Word: mapfumo
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...future, displacing the stagnating Western forms of rock and pop. Despite the brave stand of Gabriel’s Realworld label, and its American counterpart Putumayo, this prediction has yet to be fulfilled (though the stagnation theory still holds true). Anyone who saw Habib Koité and Thomas Mapfumo, two giants of African music, perform to a hugely appreciative crowd in the wood-panelled decorum of Sanders theater will know that this says much more about the parochialism of Western music buyers than anything about the immense talent that the world, and Africa in particular, has to offer...
...Mapfumo is something of a national treasure in Zimbabwe, where he grew up listening to bands like the Beatles and Elvis Presley, and began to play guitar with the aim of being a rock and roll star. As his social awareness grew—and the country moved towards civil war in its struggle for freedom—he became more interested in local music, eventually synthesizing his two interests into a new, entirely Zimbabwean sound that was called Chimurenga music after the historic name of the liberation struggle. This music uses traditional elements, but transposes them onto more Western...
Postponed after the events of last Tuesday, Malian singer-guitarist Habib Koite, and Zimbabwean superstar Thomas Mapfumo will finally grace the stage of Sanders Theatre. The two are well matched—Koite’s acoustic, blues-flecked West African themes represent a younger generation of musicians, yet one still faithful to their musical heritage. Thomas Mapfumo created his own tradition in Zimbabwe, where he is credited with originating “Chimurenga” music, the music of the Zimbabwean Liberation struggle. Recently forced to leave Zimbabwe after releasing Chimurenga Explosion last year, an album that specifically criticised...
...Thomas Mapfumo and Habib Koite