By Takudzwa Kadzura
In the sleepy town of Rusape, hip hop artists have always dreamt of awakening the art giant. Their hopes are much more kept alive because of a rich art history. The spirit of Dambudzo Marechera and the legacy of Patrick Mukwamba inspire the dream. It is not on the cards for the modern day artists to move to the capital for better chances of breaking out. Studios have been set and music production is on a transitional rapid growth from old timed genres to contemporary.
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| Khid Marque |
Every ghetto needs storytellers just as a wrongly acquitted prisoner needs a lawyer. The urban dynamics need to be captured and hip hop has served that role. Rusape is located along the Harare-Mutare highway and relies on farming as its top trading space.
This author has managed to engage GF Kayzee, Splits Loui and Khid Marque as some of the
forerunners in the town’s hip hop industry. Financial resources being the main
constraint have dealt the game a jaw-breaking blow. Despite being the hardest
of hustles rappers in the town have stood resolute and focused on the goal.
In as much as Splits brought major successes it is also important to acknowledge the existence of other individuals who are putting in the work.
Mike Makwindi opened up, “I am a 24 year old rapper and ventured into music whilst in high school. I have worked with Jamal in 2016 for a track called Tsigai and also part of Scarface Entertainment. In Rusape, I gained popularity with tracks such as Pahushamwari, Been Around and Biskit Bunz.”
Khid Marque owns
a studio in the more upmarket side and it has enabled his bounce back. In 2020 he has
dropped only three songs and winding up an EP which features more rappers from
the town. The EP is titled Good Ain’t Good Enough. Vadzimu being the latest has
a video and in this track Khid Marque was appeasing to ancestors to keep an eye
on him when he is on the grind.
His counterpart Cosmas Eldrey featured on Huya Kuno, a party joint that dropped months back. Eldrey hails from the town’s heartbeat, Vengere Township. He was once a member of Finhu gang before the group disbanded a few years back and the same group housed top rappers like Yung Digga.
Cosmas highlighted that he is working on an EP as well and will also feature in Khid Marque’s. For a small industry collaborations and connectivity in the town will uplift the game if the artists gain this sight. With hip hop increasingly gaining traction in the mainstream, the emergence of young cats is toughening the landscape. And in this regard, Rusape is home to one of the finest kids in hip hop but finding it hard to navigate.
Cyp, a rapper from the town exclaimed, “We are still on the same page for a
longtime now thus we unfortunately have one name that has managed to pop
outside the town and it's Splits. We are working hard to change that.”
The true reality of small towns and any other ghetto is that the artists do not get exposure to important platforms and coverage. Most of their music only plays within their personal circles yet it is possible to effectively penetrate through having a solid online presence. So this is a case of artists sleeping on themselves and it is recommendable that rappers should start putting out videos to catch up with the rest of the industry. Even though one may still raise the argument that getting by funds is not a walk in the park.
GF Kayzee, who is currently out of town had this to say about the town’s hip hop industry, “It has room for growth. Look at the likes of Sak Up, the Mad Kid, Phenom putting out quality international standard music. There is however need to invest more in marketing and distribution. Artists however suffer huge blows as most promising producers leave town for greener pastures.
We've lost producers like Kanivore (formerly known as Young Digga) and Tinmad who moved to SA. Producers like Tp3 and myself now play a much more distant role as we left the scene to pursue our professional careers which somehow makes ends meet.
We've lost a lot of momentum from promising artists due to lack of proper grooming and management. Look at the likes of P Miller and KP. And lastly artists need to invest in their music. They don't pay studio time. Don't invest on proper graphics and visuals.
Female musicians need
to nurtured, supported and well protected... We've heard stories were
femcees end up being used as sex objects
with promises of airplay, free recording and all types of promises. Females
need to also pay for production costs and invest in their music to avoid such.”
Rusape is home to a lot of successful creative artists and
the potential in the youngsters has faded because of the explained factors.
However efforts to uplift hip hop are still alive and some of the rappers are
game on!
You can check out Vadzimu by Khid Marque on this link and tell us what you think.
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