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In this post, I look at the last two decades of Dr. Oliver Mtukudzi’s (Tuku) music, from the 1998 scorcher Tuku Music to his final offering, Hany’ga/Concern. This period is crucially important to Tuku's legacy as it firmly established him as one of, if not the, greatest Zimbabwean musicians of all time. It should be noted that 1998 was not the year that Tuku became a hit maker. He had already won the prominent M-Net award for best movie soundtrack, staged the first live concert album recording and recorded numerous hit songs. It was only a watershed year because that is when he started to be thought of as the one of the very best. Leonard Dembo, Leonard Zhakata and Simon Chimbetu had dominated the music scene in the 90’s, whilst Thomas Mapfumo maintained a towering presence with his evergreen chimurenga music. With the release of Tuku Music, Tuku claimed his spot at the very top and would lay legitimate claim to the mantle of greatest of all time.
Tuku is one of the last in a group of musicians belonging to the second wave of recorded music in Zimbabwe. The first wave consisted of acapella, jazz and other predominantly cosmopolitan genres
steeped in western style traditions. The second wave was the
hugely popular reversion to indigenous rhythms and spawned luminaries including Thomas
Mapfumo, the Bhundu Boys, Zexie Manatsa, and James Chimombe. Hailing
from this era, Tuku established himself on the basis of his husky voice and adaptation of traditional rhythms onto
acoustic guitar.
The partnership with Steve Dyer in 1998 resulted in his first
all hit album in the modern era. The Tuku
Music album combined Tuku's lyrical perspicacity with Philani Dube and Louis Mhlanga’s exceptional mbira guitar.
The almost haunting backing vocals of Mwendi Chibindi and Mary Bell would serve to buttress a truly groundbreaking record. From Dzoka
Uyamwe to Ndima Ndapedza to Todiii, the album sounds like a veritable
collection of greatest hits. Tuku would scale the same dizzy heights with what proved to be yet another all-hit offering: Paivepo. It included such classics as Pindurai Mambo, Perekedza Mwana, Mutserendende and Chiri Nani, the last two which would
become permanent features of his live performance repertoire. The 2000 production Bvuma/Tolerance produced runaway hits Wasakara, Rurimi, Raki and the deeply traditional Wenge Mambo. By this point, Tuku had proven himself to have the Midas touch, with each album equal to or better than the last.
Vhunze Moto would be the last
collaboration with Steve Dyer. It scaled lofty heights through songs as Wongororo, Gondo and Ndakuvara which earned him a Kora All Africa Award for
Best Arrangement. Tuku's music was growing in stature at home and in the region.
With
four stellar albums on the trot, Tuku made the radical
switch to a more acoustic feel on the 2003 album on Tsivo/Revenge. It produced the hit songs Totutuma, Wagona Fani and Hariputirwe,
but was markedly different from his all-hit albums. It seemed the
decision to part ways with Steve Dyer had a direct effect on album
production. These doubts would be laid to rest on his next album, Nhava. With the acoustic experiment
shelved, Nhava was Tuku back to his very best: an all hit album filled with the
booming bass lines and hypnotizing melodies. Handiro Dambudziko, Hazvireve, Menzva Kudzimba, Ninipa and Tozeza Baba were among the rich lexicon of
hit songs. This marked Tuku’s high point as a performing artist. He was solid
gold in Harare, where shows were always oversubscribed and he rarely played
more than once in a month, touring regionally and internationally in the
intervening periods. Such was his popularity that when he was overlooked in
favour of Tongai Moyo for the ZIMA Best Male Artist Award in 2005, the crowd openly chanted his name in rebuke.
Tuku would follow the Nhava album with Tsimba
Itsoka, from which Hapana kuti
Mbijana, Njuga, Ungade We and Masimba Mashoma were well received. It was also replete with Sam Mtukudzi's exquisite work on saxophone, particularly on the soulful ballad Vachakunonokera. However, this album would not reach the lofty heights of Nhava, mostly due to yet another radical change. In 2007, Tuku fired half of his entire band. Not only were the
band members dismissed, but some of the musical concepts were abandoned. The lead guitar was replaced by mbira, the keyboards with marimba
and Selmor Mtukudzi would not be replaced as a backing vocalist. The abrupt
switch to traditional instruments meant the the sound enjoyed on most recorded
albums could not be replicated at live shows. Tuku also replaced long-time manager Debbie Metcalfe with Sam Mataure and became more
accessible, particularly in smaller towns and venues.
As
part of his marketing strategy, Tuku always sampled music from upcoming
albums during his performances. Following the release of the Tsimba Itsoka album, songs that were being sampled from the forthcoming album included Pasai Njere, Kurerutsa Ndima and Unaye, the last two proving to be very
popular with audiences. However, before this album could be released, its contents were leaked
and shared widely. In a bold move, Tuku decided to shelve that project and release an entirely different album: the
2009 offering Dairai. This was his
first album incorporating traditional instruments and produced hit songs Meso Piriviri, Manyemwe and Panyatso. The previously shelved project
was later released as Rudaviro, a
great album which suffered from lack of promotion. It included great tracks
such as Rangu Jana and Kure Kwazvo, but
none of these songs formed part of Tuku's repertoire by the
time of the album's release. Only Mhodzi YeMbeu
which would later become part of his live act. That is not to say it was not well received, as copies of the album were sold out at the live show to premier its release.
Then
tragedy struck. Tuku lost his son Sam Mtukudzi in 2010. The Sarawoga album was replete with this
message of loss in the song Ronga Dondo,
in the title track and a rendition of
the Lord’s Prayer. It produced the massive hit Watisvata (Pata Pata), a throwback to township jazz, but also had sing
along songs in Uneyerera and Chiringa. This album also marked Tuku's departure from use of traditional instruments. He had, in 2011, revised his line up yet again, dismissing and replacing his entire band. However, this album did
not have the same booming bass-lines of old, which he more than made up for in his 2014 offering; Mukombe weMvura.
Mukombe weMvura was a return to the quintessence of Tuku Music with such songs as Kudzinga Hwema and Hukoche koche. Recorded live at Pakare Paye, it is an awesome
throwback to the core rhythms of Tuku music. This was followed by Ehe ka Nhai
Yahweh, a more relaxed album featuring Hugh Masekela on such tracks as Bhiza ra Mambo and Kusateerera. On the song Ndinecha,
he gives a soulful dedication to his fans. From this album, Tuku recorded a video for the song Hunhapwa, his first video since Tozeza Baba in 2005. His last album, Hany’Ga/Concern, produced the hit song Wanza Sori but also had great tracks in Shiringinya, Mahara and Haasati Aziva for which he recorded a video. It is a fitting final offering from the towering musical giant who could make the acoustic guitar sound like an orchestra of traditional Zimbabwean rhythms.
