The Shoes Lambada Experience

Shoes Lambada was part of the International Reprters Conference that took part in Munster, Germany in July 2011, and this is an interview he did during the conference. He also recorded a concert during this conference.

Tariro

This is a love poem by was written to challenge the issue of choices. In this poem, Shoes Lambada paints a scenario where his choices to marry a woman of his liking are not respected. The elders always found something negative about whoever he chose to be his wife. This was common in the shona culture as arranged marriages were respected and your choice was less important. However, the poem as much as it seems to be a romantic poem about a man who sticks to his choice of woman in the face of opposition from his relatives, the poem was written at height of political violence in 2008 and for one to be free you had to belong to one political party and not necessarily the party of your choice. This poem received mixed reactions when it was performed in 2008 and 2009.

Nonthando

The poem is filled with emotion and feelings. One of Shoes Lambada's old pieces. This is a love poem written by Shoes Lambada in 2007.

House of Stone

House of Stone you are my life
House of Stone you are my wife
My brother from another mother, my sister from another mister
My niece from another miss
House of Stone you are a mansion yet to some you are a dungeon
To the poor you are a sweltering red hot oven
Yet to the numerous ruling party cronies you remain a plush paradise like heaven
House of Stone you are my pride
House of Stone you were the chosen bride
Yet your own children have cursed you
With our stolen votes they peruse the city streets
In their elegant lavish limousines labelled ZIM what? Nonsense
Their irritating sirens reminding us for the umpteenth time
Of the wailing Grandmother in UMP Who has nothing but a morsel of dry almost rotten piece of chimodho To feed to the fifteen grandchildren yet when her vote they wanted
They promised her all agricultural inputs and the mother of all seasons (As if they are the rain makers) plus that futile monthly BACCOSI hamper that never was

House of Stone what disease has invaded you?
Which virus is gluttonously munching through your anatomy?
For you no longer know life but strife
You are no longer an epitome of freedom but the home of doom and gloom
I say look around you House of Stone
They claim to be happily married
They sleep under the same blanket and share the same narcissistic bed
Yet when night falls they draw daggers for each other
What then is the GNU when national unity remains a fragile yet cosmetic accord between three principals
I say look around you House of Stone, look around you House of Stone
From the once Sunshine City to now Shit of Harare
From the breadbasket of Africa to the basket case of Africa
From the Great Zimbabwe to the Zimbabwe Ruins
STILL House of Stone

Look around you House of Stone
From the National Water Authority to the No Water Authority
From the Electricity Supply Authority to the Electricity Shortage Authority
From the Grain Marketing Board to the Grain Massacre Board
STILL House of Stone

From Seretse Khama to Ketumile Masire to Festus Mogae to Ian khama Jnr.
STILL house of stone
From Nelson Mandela to Thabo Mbeki to Mohlante to Jacob Zuma and future leaders
STILL House of Stone
From Kenneth Kaunda to Fredrick Chiluba to Levy Mwanawasa to Rupiah Banda to Michael Sata
STILL House of Stone
Even abroad House of stone From Ronald Regan to Gorge Bush Snr. to Bill Clinton to Gorge Bush Jnr. to Barack Obama
Still House of Stone

I say look around you House of Stone
But that day is coming House of Stone
That day when the people’s will shall be felt
That day when the people shall TAKE CHARGE and pen their own constitution
That day when the people shall determine their own destination
For we have had enough of the dust of toil
From our failed Agrarian soil
And all we need is bread on our tables bread on our tables!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Tapfuma Ronald Jongwe
Tapfuma Jongwe is a Performing Poet who has performed at various local, regional and international platforms. He writes here in his own personal capacity.

Yomubatanidzwa

This poem is in shona. It is speaking of the Inclusive government in Zimbabwe. The poem is exploring gthe positives that the inclusive government brought rather than the negatives which are always touted in the newspapers. Poet Shoes Lambada mixes humour and deep language with energy to convey the positives being enjoyed by Zimbabweans. Taku Mafika on the mbira gives a jovial celebratory tune with a husky chorus that he sings to interlude the poetry.

OSAMA

This poem was written by Robson Isaac ShoesLambada soon after the death of Osama bin Laden.

