When I first saw the tweets about Oliver Mtukudzi, I did not want to believe it. I was really hoping it would be untrue until Newsday broke the news. I can not claim to be his fan but my husband is. Tuku music is a part of our life.
Some of you reading may not know, Oliver Mtukudzi or Tuku as he was known, was a superstar musician from Zimbabwe whose career spans more than four decades with sixty-seven albums.
I am having difficulty imagining Zimbabwe without Tuku. His music has always been a constant even in the chaos that we experience in Zimbabwe and as Zimbabweans. From the Olivine advert to all the time we watched him on Ezomgido, I always assumed he would always be around. Before I started dating my husband, I really did not appreciate how much he meant to other people and to my husband.
When we were dating, there was a time when Leo was in the UK and I was in Zimbabwe. He called me and played Svovi Yangu and even tried to sing it for me. I knew the song but had never really listened to it until that moment. In my heart of hearts, I know Tuku wrote that song for his wife but its mine.
When I agreed to marry my husband, it dawned on me a few days later that I had signed up to listen to Tuku music for the rest of my life. So what if I have to listen to Raki on repeat for an hour.
Or the time Tuku collaborated with Winky D on Moyo. It is a very good song but it is also depressing. I did not enjoy listening to it every day on our morning commute. It aptly captures how many are feeling today.
My son will grow up being exposed to Tuku music and I am not complaining at all. Tuku music always talked about how to treat each other, promoted healthy eating and protecting the environment. He effortlessly sang about domestic abuse, inheritance issues and HIV/AIDS.
I am hurt, especially for my husband and people who loved Tuku like that. I glad he shared his talent with us. He mentored so many people and I always appreciated his advice to musicians. Be yourself always, do not try to be someone else. I am not a musician but I have always taken that to heart.
Thank you and RIP Tuku.