The late Zimbabwean music icon, Dr Oliver Mtukudzi’s legend will live forever as he left a mark not only in Africa but all over the world.
Having established himself in the late ’70s, Tuku’s (as he was popularly known by his fans) popularity soared after Zimbabwe won its independence in 1980 and in the years that followed, he released a string of successful albums and branched out into acting as well, starring in his country’s first two nationally made films, Jit (1990) and Neria (1992).
Tuku’s songs reflected the daily life and struggles of his homeland by blending together a number of South African music traditions including mbira, mbaqanga, jit, and the traditional drumming styles of the Korekore to create a distinctive style that his fans affectionately dubbed “Tuku music.”
Oliver Mtukudzi released 67 albums during his four-decade career.
Growing up in the high density Highfield, Harare, Mtukudzi was the oldest of seven siblings, a role that took on greater responsibility after his father’s premature death. In 1975, at the age of 23, he released his debut single, “Stop After Orange.” Two years later, he began performing with the Wagon Wheels, a group that featured another highly influential musician, Thomas Mapfumo. Although his tenure with the band was relatively short-lived, he landed his first major hit with 1977’s “Dzandimomotera,” a song that reflected the Black population’s struggles under white-minority rule of what was then still the country of Rhodesia.
By 1978, he had left the Wagon Wheels, taking several of the band’s musicians with him to form his new backing group the Black Spirits. During a four-year span that saw Zimbabwe win its independence from Britain, Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits issued six albums after which its leader became a solo artist with 1982’s Please Ndapota. Mtukudzi’s prolific output continued throughout the ’80s as did his increasing popularity both at home and internationally.
By the early ’90s Oliver Mtukudzi had also developed a passion for film and drama. In addition to appearing in several documentaries on Zimbabwean music, including the BBC-produced Under African Skies and The Soul of the Mbira, he starred in 1990’s Jit, the first film featuring an all-Zimbabwean cast. He also played a prominent role in, as well as composed and arranged the soundtrack for, Zimbabwe’s second film, Neria, in 1992. Mtukudzi subsequently wrote and directed the musical production Was My Child (Plight of Street Children) in 1995, all the while continuing to record albums and tour accompanied by the Black Spirits or the 12-piece supergroup Mahube.
Although a legend in Zimbabwe, at this point his profile in the west hadn’t quite reached the level of other countrymen like Mapfumo or Bhundu Boys. This was soon to change with the release of 1999’s Tuku Music. Named for the term fans had used to describe his distinctive blend of rhythms, Tuku Music was a widespread success, effectively delivering Mtukudzi’s music to a global audience and faring especially well in the U.S., where it topped the CMJ New Work Music charts for 11 weeks. Shortly after its release, Mtukudzi toured the United States and Canada, along with Taj Mahal, Toumani Diabate, and Baaba Maal, as part of Africa Fête 1999.
His next album, Paivepo, topped Zimbabwe’s music charts and continued to establish his fame in the west. A 2002 documentary, Shanda, told his life’s story up to that point and later that year, he was championed by American artist Bonnie Raitt, who covered one of his songs on her album Silver Lining. Over the coming years, Mtukudzi continued working as he always had, touring frequently and issuing a new album nearly every year in between the various anthologies and reissues of his earlier catalog.
At the turn of the new millennium, Oliver Mtukudzi released a song titled Bvuma in which he was allegedly referring to the then President, Robert Mugabe as an old President who was supposed to accept that he was old and this attracted harsh criticism from the President who allegedly burnt down Oliver Mtukudzi’s recording studio.
The Icon was born on September 22, 1952 in Highfield, Harare. He died on January 23, 2019 at The Avenues Clinic, Harare. His well known Children were Sam Mtukudzi who succumbed in a car crash in 2010 and Selmor Mtukudzi as well as Sandra Mtukudzi who are all musicians.
Though well-known at home and throughout Southern Africa, it wasn’t until the release of 1999’s Tuku Music that the international music community took notice to the extent that in 2012 he was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In his later years, he continued to sing from his conscience, expressing his fears and hopes for the people of Zimbabwe on his 2018 swan song, Hany’ga (Concern), which was released one year before his death from complications related to diabetes.
