By Donald Gwasira & Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza
Award-winning Zim Hip Hop artist Ti Gonzi was roped in by Desolo B from the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) in commemorating the life of the
late dancehall superstar Soul Musaka, who was widely known as Soul Jah Love, in a project titled I’m In Love produced
by T-Man from Mount Zion Records.
Soul Jah Love is featured
on the track — which comes as a much-needed reminder of the great talent that
Soul Jah Love was.
In an interview with ZimSphere in Harare recently, Ti Gonzi
revealed that his verse was more of an outpouring of Soul
Jah Love’s idea that they team up on the track without pen
and paper; that they do a freestyle on the song.
Soul Jah Love was famed
for his impeccable ability to produce brilliant and soul-touching songs without
writing lyrics, an attestation of his iconoclastic lyrical prowess embodied and
exemplified by his glorious freestyling capabilities. This is the energy that
was to be brought on the track I’m In Love.
It is this lyrical
prowess that Ti Gonzi draws inspiration from in honouring the revolutionary
ZimDancehall artist.
“It was great working with the late Soul Jah Love
who insisted that we should freestyle the song without penning down the lyrics”, said Ti Gonzi.
The song is reportedly said to have started before the untimely death of the
Dancehall hero Soul Jah Love, who was affectionately
known as Sauro in ZimDancehall circles and beyond.
“We worked on the project a few weeks before Soul
Jah Love passed away he passed on while we were about to shoot the official
video”, added Ti Gonzi.
This heartfelt gesture
from Desolo B, Ti Gonzi, and T-Man comes against the backdrop of the recent Soul Jah Love Commemorations that were held at Glamis
Arena in Harare where several ZimDancehall paid their homage to their late
comrade with amazing performances (including Blot, Silent Killer, Tocky Vibes,
Killer T, Jah Master, Freeman, Chipoko chaSauro, Culture Love, and many more).
It effectively ended a
pernicious narrative that was being dangerously pushed by certain sections of
online media practitioners on various platforms — that ZimDancehall as a genre
and urban cultural movement (with nationwide impact) was dead. And that it
was awaiting official burial. Clearly, this is not the case at all.
It is in this context
that Ti Gonzi, the Hipu Hopu Yeku Ghetto (HHYG) boss, felt the honour to relive the chance to work with the late superstar Soul Jah Love in such a blissful
offering.
It is a manifestation of
the unrivalled lyricism in Zimbabwe that ought to be celebrated more, a
lyricism that always strives to speak sense on the best sound quality that can
be mustered.
It would be lovely to see
more of cross-genre and regional/international collaborations coming to the
fore, especially with Zim Hip Hop, ZimDancehall, and Afro-Alternative/Pop
artists combining forces in deep reverence for the culture.
You can listen to I’m
In Love by Desolo B featuring Soul Jah Love and Ti Gonzi produced by
TMAN from Mount Zion Records and tell us what you think:
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