Nicky Blumenfeld If anyone deserved superstar status at this year’s South African Music Awards, it was the Venda musician, Amon Mvula. His appearance provided refreshing relief from the rather dry gratitude and platitudes. On winning his second consecutive award, for the best Venda album, Mvula stood up and thanked his fans for their loyalty, in the Chi-Venda language. This was not particularly significant, until he explained in English: “I suppose you think I’m speaking Chinese, but some people speak Venda and it is one of the 11 national languages!”
Many factors lie behind the marginilisation of certain minority ethnic groups in South Africa and much of our so-called “traditional” music is still confined to regional popularity and exposure. Being previously unaware of this contemporary Venda star, I was struck by his unique presence, and upon hearing a snippet of his music and witnessing his dynamic, collaborative performance at the event, I felt immediately compelled to seek further. Born to a Venda mother and a Zimbabwean father in the town of Messina, which borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique, Mvula was perhaps destined from birth to explore beyond his immediate environment. His father was a mineworker and this led Mvula to schooling in Zimbabwe and Malawi. Returning to South Africa after his father’s death, he began his musical career as a drummer and later a singer. Mvula insists that patriotic sentiments weren’t the basis for his award statement, instead it reflected his sincere wish to directly acknowledge the Venda people, who he believes have been responsible for his success.
Speaking most of the 11 national languages, he was justified in this appeal, because while undeniably rooted with a strong sense of identity, he also values the differences in people – believing that language, like music, is a way of achieving understanding through communication. His first album, released in 1996 sold 25E000 copies within the first three weeks and in 1997 his second album went gold. The following two award-winning albums were self-produced. In an industry where a local artist is fortunate to sell 5E000 copies, we should be obliged to look at those who repeatedly sell thousands. Such large appreciation, even within their respective areas, must be representative of some magic ingredient. A key to successful artistry is always honesty of expression and it is therefore no surprise that withstanding his background, Mvula’s music is eclectic. Drawing on traditional rhythms and melodies, he fuses these with contemporary content and modern instrumentation. He believes in listening to all kinds of music and is also largely inspired by West African and Caribbean sounds. It is the determination to articulate himself freely, without compromise, which enables him to surpass the boundaries of culture and ignore xenophobic attitudes. He admires the older generation of local greats, such as Hugh Masekela, Dorothy Masuku, Caiphus Semenya, Miriam Makeba and their contemporaries, commending their professionalism and commitment. Above all he respects the emotional honesty of their work, which continues to touch people wholeheartedly, as: “Nobody would like to eat pap that you cooked yesterday. But if you want people to eat you must go with the rules. It must be clean, nicely served and everything – then people will come and eat again. But if you don’t, then who will come and eat? Nobody! That’s how it works.” Mvula credits his generosity of spirit and open outlook to his late parents, who left him with an attitude of “respect, caring and putting other people’s problems first”, before his own. He will readily assist a fellow musician in need and believes that by embracing our differences we can achieve strength collectively. His regular performances in the northern areas of the country and beyond the borders are popular, highly charged events. It’s regrettable that the effects of our recent history still confine these gems to regional, non-urban audiences, because it is his performances that have contributed to his recording company’s decision to internationally release African Rumba, his latest and fifth album. Mvula has a remarkable ability to fuse many different musical genres, sometimes moving from Venda to Zululand, through Jamaica and the Congo, within a single song. The title track is a collage of West African beats, presented in a humorous, pop-ish way. The sure hit, Tshinanga, is based on a traditional Venda rhythm called tshigombela [reminiscent of the famed Zimbabwean militant, but catchy chimurenga style].
Latin rhythms and contributions from his Zimbabwean musicians add to the global melting pot. Even while recording in the studio, Mvula prefers to picture himself “in a stadium full of people jumping and screaming”.
Mvula is an impressive man with a big heart, who plays music “to entertain – to listen and to have fun”. More than this he represents a rich diversity – an area, a country, a region and now the world. His skill lies in the way he brings it together and it is precisely this kind of cultural evolution that can help to heal our country.
“We must make music the way we’re supposed to make it! We must make music a universal language that will bring people together,” says Mvula.