TOCKY VIBES – HUMBLE, ORIGINAL, TALENTED, UNIQUE AND MATURE

Obey Makamure “Tocky Vibes”

By Kamangeni Phiri  21/1/2023

IF ever there is one Zimdancehall star who is capable of remaining relevant as a musician well after his time on mother earth is up then that artiste is Tocky Vibes aka Chamakuvangu.

Tocky, who is also well-known for his colourful, distinctive stage attire, has often shown that he has the staying power. His music appeals to all ages and religions, and he exhibits maturity belying his youth.

Tocky says his appeal to all ages is anchored on playing and composing music that is family oriented. His themes revolve around hard work, gratitude, honesty, love and prayer.

“The tunes I am dropping now appeal to a mature audience. If I sing in support of drugs and sexual immorality, I will lose one generation of my fans, the older listeners. So I am sticking to positive values in all my tunes now.

The thing is young people may like slackness now but since everyone is growing there will be no place for that kind of music in the future. Those who like slackness now will not like it forever. We may say it’s for young people but they will also grow to condemn it when they become adults,” Tocky Vibes told The Herald Entertainment in one of his archived interviews he gave in 2014 when he was aged only 20.

Some of his mature tracks he dropped back then include Kushanda, Kudzamisa Pfungwa, Usakande Mapfumo Pasi, Mhai, Hama and Ndivhurei Maziso. He has maintained that momentum in his more recent works like, Mari, Mbereko, Corona, and from his 2022 project, Chicken and Chama album in songs like Usambotya, Zvotangidza, Chama, and Zita (gospel).

Tocky sings about things that he sees; the lessons of life he considers worthy sharing with a broader audience.
“I have experienced different lifestyles so I know better about the life challenges I put across in my songs. I sing especially for the poor and my message is about upliftment. I tell those who are struggling that with hard work and dedication nothing will stop them from achieving their dreams,” he said.

Tocky’s biggest endorsement as a serious, mature artiste and, perhaps, the biggest advert for the Zimdancehall genre to date, came in Gweru when an elderly woman joined him on stage in 2019. The smartly dressed woman danced and sang along to the Zimdancehall star’s music, particularly the hit, Ngoma Dzonaka.

Legendary musician, the late Dr Oliver Mtukudzi, openly declared his love for Tocky Vibes. He even collaborated with the Zim dancehall star on the hit song, Usambotya.

Tocky says he was humbled by the experience and learnt a lot from Tuku.

“I was nervous working with mudhara (senior). I was even scared to ask for a picture with him. This shows how much I respected the late mdhara Tuku. Dr Tuku and I had discussed the idea of doing a song together but a year passed without getting into the studio. I could not gather the courage to approach him. It was Tuku himself who ended up asking me what became of our plans to collaborate. This is how we ended up recording Usambotya,” he said.

Tocky Vibes belongs to a rare breed of musicians who make their own beat while producing quality music with rich lyrical content.

A majority of Zimdancehall singers often use the same instrument arrangements known as riddim when composing their own individual songs.

But Tocky Vibes does it differently. He sings and speaks in pure Shona and, at times, simple English, unlike most of his peers who prefer the inaudible Jamaican Patois.

Riddim is a Jamaican Patois equivalent of the English word “rhythm“. To most reggae and dancehall artistes, the term refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section.

The Zimdancehall singer’s disdain for copying others’ music is made evident in his 2020 hit, Skilful: “Skillful ndini ndega Ndine chidobi hona chidobi,

Skillful original handi kope chidobi,

Handisi photocopy.”

His love for originality saw him name his son Chamakuvangu in 2019 but the wife and the nurses resisted. In the end, the boy was named Obey Junior.

Tocky Vibes was born Obey Makamure on 29 November 1993 in Rugare Suburb, Harare. He began his primary education in 2000 at the local Rugare Primary School before proceeding to Kambuzuma 1 High School for his high school education.

Tocky would occasionally visit his rural home in Madamombe, Chivi area in Masvingo.

He started singing at a very young age and is regarded by many as a rare level-headed and humble young musician to ever hit the Zim dancehall genre. The artiste’s talents has seen him earning sobriquets like the “Marshal Munhumumwe of Zimdancehall”. He was first spotted by top Zimdancehall artist Winky D, who helped record his first two songs.

