Rise Up
It takes a special kind of music to be banned not just by one regime, but two. From Zimbabwe, Thomas Mapfumo is a veteran musician whose chimurenga (‘struggle’) songs were at the forefront of the fight for independence. Now, independence gained, it’s a bettable prospect that a slew of new songs with titles that translate as ‘Suffering in Silence’ and ‘What Are They Dying For?’ will be like a red rag to Robert Mugabe’s Government.
It won’t be the first time. Like Fela Kuti in Nigeria, Mapfumo is a musician whose music (in this case, a range of jazz, Shona influences and the best kind of Afropop) has, by necessity, become a radical vehicle. The passions of Rise Up, Mapfumo’s first album since 1999’s Chimurenga Explosion, a release which was denied airplay in Zimbabwe, are acute: HIV, poverty, the future of his country. It’s also an album that was made in exile – Mapfumo left his homeland soon after Explosion and now lives in Oregon – far from the powerhouse that his early Blacks Unlimited afforded him. Even so, Rise Up shows Mapfumo still packs a punch: these 11 songs are, for all their often gentle music, tanked up on righteous indignation. His 14-strong band, one that includes a sensitive brass section and some lovely weaving mbira sounds, beats its message home beautifully: there’s still a world to struggle for.
- Product information
- by Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited
- Star rating
- Publisher
- EMI/Real World
- Product number
- CDRW136 CD
- Product link
- www.thomasmapfumo.com
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
