AFTER the euphoria that gripped Zimbabwe after Chimurenga
musician Thomas Mapfumo’s visit, arts doyen Cont Mhlanga has said that
self-exiled music star Lovemore Majaivana should not be swayed by those asking
him to give a similar performance in the City of Kings, as people in Bulawayo
were bound to disappoint him.
Mapfumo’s gig, which saw the Glamis Arena vibrating with
the sounds of Mukanya’s famed Chimurenga tunes, reignited hopes that perhaps
Bulawayo music’s most famous son could also perhaps return to give Bulawayo a
live taste of his own timeless tunes.
However, if Mhlanga was to have it his way, Bulawayo music
lovers will have to feast their eyes and ears on grainy YouTube videos and old
recordings to satisfy their Majaivana cravings.
Because of their less than stellar reputation of supporting
their own, he believes that they are bound to break his heart if he ever
decided to listen to the clamours of those that are now saying Bulawayo
deserves at least one more dance with the man who was born Lovemore Tshuma
before his nimble feet earned him the nickname the Majaivana.
“Majaivana shouldn’t come back. Why did people wait for
Mapfumo to come to Zimbabwe before suggesting that Majaivana also comes and
perform? If they really wanted him to perform here they should have simply got
him here before Mapfumo’s gig was even thought of.
“People forget that when Mapfumo left Zimbabwe he was
getting great crowds and support at his gigs. Was Majaivana getting the same in
Bulawayo when he left? When he was singing saying no matter how well he sings
people don’t see him or write about him in newspapers, where was the support?
Have you ever heard Mapfumo complaining of a lack of support?” Mhlanga said in
an interview with Sunday Life last week.
Years after he stopped being active on the music scene,
Majaivana is still the darling of city music lovers for his ability to capture
everyday life in the City of Kings. Songs like Umoya Wami, for example, found
Majaivana at his Bulawayo loving best, as he sang about his desire to be once
again return to the dust of Bulawayo, taking in the sights and sounds of the
city’s smoke filled skies at a time when the city’s industries were still
vibrant.
On Mkhwenyana, Majaivana humorously sang about his love for
the love of simple township life, as the Makokoba-bred musician came to terms
with the financial complications that come with crossing the western and
eastern suburb divide that defines the city.
Almost two decades after he turned his back on Bulawayo it
is hard to believe that Majaivana is still the same man who sang so
passionately about the city in those tunes.
“If Majaivana came back and performed for free at McDonald
Hall, he would struggle to fill it up. That’s how bad the problem is with the
people of Bulawayo. They don’t support their own and they never have. Instead
they claim you then criticise you.
“If I was Majaivana and I was sitting at home there in the
United States I would be asking myself why I would return to Bulawayo when Jeys
Marabini and Sandra Ndebele can’t get a decent crowd at the City Hall?” said
Mhlanga.
Majaivana seemed to have shut the door on any possible
return to the world of music in 2009.
“I am not a musician anymore and so I would appreciate it
if you would leave me alone. I now live a different life . . . thank you,” he
said as he hung up on the then Saturday Trends, effectively shutting the door
on any talk of a comeback album.
It is with this in mind that Mhlanga believes that
comparisons to Mapfumo are misguided.
“Mapfumo is touring Europe and performing in America.
Whenever artistes go to that country Mapfumo features in the gig but have you
ever heard Bulawayo artistes looking to work with Majaivana whenever they tour
the United States or Canada? That’s when you see that the problem is bigger
than Majaivana.
“We’re now living in a global village and if there’s a
Majaivana gig in Canada we expect to see bumper crowds because there’re a lot
of people from Bulawayo in that country. Let them organise a Majaivana gig
there first. Surely if you can organise a successful gig in Canada then
logically one in Bulawayo will be similarly successful,” said Mhlanga.
Mapfumo, Mhlanga said, had come because his fans had shown
a willingness to bring their icon back home.
“For someone to promote your show it means they’re your fan
and are prepared to pay top dollar to see you come perform. Who’s ready to do
that for Majaivana in Bulawayo? We can’t. Sunday News
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