Ten Awesome Songs from Outside an Artist’s HeyDay

Heyday. The limelight. Your fifteen minutes. Kupisa.

The concept itself is nebulous as it is evident: while it may be hard to define and demarcate, we know it when we see artists having their moment.

By Shingi Mavima

While an artist’s heyday may come and go due to the whims of life, they remain talented artists and many continue to make incredible music even when the lights have turned off. At the other end of the spectrum, most artists will put in years, even decades, of good hard work before their breakthrough. In the words of the oft-quoted Eddie Cantor observation, “It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.”

The concept of this list is simple: I am looking at ten artists whose heyday we know as being during a particular time, yet have incredible songs that fall significantly outside of that season. This could be long before they blew up, or long after their biggest hits and high point.

To be clear, I have not included artists who have not had prolonged periods away from the light (for example, we first heard ExQ in the lead-up to “Musalala” back in the early 2000s and, despite occasional dormancy, he has always kinda been around since then).

I have also not included songs from the period immediately before they blew up. While Holy Ten’s catalog pre-”Amai” and “Ndaremerwa” is slept on, I feel it represents the same trajectory that would lead him to stardom in the next few months/years.

So it does not represent fundamentally , another era of his artistry.

To be clear, these aren’t necessarily their own songs; they just have to have appeared on them. In fact, it is more likely that this is the case, since artists may be more likely to collaborate with more prominent artists before their own big break or after their own luster has somewhat faded.

Finally (because I know how we can get), this is not a top ten list; rather ten examples of this
phenomenon that the author could come up with. So if you don’t see your favorite artist on this list; don’t be mad, just drop it in the comments and let’s keep the conversation going!

Without further ado then:

A Peace of Ebony (ft Sulumani Chimbetu)- Temptation

(release date: May 2022: Artist Heyday: 1991-1995.)

This is the biggest gap between heyday and song shown on this list. While Zimbabwean hip-hop is having its resurgent moment, the genre is not a new phenomenon in the teapot-shaped nation.

The waves upon waves of rappers we’ve since had may well owe a debt of gratitude to the pioneering group, A Peace of Ebony.

Back when the Zimbabwean airwaves weren’t as friendly to the hip and the hop, and entrance into the international market was treacherous the group, comprising of Tony ‘Chief’ Chihota, Metaphyziks, and Chiwoniso Maraire was topping local charts and in rotation with the BBC. With the fellas doing their own thing for a while, and Chiwoniso going on to become one of the all-time Mbira greats anywhere in the world before her passing in 2013, the story of A Peace of Ebony appeared to lay dormant for a bit.

In the post-COVID era, however, Chief and Metaphysics have again been putting out music again, including 2023’s ‘Tryna’ ft songstress (and daughter to Chiwoniso) Chengeto Brown, as well the subject of this entry, ‘Temptation’ featuring the always entertaining Sulumani Chimbetu, released in 2022.

The song is dope, didactic, and funny all at once. Heck, they even had Sulu rapping!

That the song currently sits at 12 000 views after two and a half years says more about the shifting tides, and the impact a prolonged stint away from the airwaves can have, than it does about the quality of the music itself.

(In all this, allow me to reiterate that “heyday” is NOT to suggest that artists got wack, lazy or anything:

Indeed, they’ve never stopped working on other ventures and have lived very full and exciting lives when they’ve been away.

We’re keeping it strictly about music and popularity.

SN. Tony released his memoir, The Beginning in 2021, and yours truly is almost done reading it. I’ll be back with a full review soon, but what an enthralling read! Highly recommend it.)

Tulk Munny (as Tinevimbo David) - Ndafunga Iwe

Release Date:2003; Heyday: 2017-?

Bro just might kill me for this one!

Many of you, particularly in the hip-hop space, are familiar with the rugged, enigmatic, and lethargic character that is TulkMunny.

Whether he is mystifying listeners with his stories of the supernatural on ‘Usarara’ or stealing the show on such ensemble tracks as Malcom Mufunde’s ‘Gold Rush’ (2023) and Vi The Law’s ‘Hondo’ (2024), Tulk represents a raw pocket of the genre that has been integral to its
contemporary resurrection.

But…but.. did you know that this dreadlocked spitta is, indeed, the clean-cut Tinevimbo (David)
Chimbetere of kidznet fame? Yep, the very same! In addition to being host on Zimbabwe’s premier child-centered television show as a primary school kid back in the early 2000s, Tinevimbo also lent his
voice to the chorus of one of the urban grooves’ era definitive earworms, Mad Fisher’s ‘Ndafunga Iwe.’