Back then, it all seemed like a joke until he released his first single, Tirikumhanya in 2009 when he was aged 15. But Tocky’s parents were not happy with the development. They wanted their son to focus on his studies and felt music was distracting him. They eventually moved him to Chivi and later to a farm in Rusape where he worked as a herd boy.

At one time, he was based in Beitbridge where he worked as a taxi driver.

Tocky returned to Harare in December 2012 and immediately went back to music. He hoped to pick up from where he had left off only to find the going tough.

Later, local reggae and dancehall artist, Emmanuel “Guspy Warrior” Manyeruke of the Mafia 19 stable took him in and helped resuscitate his flagging career.

Tocky grew up as a member of an apostolic sect but now attends a Pentecostal church together with his wife.

He is the eldest child in a polygamous family and he says his father has 15 wives.

“My mother is the first one. We all lived in one homestead in rural Masvingo and this really fascinated me as I grew up. I felt that we had 15 homes and hence, there was no need whatsoever to be going next door as there was a lot to discover in my own home,” he said.

It is believed the singer got his stage name ‘Tocky’ from the turkeys that his mother keeps at the family’s rural home.

The 29-year-old artiste is married and has a two-year old son.

Obey said being the eldest child in a polygamous family meant great responsibility. The slightly built singer practiced martial arts as a way of protecting himself and his younger siblings against bullies.

But as he grew up, Tocky quickly learnt to make wise choices, always to be a hard worker and have a positive impact on his siblings.

“Today this is what I strive to do with my music. I want it to have a positive impact on those who listen to it. I also got to live in different places.

All these shifts in locations have certain influences in my music. Each place has its own story that I share through the songs I sing. I am very grateful to all my fans that keep supporting the Tocky Vibes brand,” he said.

Tocky was among the first Zim dancehall artistes to use a live band when he released a reggae mbira infused album, Toti Toti in 2015.

Dancehall fans were not happy with the shift and it took them time to warm up to the new Tocky.

But the artiste was not worried by the lukewarm response to his project:

“I am inspired by dancehall, but I follow my instincts. When my inner man says let’s do something in a different way I follow. I don’t have to please everyone. My true fans like my music. I don’t do music to top charts. That is not my mission. My music is all about the message and I believe there aren’t any boundaries to spreading this message. What I want to achieve is to heal people through my music.

Our music is good. It lasts for years as it is like our staple food, sadza or isitshwala which you can regularly eat. The music is not like bubble gums which can cause ulcers.”

Neither was he worried by the social media attack on his love of colourful outfits.

“I like my style of fashion. It does not have a name as such but most people who criticize it imitate western and American artistes. If they see Chris Brown dressed in a particular manner the following week everyone will be dressing like him. We should do our own things. I like to be my own man. If Busy Signal sees me he should be able to appreciate me and see something that he has never seen in Jamaica. We cannot be imitating others, they should copy our ways instead,” Tocky said.

His second album titled Kwata Zonke released in 2016 performed much better. A video of the song Tushiri off the album became a hit on DSTV’s musical channel, Trace.

The talented musician and wordsmith has collaborated with many artistes across genres that include, the late Mtukudzi, Leonard Zhakata, Progress Chipfumo, the late Soul Jah Love, Pauline and Ex Q. Tocky also worked on many projects with different gospel artistes.

His song with the late Soul Jah Love, Vakorinde clocked close to a million views on YouTube.

Over the years, the Mhai hit maker’s sound evolved from dancehall into an Afro-fusion kind of genre, which he says is finally bearing fruits.

He has toured the UK, Canada, Australia, Tanzania and South Africa, among other countries.

Last year Tocky released a 36-track cross genre album, Chicken and Chama, which has since received praise from music lovers.

However, some music fans believe the album has too many songs that could sabotage the work of the artiste.

“These songs are not many at all. Those who are saying the number of tracks are too much are pretending to be busy. When they find time they will listen to the album.

“I am, however, happy that the response to the album is impressive,” Tocky told Harare-based tabloid, H-Metro.

It is indeed  Tocky’s world and we just living in it.