Choice Reviews Online · 2001 · 210 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesCultural StudiesMusicologyAfrican StudiesHistorical MusicologyMusic SociologyAfrican NationalismIndigenous Music StudiesIndigenous Music TraditionsNational Music TraditionsPopular MusicWorld MusicAfrican Music TraditionsBlack Middle Class FormationBlack MusicologyCosmopolitan IdentityElectric Guitar StyleMusic Scene HistoriesNationalist ImageryPopular Music Circulation
Thomas Mapfumo and other Zimbabwean artists burst onto the 1980s music scene with a distinctive blend of electric guitar and indigenous Shona instruments. Turino investigates how this music evolved from early Rhodesian roots to the present and its relationship to Zimbabwean nationalism. He analyzes the rise of cosmopolitan culture among the black middle class and its influence on urban‑popular styles inspired by artists such as the Mills Brothers and Elvis. Turino demonstrates that cosmopolitanism fueled the nationalist movement by blending foreign and indigenous elements, offering the first comprehensive book on music’s role in African nationalism and urging readers to consider the lived experiences behind world‑music appeal.
Hailed as a national hero and musical revolutionary, Thomas Mapfumo, along with other Zimbabwean artists, burst onto the music scene in the 1980s with a unique style that combined electric guitar with indigenous Shona music and instruments. The development of this music from its roots in the early Rhodesian era to the present and the ways this and other styles ariculated with Zimbabwean nationalism is the focus of Thomas Turino's new study. Turino examines the emergence of cosmopolitan culture among the black middle class and how this gave rise to a variety of urban-popular styles modelled on influences ranging from the Mills Brothers to Elvis. He also shows how cosmopolitanism gave rise to the nationalist movement itself, explaining the combination of foreign and indigenous elements that so often define nationalist art and cultural projects. The first book-length look at the role of music in African nationalism, Turino's work delves deeper than most books about popular music and challenges the reader to think about the lives and struggles of the people behind the surface appeal of world music.