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Barely three months after releasing her album Zimbabwe Circus, Viomak has once again taken on her responsibility as a protest singer to express herself with stimulating melodies as she releases yet another 8 track protest music album Happy 85th Birthday President R.G .Mugabe (Zimbabwe is mine). The title of the album does not have a title track, meaning Zimbabwe is mine is not the title of any of the songs. However the As Viomak keeps up the struggle in song she is convinced that protest art does not end with GNU (Government of National Unity). There is so much in the album that is difficult to apprehend thereby becoming easier to listen to the music than to write about it, and this production is a great insight as to why.

So, whilst Zimbabwean political leaders are embarking on an unknown journey to the weird land of National Unity, protest singer Viomak is with us again with her new traditional release Happy 85th Birthday President R.G Matibili (Zimbabwe is Mine). The title of which was changed from Tiny Little Dot, a reference by the president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe to the prime minster of Britain Gordon Brown, has everything that passes it as a protest package like all of her previous productions. Every year at this time since 2006 Viomak releases a protest music album dedicated to president Robert Mugabe’s birthday in sarcasm as media houses begin to reflect back on the events of the past twelve months in order to tell us everything of interest and importance that occurred.

The title of this album which is a reflection of Mugabe’s selfishness is both appropriate and catchy. I prefer to call the album Zimbabwe is Mine as it reminds Zimbabweans that Zimbabwe is President Mugabe’s personal property according to what the failed dictator said in December 2008 whilst he rejected calls from some African leaders to step down. According to media reports, Mugabe’s 85th birthday party was held in Chinhoyi and revellers celebrated this cursed day feasting on around five hundred cattle and packs of other goodies to the tune of oodles of Zimbabwean dollars and foreign currency, despite the fact that Zimbabweans are perishing at the hands of alarming poverty and hopelessness. Song 3 Matibili wauraya is Viomak’s most favourite. All the songs were sung by Viomak. 50 % of proceeds are donated to various charity causes. The songs on the album are:

• Gukurahundi
• Mavhoterapapi
• Matibili wauraya(Viomak’s favourite)
• Gore iro
• Baba vaEdward
• Batai mutonge
• Musaregerere JOC
• Broken buttock blues (lyrics by John Eppel)

Viomak is at it again this year unleashing her fifth protest music album offering Happy 85th Birthday President R.G .Mugabe (Zimbabwe is mine), as Chinhoyi is cursed. Her sand skiing musical spot doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Banned from the day she produced her first protest album in 2006, the protest singer who is strengthening her artistic muscles and increasing her lyrical stamina with experience is managing to override and master her challenges in a plausible way.

The album, which was officially unleashed on 21 February 2009, is a great dish that tastes like red wine beef stew as one critic said. Uniquely, the album features renowned poet and writer, John Eppel’s lyrics on the song Broken- buttock blues which Viomak was asked to sing. For those of you unfamiliar with Viomak’s music, she is an independent singer with no alliances to any political party and she remains loyal and adamant to a music career that is influenced by socio -political activism. It’s probably because of this that Viomak has remained in a rank of her own. Similar to other happy birthday albums, Zimbabwe is Mine doesn’t celebrate anything except ZANU-PF‘s failures. ZanuPF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front) is a Zimbabwean political party led by Robert Mugabe.

“Zimbabwe is rich in corrupt and incompetent leaders so the struggle continues even after the government of national unity (GNU). More so it looks like it’s the sheets and not the bed that changed with GNU, as many of MDC-Tsvangirai’s members of parliament have been named and shamed in a farming inputs scandal. This signals the reality that Zimbabwe is not yet out of the woods and will be in the wilderness for the unforeseeable future. Non-aligned protest music will have to continue as a political watchdog and a vehicle for change” she said.

It is astonishing where all this magnificent music keeps coming from. Eight is her magic number as all her albums have eight songs. To think that Viomak has so far produced five albums with eight songs each totalling forty songs of the same themes is really interesting that the music keeps coming in. Seemingly worried and enthusiastic a BBC world service reporter asked her what she was going to sing about after Mugabe is gone. She convinced him that as long as there are leaders one can always find something to sing about and it can be good or bad. This time around Viomak has once again delivered an album of absolute controversy and unlimited foot work. Her music is always punctuating moments in time.

Undeterred she has taken a stronger stand to express her thoughts and ideas about the political situation in Zimbabwe and the ongoing issue of gukurahundi (armed conflict) between Shonas and Ndebeles. As she stays true to being an artist of expression this release is truly a wonderful mixed bag as it revolves around a multiplicity number of unexpected crucial themes.

