Musical rhetoric and the limits of official censorship in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Abstract Cultural critics of the Zimbabwean government argue that the passing into law of the 75 percent requirement of local content on television and radio is the most visible expression of musical censorship. The critics argue that control of television and radio helps the government to censor the content of music of those singers whose visions of Zimbabwe do not agree with that of the ruling Zanu-PF. While the idea of 100 per cent local content on the air waves might seem noble and positive at first sight, in that it seems to represent the movement of local music from the periphery to the mainstream, in reality this has implications for the character of Zimbabwean music, as it increasingly strives to imitate American music. Thus, local content quotas may kill the music industry as Zimbabwe does not possess enough material to meet the local content criteria. Censorship also manifests itself in the form of a campaign of intimidation against artists, and in the suggestion that what people watch on Zimbabwe television and listen to on state radio is not local Zimbabwean content but Zanu-PF propaganda. These views are not shared by all musicians and listeners. In fact, the identification of local content with lyrics gives birth to the perception that people are what they listen to. However, a reconsideration of music in terms of lyrics, rhetoric and voice creates a different framework of understanding music in which people can generate their own meanings and be what they do not listen to. Using the music of Tambaoga, Zhakata and Chipanga, this article argues that the politics of listening as performance forces us to take notice that other than lyrics, singers use musical rhetoric and voice to evade official censorship as well as expand the conceptual understanding of the question of what is ‘local’ in the debate on localising musical content in Zimbabwe.