This song may well represent the biggest change in sonic direction and image on this list, I mean, what was bro even talking about at that age? Haha.

Roy and Royce- Misodzi
Misodzi

Release Date: February 2021. Heyday: 2001-2003

If Zimdancehall told the stories of struggle and uplift, and contemporary hip-hop prides itself in artistry and self-affirmation, the turn-of-the-century Urban Grooves era was inundated with love songs; and it
gets no more era-defining than Roy and Royce’s ‘Handirege.’

With their sultry vocals, the twin serenaded their way into our hearts, and their “Gogogoi” (2002) and “Tenda” (2003) albums remain arguably the best one-two punch in that era, (writer's
subjective opinion.)

Indeed, their banger collaborative effort with NME (MHRIP) “Chimoko’ seems to have been forgotten by the annals of
musical history, and that’s a minor shame.

In 2021, as we collectively sought to reconvene after lockdown, and with nostalgia at an all-time high,
Roy and Royce dropped the single “Misodzi,” a heartbreak ballad reminiscent of their early 2000s work. It’s an enjoyable offering, but again, perhaps the seasons had just moved on, and nobody seemed to notice too much.

There is a Catch-22 with comebacks after a long hiatus: if you sound too different, you alienate those who may have waited for you, and if you sound too similar, then it sounds like you haven’t grown at
all.

Some of the feedback the song garnered

Still recommend it though.

R & K African Sounds- Kumwe Kudemba

Release Date: 2009: Heyday- 1999-2000

Okay, so this is very clearly off the beaten path: while I enjoy Sungura perhaps even more than the average millennial, I am not well-versed enough to comment on the trends, controversies, dynamics etc with anywhere close to the same conviction that I can with, say, ZimDancehall or hip-hop.

I just really like the song. If you ask most casual fans, Ranga and Kevin have two hit songs.

Scratch that; many might even believe that they ONLY have two songs: 1999’s iconic “Tina”, and its response “Ndafunga Kaviri” not too long after.

Quiet as kept, however, they were back in 2009 with “Kumwe Kudemba,” slower, more cerebral tune bemoaning the futility of wishful thinking. Deal with the cards you are dealt and the consequences of your decisions, and keep it moving.

Big tune dis.

Stunner- Chamhembe Skits
Chamhembe Stand up comedy

Release Date: 2004; Heyday: 2007-2015.

I will fight you on this. Stunner belongs in the GOAT convo of Zimbabwean Hip-hop. At the very least, a nominal mention. Not because of his rapping skills or lyricism per se, but because he was one hell of an ambassador for the genre when it most needed him.

As the 2000s wound down, rappers from that era (incubated under the larger ‘Urban Grooves’ umbrella) stepped aside (pun not intended) and, in many waves, let Dancehall take over the streets.

Stunner, who, by the way, had not necessarily been a premier rapper up until that point behind the likes of Maskiri, Mapfumo, ExQ, and even Nasty Trix, saw the gap, and went for it. By the early 2000s, Stunner was transcendent. Hit upon hit, always with the perfect chorus, complemented with the swag he had developed from his early years as a tailor, and a natural penchant for being an entertainer.

It is that last quality that has forced me to break my own rules here: for it is not back to his earlier tracks that we are reverting, but to his scene-stealing performances as Decharger Mangwiro (and other
characters) on the Chamhembe series.

While he had already started to make music, much of which could hardly have been called hip-hop then, he was still cutting his teeth as comic relief while his peers populated the musical part of the compilations.

If you’d told us back then that the goofy comedian on the skits would go on to have an arguably bigger career in music than anyone on these compilations, we may have thrown you out the house!

Good for you, Desmond.

(SN: When did y’all realize Stunner was the one doing those skits? Shout out to the So Profound Chamhembe interviews that laid it all out!)

Shingi Mavima:- Ndorangarira ft Mr Brown & Simba Ci

Release Date: 2016: Heyday: 2019-present

Shameless, I know. But the boss doesn’t pay me for this; so the least I can do is sneak in a shout to one of my songs haha. Away from that, it’s an entry worthy of any list, I say: easily the biggest come-up on this list.

Here’s how the story goes;

In 2015, while doing my doctorate research, I met the artist Simba Ci at the Africa Day celebrations in
Pretoria.

We linked up the following year when I was back in South Africa for further research and, having built a virtual friendship and spoken incessantly about music over the past year, he dragged me to see this young producer and artist I absolutely had to meet.

