Oliver Mtukudzi, also known as "Tuku" (short for Mtukudzi), born on September 22, 1952 in Highfield, Harare, is a singer-songwriter, actor, writer, film director and entrepreneur. With over 60 albums to his name, he is one of Zimbabwe's top musicians and lead of the band The Black Spirits.
His sings a music genre known as Afro-Jazz. Mtukudzi's career spans decades, having started in 1975 when he did his debut single. Mtukudzi has his own music label 'Tuku Music' which is also the name of his apparel label. Mtukudzi was lead actor in the movies "Jit" and "Neria" released in the 90s. Mtukudzi wrote and directed the successful live musical production Was My Child.[2] Mtukudzi is one of the few Zimbabweans whose music has international appeal.
Mtukudzi was born on the 22nd of September 1952, the first born in a family of seven siblings. His parents both sang and actually met at a competition of church choirs. His parents continued to sing and compete amongst themselves (parents) and drew in Oliver and his siblings as the judges. This musical environment drew him to music. Mtukudzi developed a sense of social and economic responsibility early in life due to the premature death of his father. He has four sisters and one brother.
Mtukudzi’s music career started at the age of 23 with the 1975 release of his debut single, Stop After Orange. It's been stated widely, including on Mtukudzi's own website that in 1977 he teamed up with Zimbabwe top musician, Thomas Mapfumo, at a famous band called Wagon Wheels that being his official entry into the Zimbabwean music industry. Mapfumo has however denied this saying
“I was coming from Mutare myself where we were contracted at a hotel in Dangamvura. When I returned to Harare, that’s when I met Oliver. He was practising at James Bond’s place because this guy used to own equipment, so a lot of youngsters used to go there just to practise music. After I met Oliver, we had a short tour together. I was already singing my Shona music, and he was playing something strange… he was playing a guitar, singing a song like… we used to call the song Green for Go and Red for Stop.
“I said to him, ‘you guy, why don’t you sing in your mother’s language?’ He was a good guy, he took my advice. He even asked for one of my songs Tamba Zvako Marujata (Rova Ngoma Mutavara). It was a traditional tune, which I used to sing myself. He came to me and asked if he could record the music and I said you can go on and record it. It came out beautifully and everybody liked it, and I also thought it was a good song.”
With the Wagon Wheels, Mtukudzi recorded Dzandimomotera, a song inspired directly by Zimbabwe’s 1970s war of liberation. Dzandimomotera depicted the black man’s life struggles under white minority government.
One account says Mtukudzi left the group in 1978 to form his own group The Black Spirits and released the album Ndipiweo Zano. The Album was a hit. Mtukudzi has said he intended to use the name Wagon Wheels with the new group but the Wagon Wheels managers found other musicians to continue with the band, which forced Mtukudzi to find a new name for his band. Mtukudzi took several of the Wagon Wheels musicians with him to The Black Spirits.
Another account however, taken from an interview Mapfumo had with New Zimbabwe says The Black Spirits was actually Mapfumo's group first:
The Black Spirits (now the name of Mtukudzi’s band) was my band,” Mapfumo says. “He was with Wagon Wheels, and then they changed it to Black Spirits. Our Black Spirits disbanded, and then we formed the Blacks Unlimited. He never played with Blacks Unlimited; he was with Wagon Wheels before they changed their name to Black Spirits. We played together on that short tour when he was singing Red for Stop and Green for Go. At that time, that group had no name when we toured… it was just Green for Go and Red for Stop.
The Black Spirits: With the Black Spirits, Mtukudzi recorded many albums including Africa which was done at the country's Independence in 19880 and included two hit songs, Zimbabwe and Mazongonyedze. The album was regarded as one of the most important albums of its time.
The Black Spirits has been described as ‘a group of rag-tag young stylish ghetto boys who were to become a sure force on the music scene, progressing into a household name in the ensuing years’. Mtukudzi split with The Black Spirits in 1987 for two years, a period during which he sang with other backing groups like Kwekwe based Zig Zag Band.
Tuku Music, the brand career relaunch: In the 90s Mtukudzi's music started taking him beyond the borders. He performed at a number festivals in Africa (especially South Africa) as well as other continents. During this time Mtukudzi hired a new manager, Debbie Metcalfe to help him with his contracts, revamp his business strategies and firmly established the Tuku Music brand. A South African musician Steve Dyer helped produce his first album under this brand and the album was called Tuku Music. This album is widely considered as having re-launched Mtukudzi's music career.[2] Metcalfe is credited by many for Mtukudzi's success, especially his international. Metcalfe remained Tuku Music Manager until 2009 when she and several members were dropped from the group.[8]
Style of music: Though generally considered to be Afro-Jazz, Mtukudzi's style of music is a fusion of a Zimbabwean music style called jiti, the traditional drumming patterns of his clan called katekwe, marimba, and South African mbaqanga as well as modern genres such as afro-pop. The introduction of keyboard to his music in the early 80s is said to have been influenced by West Nkosi, a well-known South African producer who produced for Tuku in his early career.