There have been a few protest art styles in Zimbabwe over time that have not only been the voice of the voiceless for political struggle, but have inspired many to progress through the revolution, and Viomak’s music flags the current political scene in similar ways. As she continues to sing through her music there is enough evidence that the struggle continues even after GNU. Zimbabwe is Mine is a great protest album from this exciting singer, who is determined to query the political situation in Zimbabwe no matter what it takes. She certainly does not fail to deliver in serving social commentary in her lyrics and all the trademarks of her music .Guess what, even if she changes her voices and name one can still tell that it’s Viomak music from the way she writes her songs and delivers her lyrics. Her albums have always been an interesting suite. With album after album, it looks like it will take forever for her to call it quits.

This latest recording, and appropriately titled Zimbabwe is mine, takes it up as her most unreserved criticism of the Zimbabwean government to date as it echoes a more detailed approach to the ZanuPF saga. In previous birthday albums she would mostly target Mugabe as the architect of Zimbabwe’s death, but songs on Zimbabwe is Mine touch on many other ZanuPF losers’ names as well, naming, shaming and blaming them for Zimbabwe’s downfall.

As Viomak pursues her music calling as singer and songwriter she says she is still learning a lot. For a woman who has recorded five protest albums to date it is amazing to see her still capable of skiing in the sand without losing focus. Her most previous album Zimbabwe Circus, confirmed her status as the queen of protest music, and Zimbabwe is Mine rubber stamps her newly acquired status without doubt. The vocals and instrumentation on the songs are varied and one can realise the defying mood originating from the lyrics and the beat in a splendid manner. Whilst Viomak maintains the usual choral sound and pattern, she has experimented with some new sungura rhythms. The album is woven in an assemblage of conga beats , kalimba lines and graceful pads, supported by solid kicks, great bassline riffs, and flavoured by hiats and talking leads.

The 8 songs gracefully haul one’s attention unexpectedly dragging you into deep thoughts through a variety of tempos that furnish the power in her music with unforgettable lyrics .The album is good too in terms of production. The original instruments were laid down in Zimbabwe courtesy of one well known studio, and the recording of voices was done in Britain .Viomak is absolutely at the forefront of the Zimbabwe political struggle. The songs are well arranged in a musical sequence that is easy to make up and sing along, comprising of verse, chorus, and break. It’s the kind of music that demands personal involvement and Viomak makes sure it’s easy to decipher with it’s simple but very powerful lyrics.

Viomak has developed a habit of designing the sleeves of her albums. On this album she came up with artwork that shows Mugabe behind repetitive images of Zimbabwe maps to highlight that Zimbabwe is his property as he claims. Viomak pokes one eye out as if to scorn the aging dictator’s weird convictions. Why would someone even think that they own a country, isn’t it weird. Apart from the influence of the cover picture that shows the album title Zimbabwe is Mine in attractive colbert font flashing Zimbabwean flag colours, the music impacts on the listener in a big way. This album leaps from the platform as a glorious coalition of music styles without a shadow of a doubt that even with GNU the album will not be played on state radio unless the unexpected happens.

The water tight album has elevated Viomak’s position in the protest movement as her music continues to grab one from all directions as it seems to be getting better and tighter as it develops. Her music carries on heightening up and intensifying the curiosity, piling up the zeal until you fail to imagine what’s up next. I might appear as if I’m over blowing the trumpet but for those of you who have listened to Viomak’s music over time you can tell that her protest music is evolving around a shiny orbit.

As a determined self-trained protest artist she took it upon herself to teach herself and learn a new type of music so as to send out political messages in beat. Self-motivated and determined Viomak prevailed with her tough ambition and musical expertise to do it herself. Even though her musical achievements remain unreported in the state press she has not given up on doing what she is supposed to do and Zimbabwe is mine seals her agenda.

This music album is for patriotic music lovers who want to listen and dance to a different type of Zimbabwean protest music in a bowl of heartfelt powerful lyrics. Sister of the Zimbabwe revolution in song, with the toughest words, it is given Viomak is pioneering a new form of art with her bold and entertaining lyrics. Whilst some protest singers have chosen to be praise singers Viomak takes a different approach in which she hopes to achieve her musical goals in a fair rather than a biased foundation .While there is no denying that her music is soaring in the right direction much more has to be achieved. Upon sampling the album, I am of the opinion that her well-coordinated musical antics will touch on many hearts. You can start getting more curious now.

