Abstract

Music has never been politically neutral; rather, it is composed and performed in definite historical, social, political and economic contexts. Furthermore, musical lyrics often carry open or hidden political messages. The interpretation of musical texts has thus often generated contestation in different contexts. This article examines the appropriation and contested interpretation of two songs by one artist, Jah Prayzah (the stage name of Mukudzei Mukombe), in Zimbabwe during the last years of the late President Robert Mugabe’s rule. It analyses how these two songs were utilised in political struggles by different players on the Zimbabwean political scene. The article argues that the malleability of songs enabled various political groups to adopt Jah Prayzah’s song “Mdhara Vachauya” (The old man is coming!) released in 2016 to express their hopes and aspirations. Similarly, his song “Kutonga Kwaro” (His/her style of governance) was embraced by one faction in the Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) to call for a change of guard. When Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s deputy, assumed power on 24 November 2017, the theme song was “Kutonga Kwaro”, newly released in the same year. Its ascendancy, like his own, had been severely contested. However, musical texts are not entirely divorced from the identity of the artist. Thus, Jah Prayzah’s personality and self-presentation are also analysed in the article. The central argument is that the artist’s self-packaging, perceived political loyalties and association had a distinct impact on the reception of his music.

摘要

音乐从未在政治上保持中立。相反，它是在明确的历史，社会，政治和经济背景下组成和执行的。此外，音乐歌词通常带有公开或隐藏的政治信息。因此，对音乐文本的解释常常在不同的背景下引起争执。本文探讨了已故总统罗伯特·穆加贝（Robert Mugabe）执政的最后几年中，一位艺术家贾（Jah Prayzah）（穆库兹·穆科姆比（Mukudzei Mukombe）的艺名）在津巴布韦对两首歌的挪用和有争议的解释。它分析了津巴布韦政治舞台上不同玩家在政治斗争中如何利用这两首歌。文章认为，歌曲的可延展性使各个政治团体得以采用贾赫·普雷扎（Jah Prayzah）的歌曲“ Mdhara Vachauya”（老人来了！）于2016年发行，表达了他们的希望和抱负。同样，津巴布韦非洲民族联盟爱国阵线（ZANU-PF）的一个派系也拥护他的歌曲“ Kutonga Kwaro ”（他/她的执政风格），要求换人。2017年11月24日，穆加贝（Mugabe）的代表埃默森（Emmerson Mnangagwa）上任时，主题曲是“”，于同年新发布。像他本人一样，它的优势也遭到了激烈的争论。然而，音乐文本并不完全脱离艺术家的身份。因此，本文还分析了贾·普雷扎（Jah Prayzah）的个性和自我表现。中心论点是，艺术家的自我包装，感知的政治忠诚和交往对他的音乐的接受产生了明显的影响。