another level as well as disillusion the African youth's mind.
"We took the global sound of hip-hop and localised it, making it relevant to Zimbabwean ears and culture", he said. The record label has signed up several producers, songwriters and artistes and it is expected to release new material early next year.
"I am very conscious of the way that I put down my lyrics - the way I put words together.
"I am African and most of all I am Zimbabwean, I will never escape it and I have respect for that," he said.
Shingirai, who over the years has made it known that he wishes to have his name live on, was honoured for a lifetime achievement at the recent hip-hop awards.
His last album, "A Luta Continua (The Struggle Continues)", dwells on the challenges facing Africa.
Other tracks to his name include "Kure Kure", "Jezebel", "Africa is Dying Silently", "No Man is Safe", "Angola Flower", "Malaika" and "Sophinda S'bonane" in which he pays tribute to his late grandparents.
Source - TH
