Every time a chance comes to listen to new music from the Bulawayo Hip Hop scene, I jump at it because I’m assured of a refreshing listen. This is a city full of lyricists who focus more on content rather than producing bubblegum music. Enter Clemence Dube aka Tsolomaan a Skhanda Rapper from kwaBulawayo who is creating quite a ‘buzz’ on the grapevine. This guy’s story might be straight out of an American Rapper Handbook as he started out writing rhymes as a teen, landed himself in a Correctional facility down South, got out and started a gang (Huzzu Gang, a rap group!). This 31 year old rapper may be appealing to the more mature audience who lived through the Pantsula Hype as this is a major influencer in his music and is evidenced by his type of flow and instrumentals.
Bar for bar, Tsolomaan may not be the best thing in Bulawayo right now but this guy breathes passion on every track and that’s movement in the right direction.
Makhosini of Zimbo Music might have gambled on a winning horse by marketing the ‘Huzzu General’ – an artist of witty lyrical content whose lines defy his age. However there are instances where he overreaches and the flow starts to sound a little…retarded.
A good example is the ‘mission, station, fashion’ flow on ‘Skhati SamaHuzzu’. This is a cliché in the verses reminiscent of underground rappers with similar lines. However redemption came with the first listen of ‘So Dangerous’. The word play was on point, vocals clear and the instrumental signed, sealed and delivered this track straight into my Zim Hip Hop playlist. The same cannot be said for ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Tsolomaan’s attempt at a love song. This is a track I would have the artist reproduce and feature a Soul or Jazz singer to try and soften it up. The thuggish front he puts on does not do much to help considering the track is supposed to impress one trying to serenade a woman one loves. The producers did a fairly good job inasmuch as the instrumentals were a bit familiar and did not bring the fire that makes a listener punch repeat for the rest of the day.
All said and done it’s a fairly good effort on all the tracks although the room for improvement is pretty large. Clearly Tsolomaan is a man on a ‘mission’ and we await to listen to the new projects he will drop. In the words of the man himself he maybe “….underground like treasure” have a listen and discover!
