The purpose of song is to give hope to the people, Afro-jazz musician Oliver Mtukudzi says. Perhaps this is especially true of the music legend’s native Zimbabwe.
During Mtukudzi’s lifetime, Zimbabweans have struggled through a long war for independence from British and minority white rule, a vicious AIDS epidemic, explosive bouts of political violence, hyperinflation, hunger and a cholera crisis.
In a career spanning 30 years or so, Mtukudzi’s gift for addressing the most taboo of subjects through his music and lyrics has led him to being described as a moral guardian, a Shona prophet, a national hero.
“I think as artists – be it musicians, sculptors, dancers, poets, actors and so on – our purpose is to give life and hope to the people,” Mtukudzi told us in a recent interview.
“People never acquire hope if there’s no art, so it’s our duty to do that. That’s what we’re born for.”
