Fame without Fortune: Discursive Constructions of Bling in Urban Grooves Music

Abstract

ABSTRACTOne of the anachronisms of the 75 per cent local content policy introduced by the Zimbabwean government at the turn of the century is that the music industry now boasts a critical mass of ‘pauperized celebrities’ whose lifestyles are not commensurate with their perceived social standing, thus leading to a crisis of expectations. Society generally expects its celebrities to lead flamboyant lifestyles but many of them still reside in the ghettos, yet their music dominates national airwaves on a daily basis. It is common for urban grooves musicians to lyrically parody one another for being famous and yet poor. This article examines the discursive constructions of money in Zimbabwean music in order to gain insights on how youthful musicians in Zimbabwe vocalise their aspirations for a better life to the contemporary Zimbabwean socio-economic reality. The key question is: how do urban grooves musicians deploy the discourse of money to construct social reality? In what way do these discursive constructions act as a counter-hegemonic discourse? Empirical data for this study was drawn from purposively sampled lyrics of two urban grooves musical groups, namely Stunner (real name Desmond Chideme), Mudiwa Mutandwa and Even Mo Li Little Swaggery Boys, a satirical ‘fake wannabe Hip Hop’ group fronted by Zimbabwean stand-up comedian, Farai Monroe. A discourse analysis was conducted in order to determine the discursive constructions of money. The article argues that, against the backdrop of the decade-long economic depression music by youthful musicians mirrors the daily survival struggles of ordinary citizens in general and musicians in particular. Against that backdrop music has become an effective discourse for countering hegemonic constructions of the current social and political order in Zimbabwe.