Contemporary Zimbabwean popular music in the context of adversities

Abstract

Contemporary Zimbabwean popular and urban genres of music namely, urban grooves and its variant Zimdancehall emerged and continue to exist at a time Zimbabwe is grappling with socio-economic and political adversities. The music is part of crucial artistic forms and dissent, hence for the ordinary Zimbabweans, it plays a significant role, detailing their experiences and survival strategies and influencing their patterns of entertainment and daily cultural practises. This article which is informed by popular culture theorists such as Karin Barber (1987) and John Fiske (1989) makes a textual analysis of Winky D's (2015) songs "Disappear", "Copyrights" and "Survivor" to examine the power of the songs in exploring the survival strategies employed by ordinary Zimbabweans in dealing with their experiences. The paper examines how the music is a source of power that fosters a response resonating with a postcolonial urban youth cultural activism seeking to empower the ordinary Zimbabweans to autonomously transcend their adversities and take control of their destinies in a country where the ruling elite are failing to improve the nation's socio-economic conditions.