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John Chibadura
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John Chibadura (1957–1999) was a Zimbabwean guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a member of pioneering sungura group The Sungura Boys, and found great success in Zimbabwe and Mozambique with his band The Tembo Brothers and as a solo artist.
Early life
[edit]Chibadura was born John Nyamukokoko on 17 February 1957 in Bindura District, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).[5] Chibadura's parents were migrant workers from Mozambique, and his mother died in 1962.[6] His father remarried, and Chibadura's stepmother had him live with his grandfather, who played the mbira.[6] As a child Chibadura took care of his father's goats, and on finishing school he worked as a truck driver.[7]
Musical career
[edit]Chibadura began learning banjo in 1968.[6] In 1980 he moved to Harare, where he lived in the town of Chitungwiza that later gave him his nickname "Mr Chitungwiza".[7][6] In Harare he joined Ephraim Joe's band the Sungura Boys as lead singer, appearing on the album John and The Sungura Boys in 1984.[8] Nhamo Anthony Mhiripiri writes that "The Sungura Boys...is generally thought to be the first 'institution' of sungura music that nurtured and developed most future sungura stars including John Chibadura".[4] Chibadura's band the Tembo Brothers, formed in 1985, were one of the most successful Zimbabwean rumba bands of the 1980s and 90s, and toured the UK twice.[3][9] They were also extremely popular in Mozambique, where they played to crowds of 40 thousand people and met Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano several times.[6]
In the 1990s Chibadura became ill and had to mortgage his property and sell his possessions to pay for treatment.[1] He died on 4 August 1999, aged 42, and received a pauper's funeral.[10][1]
Musical style and themes
[edit]Chibadura is primarily remembered as a player of sungura and, with his band the Tembo Brothers, of Congolese rumba.[2][3] However Chibadura also incorporated traditional Zimbabwean music into his sound, making use of indigenous Shona drumming and mbira on tracks like "'Baya WaBaya" and "Nhamo Yatakawona",[8] as well as recording music in the genre of museve.[1] In the 1980s and 1990s Chibadura recorded several reggae songs, some of which were compiled and released together in 2004.[2]
Chibadura is known for his "intense voice and achingly poignant lyrics," with themes of "downbeat misery: broken families, excessive dowries, [and] wasted opportunities."[3] His 1988 song "Zuva Rekufa Kwangu" (The Day I am Going to Die) includes the lyric "my God, I want to know the day of my death."[11]
Discography
[edit]- Albums
- Compilations
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Moses Chikowero (2007), "The state and music policy in post-colonial Zimbabwe, 1980–2000", Muziki, 4 (1), Routledge: 111–128, doi:10.1080/18125980701754637
- ^ a b c d Tanaka Chidora; Doreen Rumbidzai Tivenga; Ezra Chitando, eds. (2024), "Introduction: Locating Zimdancehall in the Trajectory of Music in Zimbabwe", The Zimdancehall Revolution, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1–26, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-41854-9, ISBN 978-3-031-41853-2
- ^ a b c d Leon Jackson. Tembo Brothers Biography at AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b Nhamo Anthony Mhiripiri (2011), "'Welcome singing sungura queens': Cultural studies and the promotion of female musicians in a Zimbabwean male-dominated music genre", Journal of Music Research in Africa, 8 (1), Taylor & Francis: 103–119, doi:10.1080/18125980.2011.570304
- ^ Philip Sweeney (1999-09-20), "Obituary: John Chibadura", The Independent, ProQuest 312931884, retrieved 2025-01-17
- ^ a b c d e Fred Zindi (2019-07-15), "Why Chibadura had no manager (In the groove with Fred Zindi)", NewsDay, retrieved 2024-11-25
- ^ a b Steve Huey. John Chibadura Biography at AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b c Tony Perman (December 2012), "Sungura in Zimbabwe and the Limits of Cosmopolitanism", Ethnomusicology Forum, 21 (3), Taylor & Francis: 374–401, doi:10.1080/17411912.2012.709815
- ^ Judy Kendall; Banning Eyre (2006). "Zimbabwe". Rough Guide to World Music: Africa & Middle East. Vol. 1 of 3 (3rd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. pp. 706–718. ISBN 1843535513.
- ^ "John Chibadura's legacy lives on", The Zimbabwean, 2011-06-23, retrieved 2024-11-18
- ^ Tanaka Chidora; Joseph Mujere (2024), "Burying Sauro: The Necrography of Zimdancehall", in Tanaka Chidora; Doreen Rumbidzai Tivenga; Ezra Chitando (eds.), The Zimdancehall Revolution, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 233–260, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-41854-9, ISBN 978-3-031-41853-2
- ^ Robert Christgau, "Consumer Guide: August, 2020 – The Best of John Chibadura (review)", robertchristgau.com, retrieved 2024-11-21
External links
[edit]- John Chibadura discography at Discogs