Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi – The Life Of A Selfless Legend Samanyanga And The Day When The Whole Nation Mourned At His Sunset.

The Life Of A Selfless Legend – Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi : Samanyanga – And The Day When The Whole Nation Mourned At His Sunset.

 

Dr Oliver  Mtukudzi : Samnyanga – What an Outstanding Music Maestro, who was deservedly endowed with an extraordinarily unique, husky and tantalizing voice, which mesmerised both his fans and critics alike and entertained both the young and the old.

Here is a brief history of a great man of valour, audacity and humility, who’s dreams could not wither through decades of colonial rule as he was growing up as a young man. Oliver Mtukudzi, who from humble beginnings, grew up to be an extremely multi-cultured artist, songwriter, singer, actor, guitarist and a philanthropist, beyond measure. Mtukudzi literally touched the hearts and minds of not only every Zimbabwean music lover but extended his musical tentacles to touch even the whole of the African continent and the global village at large.

Oliver Mtukudzi was born and grew up in the neighbourhood of Old Highfields, which is located in the Highfields township, this high-density township ( as they were called then) lies in the southern part of the then, City of Salisbury, presently the City Of Harare. He was born into a family of six, on September 22nd in 1952 and he happens to be the first born in the family. Tuku’s father passed away when he was still relatively young and this would see him assuming immense family accountabilities at a very tender age in his life.

Tuku’s love and passion for music developed when he was still very young, ostensibly, he had been influenced by his father and mother who were members of a local church and they were part of the church choir. At the tender age of 15 years, Oliver crafted his own unconventional guitar version ( the banjo) using some thin wires and a small tin, he would practise playing and singing some varied songs on this improvised musical instrument.

In 1975, at the age of 23, Oliver managed to buy himself his first acoustic guitar. His new acquisition would now see him compose and release his first single by the name of “Stop After Go”. Within a short space of time after the release of this single, he teamed up with Thomas Mapfumo and James Chimombe in a band by the name of Wagon Wheel, for a short time, after which he went solo.

In those early days of his musical career, Oliver had heeded an advice from the Chimurenga Guru, Thomas Mapfumo, who had recommended to him to compose and record some songs in the local indigenous languages. In 1978, Tuku and his band, the Black Spirits, released what was to be one of his most predominant albums, Ndipeiwo Zano, which I deeply enjoy up to day.

At the advent of Zimbabwe’s independence, in 1980, Oliver’s music had gained earth-shattering traction and had permeated the various social structures of Zimbabwe’s populace. At this stage he would frequently hold and partake in widespread musical functions and festivals, both locally and across Africa, to a large extent in South Africa.

Mtukudzi’s brand of music, was simply put, relatable to the Zimbabwe’s ordinary citizenry’s daily practical lives, their struggles, their challenges, their teething troubles and triumphs. This is what inevitably attracted his fans and critics alike, to rally behind him, to cherish and appreciate his trademark of music. The emblem of his music, coupled with Mtukudzi’s grassroots touch, moulded his melodies to be audibly palatable and tolerable to the millions of Zimbabweans across any lines of division.

The Signature Cough :
One of the most interesting manifestations which marks Mtukudzi’s musical career was when he accidentally coughed during a 1978 live recording session of one of his songs. Due to constrained studio time and resources, he decided to release the song without even editing it to remove or redoing the recording. So the cough was inadvertently incorporated into the melody and naturally became imbedded in that recording, hence becoming an integral part of the song. As a result, when the song was finally released, the cough had lyrically and instrumentally blended in that part of the song. This accidental cough would, for years to come, evolve into a historical conspicuous signature by which Tuku’s songs would audibly be set apart, from the rest of the pack. Tuku would even be asked by his fans to re-record his older songs in order to incorporate the Tuku/Samanyanga cough.

Mtukudzi’s songs are and were largely, an exclusive blend of the local songs and dance, flavoured with the Zimbabwe’s traditional rhythm and tone, inextricably interweaved with mbaqanga music from South Africa and a host of drumming styles from his home area. Mtukudzi music also borrows a large part of his music from the Katekwe/Korekore traditional drumming as well as Afro-pop music.

Beginning in the 90’s Oliver had professionally transformed into the other fields of Arts, rendering himself into an individual who could perform in various artistic acrobatics, in film, theatre and drama. In the 2000’s Tuku became a frequent artist who featured on the local, regional, continental and International stages. His newly acquired status would inevitably see him perform in Africa, Europe and in Canada as well as the USA. In 2012, he earned himself a prestigious award of The Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef, for the Eastern and Southern Africa regions. This marked a momentous milestone in his career and was as a direct result of his unflinching work as a philanthropist and in the field of Aids Awareness campaign as well as for some other numerous humanitarian work.

In 1992, Mtukudzi authored, released and played the soundtrack of Zimbabwe’s then, second film which was based on the plight of widowed women. This soundtrack went on to win him colossal International acclaim, partly due to the fact that it focused on bringing about awareness to domestic violence, Hiv-Aids and issues surrounding child development.
One of the most conspicuous and matchless awards, among several which were bestowed on him during his illustrious music career was, when M-Net conferred him an award for the most outstanding and unsurpassed soundtrack which symbolises the movie Neria. The movie, up to today, still stands in a class of its own, in the annals of Zimbabwe’s film industry.

Oliver Mtukudzi had been blessed with 3 children and two grand children. Two of his children, who were to follow in the footsteps of their father are Sam and Selmor. Regrettably, Sam, the only son to Mtukudzi, perished in car accident in March of 2010 and the loss of his only son took a very deleterious toll on him, in the remaining part of his lifetime.
Throughout his life, Mtukudzi had ever been a very generous, upright, down-to-earth and sociable individual, who had the inherent love of sharing his artistic expertise with his own and younger generations.

Out of the realisation of the fact that there was a dire need for a platform to groom, nurture and train young potential artists, he built a multi-cultural center, by the name of Pakare Paye Arts Center in Norton, which would train these youths in the fields of music, art, drama, film making etc. This multidisciplinary Institution serves as a bottomless pit of artistic resources in the training of young people., At is at this Institution, where Mtukudzi himself also used to share his expertise and experience to mentor these young people.

Oliver Mtukudzi passed away on January 23rd, 2019, due to some health ailments and was subsequently declared a National Hero as well as being accorded a state assisted funeral. It is on this very day, when the whole nation of Zimbabwe mourned the passing of their great Legend and exemplary leader.

A major celebratory event of his life, was held at the National Sports stadium and was attended by people from all walks of life, political and church leaders as well as leaders of the civic society and the general citizenry of Zimbabwe. The event was star studded and graced by musicians and artists from innumerable disciplines and stature.

 

Compiled and Written By :

Joel Masuka: ZimLegends Founder and Executive Director in Honour Of Dr. Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi

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