We arrived in Sunnyside, Pretoria and walked seven flights of stairs (#brokenelevator) to get to a tiny apartment. It turns out the artist, introduced to me as Lynol Brown (soon to rebrand as Mr. Brown) lived here with his parents and a few siblings. Yet, despite their meagre abode, a full third of the living room was dedicated to his studio; that’s how much they believed in him.

It was during this very session that my poetry/song ‘Handiende’ was recorded. Thereafter, we started playing around with a concept I had and, like the absolute savant he is, Mr. Brown started to croon what would be a chorus, grabbed his guitar…and within an hour or so, the song “Ndorangarira’ was done, boasting my first wave raps, smooth crooning by Simba Ci, and the larger-than-life voice of one Mr. Brown.

Less than half a decade later, the ‘Chinja MaGear’ hitmaker has twenty million view songs on YouTube, was a member of the team that made the most watched (sub-Saharan) African video of all time on YouTube, and maintains a 60 000 monthly listenership on Spotify-even when he is not consistently putting out music. He’s done songs with Akon, guys.

Facts are facts though; before Mr. Brown broke bread with Master KG, Makhadzi, and Akon, he was
breaking bread with one Shingi Mavima. I won.

Betty Makaya- Don’t Let Me Down

Release Date: 2022; Heyday: 2002-2003

Betty was here. Then she wasn’t.
Of all the artists featured on this list, Betty Makaya just might have the smallest (publicly available)
discography: just her debut album, Usipo, her monster collaboration with Jamal (RIP), ‘Kurwizi’, and a few features with the likes of Nox and Dino Mudondo.

When she burst on the scene, however, it was as if there was a shift in the blossoming Urban Grooves space.

Up until then, the Shamiso/Galaxy/Chamhembe family tree had the game in the chokehold, with the likes of Plaxedes, Shamiso Gomo, Pauline, and Tererai being all the rage.

Now here comes Betty, petite girl with a voice reminiscent of Mariah Carey in parts; and maan, we were hooked. Her album was the soundtrack of many a love story and heartbreak, while any list of definitive love songs from the 2000s (dare I say this century) that doesn’t feature “Kurwizi” is null and void.

Quietly as she had come, she left; save for one or two sporadic featured appearances. Indeed, some had expected her to resurface when her one-time collaborator, Jamal, passed away in 2013; away from the limelight she remained.

Then in 2022, she had somewhat of a comeback year, featuring prominently on Dino Mudondo’s (another guy who could have been on this list) album, No Lumo as well as on Simba Ci’s single “Don’t Let Me Down,” a funkier tune in keeping with the electric dance wave that has dominated the South African and regional airwaves. It’s a nice, dainty little tune.

(SN; I got to meet up with Betty last year. She is doing well; beautiful family and corporate career and all: in case you were wondering.)

King Isaac and Potato - Ida Inini (Official Audio)

Release Date: 2021; Heyday: 1997-2000 - Potato

You just had to be there. If you were coming of age in the 1990s, there’s a strong chance that Potato (Edwin Mbatatisi) was the first time you heard legitimate dancehall toasting done and done expertly in Shona. Whether he was mashing up major alongside Andy Brown on ‘Zindoga’ and ‘Mapurisa’ or laying down socially conscious bars on what has to be in the convo about the greatest ZImbabwean Dancehall song of all time.

Country Boy, Potato was a revelation. I have fond memories, as a fifth grader, of this one tall Grade Seven girl who everyone had a crush on getting up on stage during assembly and absolutely killing it with
the “Mapurisa” verse. (In unrelated news, if anybody knows Chipo, who did Muchongoyo and graduated
from Sheni primary in 1997, tell her Mavima sai…you know what, I digress. Where was I?)

After that impressive run in the late 90s, the Andy Brown-Potato teamup resurfaced in the early 2000s as part of the Hondo Yeminda campaigns. While the music itself was pretty good, the polarizing socio-political state of the country meant that many found their political alignment objectionable, thus compromising their musical legacy somewhat (Potato moreso than Andy, given Andy had garnered a lot of goodwill due to his sizeable and excellent body of work up to that point.)

We didn’t hear from the chanter for the next two decades, but for some appearances here and there.

However, he came in big when, in 2021 GRAMMY-Nominated Reggae crooner King Isaac called on him to do his thing on the lover’s rock joint, “Ida Inini.” He hadn’t lost his step, and the song was a minor hit, climbing as high as 19th on the Power FM Top 40 charts, while also appearing on the Nyami Nyami FM chart.

Beyond just music though, the song was much appreciated, as it came on the backdrop of rumors of Mr. Mbatatisi’s ill-health and possible demise. Glad to still have you here, legend.