The album is headlined with the uplifting, vivacious and controversial song Gukurahundi , clouded in a continuous course of 16 instruments regulated by Viomak’s vocals producing a marvelous hard hitting sound . This song addresses the politically controversial topic of gukurahundi, where she reckons that the gukurahundi issue is deeper than what is widely said. Whilst she advocates for understanding and tolerance, peace and unity the vocals sound faultless and form a strong foundation for the song as they compete with the lively beat that forms a great foundation of this inspirational song. The song highlights the issues surrounding gukurahundi in a comical manner, and exposes those behind the conflict which gave rise to the terror eras before and after Zimbabwe’s so called independence. Viomak encourages unity amongst the divided Ndebeles and Shonas in an inspirational manner as she encourages Shonas to eat macimbi, Ndebele word for mopane worms that are harvested from trees and a delicious dish among Ndebele people. On the other hand, the song cruises with a calling for Ndebeles to eat mbeva, Shona word for mouse, a delicious dish among Shonas for the two tribes and live as one in unity. This is a definite hit which drives one into a celebratory mood and is a very good song for state radio air play. Apart from the song being a gem of a masterpiece, and despite the song being a unifier, the truthful hard-hitting lyrics have cultivated and generated a lot of enemies for Viomak amongst intolerant Ndebele people who hate anything Shona.

The second song Mavhoterapapi (who did you vote for) fires in all chambers. With a slowish instrumental introduction the beat changes as it welcomes Viomak’s heart breaking voice with an inviting upbeat arrangement .This is a song she was moved and driven to write and record after the post-election political violence that left many opposition voices nursing woods , smelling blood and buying coffins for not voting for ZanuPF. This is a patriotic song in solidarity with mavhoterapapi victims (mainly MDC-T supporters) who were tortured and burnt for voting for Tsvangirai. Isn’t it sad news that it seems as if nothing is going to happen to Mugabe and all the Zanu puffers who are guilty of human rights abuses. Viomak sings the song personally involving her as one of the victims, participatory music she calls it. This she did to make it more real and personal. Mavhoterapapi is a very moving and honest song with an important message that will be used to remind Zimbabweans what they went through during the ZanuPF era. This is an absolutely influential song offering an inglorious celebration of independence. Just a hint of the lyrics.

Isu takamaka pana Tsvangirai takamaka pana Tsvangi (We marked on Tsvangirai’s name) .Mugabe akaramba pana Tsvangirai akaramba pana Tsvangi (Mugabe denied us our choice, Tsvangirai).
Mavhoterapapi is a ponder again kind of tune with a well to do arrangement and is so gratifying one can only imagine how it’s going to come across to victims of torture as Mugabe is set loose . Every part of the song flows at the right rhythm and pace that allows one to concentrate on the lyrics even if you don’t want to .If you are looking for music that reminds you of ZanuPF and Mugabe’s evilness, Mavhoterapapi will heal your desire. Listen to it , play it and dedicate it to that one victim of torture or their relative and put it in your archives as this historical masterpiece is a must for your children , grandchildren and great grandchildren.

In her own words Viomak said, I felt like writing about all those innocent souls killed during the political violence that gave rise to many innocent voters’ wounds and deaths. I hope people will take the lyrics seriously and understand that reconciliation with Mugabe and ZANU-PF is a very bad start to democracy. We cannot talk of achieving democracy without achieving justice. Let this awaken some emotions and remind Zimbabweans that even with GNU we still have a responsibility to fight for justice. Our struggles do not end with GNU but they end with bringing all perpetrators of political violence to justice and they should pay with what they put us through. There is no forgiveness without justice.

Matibili wauraya (Matibili you have destroyed), is Viomak’s most favourite song on this album. Embraced in sungura beat the song invites the obvious comparison with sungura chiefs. It is one of those songs that offer a refreshing sound and uplifting on the dance floor and a relaxation to listen to at home. Remove the draconian laws, POSA, Public Order and Security Act, and AIPPA, Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and the hit song will grace any part of the country with ease. There are about five to six highly obvious dance floor-feeders on this album, but you would be thinking of something else to leave this one out. The song has a touchy melody that peacefully unites the verses and the choruses over unshakable instrumentals and voices. Viomak contributes some wonderful lyrics on the track which makes one wonder how Zimbabweans will react if the song is allowed to stream directly from state radio. Tell you what, apart from facilitating energetic dance floor tactics all over Zimbabwe the song will also make tongues to wiggle endlessly.

