Thomas Mapfumo 1: The War Years

Hip Deep April 11, 2024

Part 1 of Afropop Worldwide's HIp Deep audio biography of Thomas Mapfumo focuses on his upbringing, musical education and the bands that lead up to the Blacks Unlimited. These are the war years, when Zimbabwe was fighting to throw off the burden of the racist Southern Rhodesian regime. This episode documents the birth of "chimurenga" music in the voices of those who made that history, many of whom have now joined the ancestors. Produced by Banning Eyre.

This Hip Deep edition explores the legendary early career of Thomas Mapfumo, a singer, composer and bandleader whose 1970s music set the stage for the birth of a new nation, Zimbabwe. Using rare, unreleased recordings, and recollections by Mapfumo, key band members, and prominent Zimbabweans who lived through the liberation struggle, this program traces the development of chimurenga music. Central to the program, are research materials gathered by Mapfumo biographer Banning Eyre, and commentary by ethnomusicologist Thomas Turino, author of Nationalists, Cosmopolitans, and Popular Music in Zimbabwe. One of the great stories of African music's role in history is told here as never before.

Interview: Thomas Turino