Nutty O recently triggered a storm with his comments in relation to Record Labels on the Denny J Show. The exact words that got everyone talking were, “There’s no [record] label in Zimbabwe”. This phrase came about during a discussion about about artist development and the importance of a record label to this. Immediately after the snippet of Nutty O talking about this went viral, Holy Ten had some not too kind words of his own for Nutty O.
There is no label in Zimbabwe? Wangu cooler down. So Samanyanga Sounds is what, a circus? Put some respect on the work we’re putting out here. People are feeding their families because of the work we do.
Kikky Badass had some words in reply to this and then Michael Magz in turn had words for Kikky, which spiralled out of control.
Samanyanga Sounds has put people on hands down, yes but record label standards we have none in Zimbabwe and that’s facts.
Artists like Buffalo Souljah also chimed in into the conversation, to the defence of Nutty O. Buffalo Souljah kicked off by stating that there was a difference between a record label and a record company. He went to highlight that they’re definitely record labels in Zimbabwe but they’re don’t have the same funding as labels in South Africa, Nigeria and the US.
Renowned arts writer and creative Plot Mhako also added his word, saying Nutty O had shared some important insights.
The local industry seems not ready for big conversations. Nutty O shared some important insights and these boys (Holy Ten and Michael Magz) feel rubbed the wrong way. They’re talented but their egos are too blotted. Let them massage each other.
All through this conversation, people have brought up record labels like Chillspot Recordz, Passion Java Records and Military Touch, which Nutty O used to call home before branching out.
So do we have Record Labels in Zimbabwe? Well the short answer is YES! However the conversation is much longer than that.
Once upon a time, when you thought of music in Zimbabwe, you thought of Gramma Records. The record company pioneered the recording, production and distribution of local music in the early 1970s, and at one point boasted the most extensive catalogue of Zimbabwean music. It also had it’s own state-of-the-art recording studios and CD manufacturing plants.
Now in it’s time Gramma Records (among others) was a Major Label, similar to the Sonys and Def Jams. Something that has been missing in the Zimbabwean music ecosystem since the fall of hard copy sales and the rise of piracy. Digitalisation saw the fall of the Major Label in Zimbabwe but this led to the rise of Independent Labels, and that’s what dominates our music space now.
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small-to-medium sized enterprise, or SME. Many of the labels started as producers and distributors of specific genres of music, such as jazz music, or represent something new and non-mainstream. A good example in Zimbabwe’s case is Chillspot Recordz and how it was started as a record label for production and distribution of Zimdancehall.
Now although Nutty O ignores all these labels, he’s right in some regard. Music labels as we see them globally are not there in Zimbabwe. This is not in regards just to size but in terms of methods of operation. Album rollouts are often whittled down to just a few Instagram/Twitter posts followed by a performance at Woods or another bar. While on the same hand artist development is whittled down to just featuring a signed artist on your tracks. The current strategies are not fulfilling the things they should.
So are they Record Labels in Zimbabwe? Yes but they’re not doing things Record Labels should and I feel we need to rethink how we see the role of a Record Label in an artists career.