If you feel that protest music doesn’t have a valuable place in Zimbabwe, then try Matibili wauraya. Just flow with the lyrics and rhythm on this one and you will realise that if protest singers don’t sing about these sad chronicles then the history of our country will be forgotten .Again who said sungura is for Zimbabwean male singers only. The song starts with a nice full sungura lead and it just carries on getting better, briefly taking the song to a bit of rumba. I am not sure if Viomak is contemplating being a sungura singer too. It will be interesting for Zimbabwe women to catch up with sungura music as it has remained a male dominated area since time immemorial. Even though the song is a great musical soundscape it doesn’t call for misleading dances, but it is for serious takers only.
Welcome to the fourth song, the guiltless and harmless Gore iro (That year). With this song Viomak is assured of air play on state radio only if she uses a different name. Plans are underway to send the song to ZBH (Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings) for airplay. I am tasked to do it. That said, I have exposed the plan theoretically and expect to hide it practically. Gore iro is the only acceptable song on the album, which might see the light of day during the ZanuPF era. The harmless song also has a profound bearing on the historical operations that took place in Zimbabwe which Viomak narrate very well in the piece of art. However, the song sells out ZanuPF’s cruelty on citizens as some operations mentioned in the song expose Zanupf human rights abuses. Her mixed vocal harmonies narrate the operations within layers of compromising and co-operative instruments giving the song a greatly padded musical audio. For those who can’t remember some of the operations that took place in Zimbabwe Gore iro is your take. The historical song mentions the operations only as the beat plays and your duty is to dance and cram the operations without harming anyone’s feelings.

Moving forward, Viomak is full of surprises. What you take for granted she takes it seriously. I hope you read in the media that Robert Mugabe fathered a son called Edward who resides in South Africa. To awaken you to the news Viomak dedicated a song called Baba vaEdward (Edward’s father) to the president and Zimbabweans. The song takes 6th place on Zimbabwe is Mine and yes in addition to Zimbabwe, Edward is his too. From Matibili to Baba vaEdward is where her lyrical cardinal points are pointing at. The upbeat sound similar to Zimbabwe musician, Marshall Munhumumwe’s fast tempo will definitely make you home sick if you are not in Zimbabwe. If you have listened to Munhumumwe’s song Mbereko yakaramba then you should understand what I mean. In Baba vaEdward Viomak tells Mugabe to be ashamed of himself and exit power instead of signing unity agreements. Of course she also refers to Grace Marufu Mugabe, his wife as a shameful Disgrace who should be ashamed of engaging in exorbitant shopping sprees whilst the country is perishing. By the way, again this is album is a tele music production in whereby Viomak sent the vocals to her producer in Zimbabwe who in turn came up with instrumentals for all the songs and sent back to her. She then sang over the instrumentals at a studio in Britain to come up with the blended songs. Viomak has always spoken as a woman of strong will, rallying a patriotic inclined community away from home. This of course is very distressing as it keeps her away from the actual target she is singing for and so cannot do live shows for them. That’s life in exile as a protest singer. Well, Baba vaEdward penetrates the album in a swift punch and lifts one’s mind momentarily taking it across to the problems in Zimbabwe with regret and pain. Viomak sings what political leaders and some of their supporters don’t want to hear, and what some are afraid to say publicly. This is why her musical journey story is not well told, documented and contextualised in Zimbabwe.

Batai mutonge (Bring to justice) is set to be another hit. You can call it a song of naming and shaming and an advisory track. Honestly I fail to understand how song writers do it, but to imagine that some names were taken, mixed with a whole lot of words and instruments and made into a bunch of meaningful great rhyming sounds boggles my mind. If you remember the days of folklore telling when our elders would spice their stories with nice tunes and they would ask us to sing after them, this song is one such epic that takes us back to the folkloristic culture. From the word go the song roars with a bang, immediately leaving one in no doubt that the song is going to provide some exciting dance moments in Zimbabwe. To me this is the most melodic and fast paced song on the album. It is about a very significant subject with strong and touching messages of seeking justice that say bring Bright Matonga, Happyton Bonyongwe, George Charamba, Chipangano and all other ZanuPF terrorists to justice after Mugabe is gone. The song naturally is going to be a huge reflective one that teases the brain and make one wonder where all this courage is coming from for a woman with such a soft spoken voice and a heart of gold. However, Happyton Bonyongwe is the murderous notorious ZanuPF state agents of torture boss and how huge the song is going to get also depends on how Bonyongwe feels. In a society where people view backbiting and inspokenness (opposite of outspokenness) as the norm, Viomak has chosen to disassociate herself from that kind of mentality by saying things as they are in her songs. This is a very good approach that I think should be embraced by citizens of undemocratic societies as freedom does not come on a silver platter.

