“Dada Nerudzi Rwako”: Championing African Identities in Oliver Mtukudzi’s Music

Abstract

This chapter analyzes Mtukudzi’s music, its pedagogical and cultural significance and his use of the intricacies of his language to promote norms and values that denote Africanness. It is anchored in social identity theory as propounded by Martiny and Rubin (Towards a Clearer Understanding of Social Identity Theory’s Self-Esteem Hypothesis. In Understanding Peace and Conflict Through Social Identity Theory: Contemporary Global Perspectives, ed. S. McKeown, R. Haji, and N. Ferguson, New York, Springer Publisher, 2016), Shepherd and Sigg (Music Perception 32 (5 June): 507–514, 2015), Halloran and Kashima (Culture, Social Identity and the Individual. In Individuality and the Group: Advances in Social Identity, ed. T. Postmes and J. Jetten, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers, 2004) and Tajfel and Turner (An Integrative Theory of Inter-Group Conflict. In The Social Psychology of Inter-Group Relations, ed. W.G. Austin and S. Worchel, Monterey, CA, Brooks, 1979), among others. In keeping with this theory, which stresses people’s sense of who they are and how they derive pride, self-esteem and a sense of belonging from their group membership, this chapter argues that Mtukudzi “made it” as a globally recognized artist by being true to his identity. He epitomized well the adage, “act globally and behave locally”. He espoused the African ethos of Ubuntu as manifested not only in his numerous collaborations with artists from different genres—both male and female—from within and beyond Zimbabwe’s borders, or the renowned Pakare Paye Arts Centre, which benefited many, but also in the way that politicians across the political divide jostled to be associated with him even in death. The chapter concludes that Mtukudzi’s quest to valorize African identity was a direct response to numerous forces that seek to demean African culture and identity.