Culture, Language, Human Rights and Politics in Oliver Mtukudzi’s Music

Abstract

This chapter, which serves as the Introduction to this book, teases out the issues addressed in the volume, mainly Oliver Mtukudzi’s place as a cultural worker in Zimbabwe in particular and Africa and the globe in general, his artistic prowess in manipulating language and stylistic devices to reach out to his audiences, and his politics and campaigns for human rights and justice. It demonstrates how Mtukudzi encapsulates the relevance of music to holistic human development by addressing themes that are critical to the emergence of a more humane, egalitarian and dynamic society. In particular, this chapter posits, Mtukudzi was a passionate advocate of black African cultural pride. One main way in which he demonstrated this was through utilizing African indigenous languages, which Mtukudzi believed were an integral part of African identity and had the power to spur economic development. The chapter further explores how Mtukudzi’s music had an enormous capacity for social transformation and how he used it in defense of human rights. In the process, he revealed theologian traits. Lastly, the chapter explains how Mtukudzi avoided controversial confrontation in his politics but opted for a more veiled approach to political commentary.