“You cannot succeed in fighting for freedom of expression if you oppress your mind yourself .Free your mind first from inner oppression before you ask your oppressor to free you” Viomak .

It doesn’t end there. Viomak knows where her music cuts the deepest. Her courageous voice is hugely felt in the song Musaregerere JOC (Do not forgive JOC ) in which she pleads with Zimbabweans to seek justice and not to forgive the six Joint Operations Command (JOC) ZanuPF terrorists namely Constantine Chiwenga, Paradzai Zimondi, Perence Shiri, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Augustine Chihuri and Gideon Gono.

“JOC members have caused so much harm and pain to Zimbabweans and letting them free is not only doing injustice to Zimbabweans but it defeats the whole purpose of fighting for democracy. Earthly justice should prevail. Heavenly justice will take its own course.” Viomak

It looks like Viomak is not convinced that this kind of music will only see the darkness of night in Zimbabwe unless Heaven opens. She keeps hoping that one day this protest music will see the light of day in Zimbabwe . Musaregerere JOC ejects defiant lyrics in a hustle free celebratory fashion, culminating to a joyful tune that leaves one in a joyous mood for a very long time. The song assumes Zimbabwean traditional beats that loop a great rhythm and fascinating vocal treats. It harmonises around repetitive verses that mention JOC members’ names with some defiant harmonies that echo in your ear like someone calling from the top of a mountain repeatedly knocking sense into your head and advising you not to forgive JOC but to seek justice. With a very lively danceable beat the song reflects Viomak’s inner feelings as someone who is determined to see all human rights abusers in Zimbabwe brought to book. Her music reveres her convictions and she hopes one day she will be the commander nailing all ZanuPF and political human rights abusers and terrorists in Zimbabwe masquerading as leaders and heroes and heroines.

Closing the album with a final piece of the birthday cake is the song Broken Buttock Blues whose lyrics embrace the title of the album, Zimbabwe is mine. The warm touchy song is a poem turned song that features renowned poet John Eppel’s poetic words which Viomak coined into a song .After being requested to do so with Mr Eppel’s blessings, Viomak crafted the poem into a song and came up with a sombre tune that comes across with the voice of a tortured woman who narrates how she was beaten by ZanuPF thugs for voting for opposition MDC-Tsvangirai. With her baby on her back her buttons were beaten with branches and she could not sit or stand as she cried for her child to survive the traumatising ordeal, thirsty and weary. In a very soft and patient voice, the song ends the album with a mixture of English and Shona language like a bilingual sermon, with the support of an outstanding organ that dictates the pace and tone of the song in a waltz style. The addictive persistent melody will let you play the song again and again, as your love of the song grows with each repeated play. This sad song points to the end of the eight track album which you can call a masterpiece if you want to.

Ending with rumours on collaboration, Viomak who is not an MDC-T supporter but an independent Zimbabwean patriot disclosed that she is wishing and hoping to collaborate in future with Tsunami, an MDC-T musical group of the Rwendo song fame. The last time they talked all was going in the right direction. Together, these artists are hoping to manufacture an extravaganza of sound expressed through their varied vocals and expertise. Viomak is writing the songs of the album still to be named. Keeping my fingers crossed and praying that it will happen is what I’m doing. As of now I am imagining what the music will be like and how it can evoke the spirit of the struggle if all goes out well. Viomak is also planning on collaborating with Dread Reckless, a pro MDC-T protest singer who recently approached Viomak on Facebook seeking collaboration. Asked why Viomak has agreed to collaborate with Tsunami and Dread Reckless when she is non-partisan, she said, “We are fighting the same battle, but from different angles. We might not agree on certain political issues but we can still come up with common lyrics to produce healthy protest music for our nation.”

The surprises keep coming in. According to what she said, Viomak is contemplating recording protest music on the dubious Government of National Unity , the marriage of convenience by ZanuPF and MDC -T, in an album titled ZANUDC. Yes history has to be packed in wave format too or else upcoming generations will have to feed on Zanupf Aeneas Chigwedere’s history of lies which is not good. Future generations should know the truth about Zimbabwe and ZanuPF and not cooked lies by ZanuPF mouthpieces.

• Gukurahundi
• Mavhoterapapi
• Matibili wauraya(Viomak’s favourite)
• Gore iro
• Baba vaEdward
• Batai mutonge
• Musaregerere JOC
• Broken buttock blues (lyrics by John Eppel)