Voice2Rep is a groundbreaking platform that aims to discover, develop and showcase the vocal talents of Zimbabwean youth. Now in its third year, this year’s cohort features 13 young men and women who have written and recorded songs about social ills that are affecting all of us in our communities. The project was born of a collaboration between Accountability Lab and the Magamba Network.
Born Gift Mbayi, the zimdancehall, afro and rhumba artist who goes by Abuja Lali G, tantalizes in “Nzwisisa”, a track about drug abuse.
Anchored by a relentlessly compelling beat, the track shows the evolution of Zimdancehall. Channeling the chanting style of Zimdancehall favourite, Enzo Ishall, Abuja Lali G is irrepressible. Clearly not a vocalist in the traditional sense, his song is more a rap/singing style popularized by singers such as Drake. Accompanied by a drum beat, keyboard and an electric guitar front and centre and echoed by a choral background vocal, Abuja Lali G lays out the plight of Zimbabwe’s youth. He chants:
Moyo ne pfungwa nzwisisa, uri kuramba kunziwsisa, zve madrugs urikutiitisa, asi kufa kwavanhu uchiwitnessa
If it were not for the subject matter, one would be forgiven for thinking that is the latest popular tune on radio. Abuja Lali G is passionate, delivering his lines with bombast, taking this from simply being only a party track into a attention-getting call for people to wake up and realize that unemployed youth have nothing to do except get high with massive negative consequences for their families and for society at large.
Speaking on what prompted him to write this song, Abuja Lali G says, “Where I live in rural Goromonzi, young people of my age are losing lives and some are having mental illness due to drugs and substance abuse. It pains me to see this because we grew up together and most of these youths have potential to be great people. I know some of them personally and I know they don’t want to be involved in these activities but they have no choice due to hardships and peer pressure. This inspired me to write ‘Nzwisisa’- a song about a person in conflict with his heart and mind, telling them to understand how bad it is to abuse drugs.”
The point of it all is that there is a large-scale crisis brewing with Zimbabwe’s youth falling and getting caught into drug addiction. Abuja doesn’t sugar-coat it: combined with a lack of recreational options, the plight of our youth hangs in the balance.
The production on the track shines here with the Zuu Collective shining on what is currently one of Zimbabwe’s most popular genres.
Abuja Lali G began his career thus:
I started singing at school, muschool choir then ku secondary taisangana tichiimba ma freestyle tiine bhoiz until ndakuendawo kumastudio. But kwedu kumusha mastudio acho anga asina quality. Ndakazotanga kuendawo kumastudio arinani kuRuwa. Ndookwakaendesa career yangu kumberi ndakuimbawo music ichiiswa paYouTube nekuitawo mashow vanhu vachiona chipo changu.
Clearly, he has much to offer and will go far. A talented and enthusiastic performer, he is definitely one to watch out for.
You can listen to this track and more on the “Vakuru” compilation album on streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube) or by sending a message to +27600806146 on Whatsapp.