Mtukudzi himself has labelled his music "Tuku Music". He says however that “My fans were the first to describe my music as Tuku Music but it was only around the mid-1990s that I began to develop it as a brand name.”
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| Tracking The History of Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits |
Mtukudzi was born on the 22nd of September 1952, the first born in a family of seven siblings. His parents both sang and actually met at a competition of church choirs. His parents continued to sing and compete amongst themselves (parents) and drew in Oliver and his siblings as the judges. This musical environment drew him to music. Mtukudzi developed a sense of social and economic responsibility early in life due to the premature death of his father. He has four sisters and one brother.
Mtukudzi’s music career started at the age of 23 with the 1975 release of his debut single, Stop After Orange. It's been stated widely, including on Mtukudzi's own website that in 1977 he teamed up with Zimbabwe top musician, Thomas Mapfumo, at a famous band called Wagon Wheels that being his official entry into the Zimbabwean music industry. Mapfumo has however denied this saying
“I was coming from Mutare myself where we were contracted at a hotel in Dangamvura. When I returned to Harare, that’s when I met Oliver. He was practising at James Bond’s place because this guy used to own equipment, so a lot of youngsters used to go there just to practise music. After I met Oliver, we had a short tour together. I was already singing my Shona music, and he was playing something strange… he was playing a guitar, singing a song like… we used to call the song Green for Go and Red for Stop.
“I said to him, ‘you guy, why don’t you sing in your mother’s language?’ He was a good guy, he took my advice. He even asked for one of my songs Tamba Zvako Marujata (Rova Ngoma Mutavara). It was a traditional tune, which I used to sing myself. He came to me and asked if he could record the music and I said you can go on and record it. It came out beautifully and everybody liked it, and I also thought it was a good song.”
With the Wagon Wheels, Mtukudzi recorded Dzandimomotera, a song inspired directly by Zimbabwe’s 1970s war of liberation. Dzandimomotera depicted the black man’s life struggles under white minority government.
One account says Mtukudzi left the group in 1978 to form his own group The Black Spirits and released the album Ndipiweo Zano. The Album was a hit. Mtukudzi has said he intended to use the name Wagon Wheels with the new group but the Wagon Wheels managers found other musicians to continue with the band, which forced Mtukudzi to find a new name for his band. Mtukudzi took several of the Wagon Wheels musicians with him to The Black Spirits.
Another account however, taken from an interview Mapfumo had with New Zimbabwe says The Black Spirits was actually Mapfumo's group first:
The Black Spirits (now the name of Mtukudzi’s band) was my band,” Mapfumo says. “He was with Wagon Wheels, and then they changed it to Black Spirits. Our Black Spirits disbanded, and then we formed the Blacks Unlimited. He never played with Blacks Unlimited; he was with Wagon Wheels before they changed their name to Black Spirits. We played together on that short tour when he was singing Red for Stop and Green for Go. At that time, that group had no name when we toured… it was just Green for Go and Red for Stop.
The Black Spirits: With the Black Spirits, Mtukudzi recorded many albums including Africa which was done at the country's Independence in 19880 and included two hit songs, Zimbabwe and Mazongonyedze. The album was regarded as one of the most important albums of its time.
The Black Spirits has been described as ‘a group of rag-tag young stylish ghetto boys who were to become a sure force on the music scene, progressing into a household name in the ensuing years’. Mtukudzi split with The Black Spirits in 1987 for two years, a period during which he sang with other backing groups like Kwekwe based Zig Zag Band.
Tuku Music, the brand career relaunch: In the 90s Mtukudzi's music started taking him beyond the borders. He performed at a number festivals in Africa (especially South Africa) as well as other continents. During this time Mtukudzi hired a new manager, Debbie Metcalfe to help him with his contracts, revamp his business strategies and firmly established the Tuku Music brand. A South African musician Steve Dyer helped produce his first album under this brand and the album was called Tuku Music. This album is widely considered as having re-launched Mtukudzi's music career.[2] Metcalfe is credited by many for Mtukudzi's success, especially his international. Metcalfe remained Tuku Music Manager until 2009 when she and several members were dropped from the group.[8]
Style of music: Though generally considered to be Afro-Jazz, Mtukudzi's style of music is a fusion of a Zimbabwean music style called jiti, the traditional drumming patterns of his clan called katekwe, marimba, and South African mbaqanga as well as modern genres such as afro-pop. The introduction of keyboard to his music in the early 80s is said to have been influenced by West Nkosi, a well-known South African producer who produced for Tuku in his early career.
Mtukudzi himself has labelled his music "Tuku Music". He says however that “My fans were the first to describe my music as Tuku Music but it was only around the mid-1990s that I began to develop it as a brand name.”