(SN, it’s also worth noting that King Isaac himself could have made this list; his enigmatic career is something that was recently the subject of discussion on Zimsphere.)

Ammara Brown- Olivine Commercial

(Olivine Tuku Advert Zim Advert)

Release Date: Mid 1990s?: Heyday: 2014-2019

Throughout the 2010s, a case could be made for the beautiful Ammara Brown having been the Queen of Zimbabwean Pop music, with her collaborations "Kure Kure”, “Mukoko”, “Svoto”, “Whatchu Want” and “Bhachura” topping the charts, while solo works like Akilliz amassed millions of views and streams.

Hailing from one of the country’s most iconic music families, with father Andy a bonafine legend of
voice and guitar (MHRIP), stepmother Chiwoniso a founding member of Zim’s first superstar hip hop group (see #1) before going on to be one of the greatest mbira virtuosos to ever exist, and sister Chengeto a frequent collaborator and brilliant songstress in her own right.

Long before she ruled the charts, however, Ammara was starring in one of Zimbabwe’s most beloved commercials of the 1990s, alongside the GOAT, Oliver Mtukudzi.

Alexio- Zvaa Zvinhu
Zvaa zvinhu

Release Date: January 2014; Heyday: 2000-2008

Big Urban Grooves fan here, I don’t know if you can tell ;). The Alexio tape, “Usazondisiye” just may be the first cassette I remember ever buying with my own monies; and if it wasn’t, it says a lot that I remember buying it distinctly in ways that I can’t anything before it. For my money, out of the plethora of excellent RnB style artists at the time—Sanii and Plaxedes, Roki to Tererai—Alexio was my guy.

From his starring performance on Guess’s ‘Amai’ through to the gargantuan smash that was “Tinodanana” with Tererai, the playful Chibvukubvuku and through to a song that perhaps marks the end of the Urban Grooves era as we know it, as the desperately held-on-to good vibes of earlier in the decade faded into the grey upon the advent of 2008 (#IYKYK):

Shaina. So big was this joint that, if I’m not mistaken, it topped the Power Fm charts one year, and was in the top 5 the following year (BTW, ZBC- this info should be easier to find; step your digital archives game up!) ‘Shaina’ became an anthem of hope in the nation’s abyss, and featured a now iconic guitar riff by Andy Brown.

Then, Alexio seemingly went quiet for a few years. Then, in 2014, he peeked his head from under the rock he’d been hiding, and offered up the dancey Afropop joint, “Zvaa Zvinhu.” It’s…a very good song.

Perhaps because ZimDancehall was at its peak as the genre of urban Zimbabwe at the time; or perhaps this was not the sombre, heartstring-pulling Lexx with whom we had fallen in love; but the song seemed to go away without fanfare.

Fancy giving it another spin?

Honorable Mentions

Here are a few more names for whom I couldn’t find space on the list for various reasons, but were still interesting to mention. This could be because the music in question is not out on any noteworthy platform, they’re people known for other endeavors who’ve dabbled in music etc.

Honorable Fortune Chasi

(Mdara Chasi): Mdara Chasi - Nherera

We start our honorable mentions with the most honorable! The former minister of energy is somewhat of an outlier; a ZANU PF official who seems largely beloved across the political spectrum (at least by the common man). It may be no surprise then, to know that he dabbles in music, mostly on the Dancehall/Reggae tip. And it’s not bad.

Master H - Idzodzi Bhinzi Dzatiparira "Freestyle" [August 2017] Zimdancehall

Master H has had a year for the ages and, album notwithstanding, is a very good shout for MVP of the year in Zim music (Though from X, I think the boss here disagrees haha.) His run, from Nawanadem and an award-winning turn on the Gore Remix right through to Zvaendwa and Habbakuk, the brother put in the work and, in many ways, was a large part the pseudo-resurgence that Dancehall has had this year.

While to some others, General Aladdin came out of nowhere, those in the know will be aware he’s been bubbling under for a while now- including the minor 2021 hit “Ka Step’ alongside Kapfupi Yut. Long before then, however, the chanter was spending time at Chillspot Records, trying to get the break that his peers had since achieved, while he bided his time. While “Kasong Kekushaya” may have landed him on the list proper, I’m reluctant to describe it as a particularly good song.

But this freestyle though, I love! It is part lyrical genius, part incredible flow, and part bizarre delivery; it just works. After seeing that 30 second freestyle, I wasn’t sure, but surely hoped that the young man would find his way somehow and make it. Glad to see him here.

Well, this is that list. Happy New Year from the boy.

Let us know other instances of such chronological oddities in an artist’s progression that you can think of