Longer than expected he lived

But longer he remains dead

A female,

Bullet-holed all over her skin

Her body the bullet proof of the male combatant

Osama’s son being bombed to heaven

Just like the twin towers on Septmebr eleven

The globe spinning

The atmosphere changing.

Leaders changing, others falling

NATO Royal Airforce tornadoes targeting,

Libya’s dockyard facilities. Israel vowing,

Never to return to 1967 borders. Netanyahu to Obama in White House lecturing.

Gaddaffi’s military installations loosening,

SADC Troika on Mugabe tightening

Strauss Khan a hotel maid sexually assaulting:

The Next-French-President tag falling

Pakistan Taliban, Al Qaeda and Saudi Arabia brushing

Tears from their sombre mourning

Faces from morning till morning

Osama: The Afghan Tora Bora fugitive

Equator of democracy to idolatry

America’s headache since Bush

Now that he is dead

Al Qaeda is sad

In Abbottabad as the chopper pierced

The tense, masses fled

The dollar rose,

Oil fell

Stocks rose,

Gold fell.

Economics or Politics?

International law or law of internationals?

Bound to the Streets

I will miss you

Duo impresses cross-cultural audience

The duo of Taku Mafika the mbira prince and Shoes Lambada one of the finest poets in the country yesterday sent an audience of more than 150 people into a frenzy at the Annual Intercultural Summer Party held in Munster, Germany held on Sarturday 30 July 2011. The event is an international gathering that happens once every year and this year there were participants from 17 countries mostly from Europe and Asia. African participants were our own pair of Taku Makika and Robson Isaac Shoes Lambada plus three others from Namibia and Morrocco.

The Zimbabwea duo took to the stage soon after a theatre piece from a Polish company had torn the audience into stitchesThey started their performances with Shoes Lambada doing the solo act. He opened the floor with the shona rhythmic “Tariro": a love poem that centres on the traditional way of arranged marriages called kuzvarirwa in shona. In this poem Shoes Lambada depicted a picture where a man is forced to marry a woman who does not have the looks he likes but is reminded of some good elements of those bad looks.

“Vanondiunzira madhuve zigadzi zidema-dema,
zigobvu-gobvu rakanyangara zvinodzinga
vapwere padare hunzi gudo kuipa-kuipa
haro asi haridyi chakafa choga" he recited

He went on to recite “Bound to the Street’ on his own before he called Taku to the stage. The poem of the day was the Osama poem where Taku's mbira was perfectly woven with Shoes Lambada’s verses. The poem was a vivid analyisis of the global atmosphere soon after the death of Osama bi Laden. The situation in the Middle East compared to the situation in New York’s Ground Zero. The poem also explored the other world events that were significant and making the news at that time like the Strauss Kahn scandal, the Libya uprisings and also the economic specualtion that followed as indicated by the rising of the dollar and stocks while oil and gold fell. The jubilant crowd fell in love with the chorus “Longer than expected he lived, but longer he remains dead“.The Al Qaeda leader was responsible for the september 11 attacks on USA where approximately 3000 people were killed.

The other acts they did as duo included "Dzimwe Nguva, Yomubatanidzwa and Dollar for Two" . After the duet performance Taku then took the audience to his personal level with a solo performance. He did some shona folk songs and also some new material from his upcoming album which he is currently working on and also collaboarting with some international artists in Germany. The track "chingungunde" got the audience on the dance floor and it ended while the audience still wanted more. Nevertheless Taku's song of the night was "chikuru rudo". The song became popular last year when he shot a video for the song in Munster. The video featured Aga a polish girl and was directed by Janusz Hamerski, a Polish filmaker who has been resident in Germany for more than 25 years.

The pair does urban mbira and poetry fusion. They have been doing these kind of acts since 2008 . It is not the first time that they have wowed audiences like this. This yera in February they starred during the Black History month celebrations and the are often collaborating at Taku's shows at the Book Cafe and at Shoes Lambada's private functions. On the day they left for Munster they performed in the morning at the Harare International Conference Centre where the UNFPA was commemoration World Population Day.

Shoes Lambada and Taku Mafika in Munster

Mbira maestro and tutor Taku Mafika left for Germany together with the Coordinator of Zimbabwe Poets for Human Rights: Shoes Lambada. The two were invited for a two-week conference by a German organisation, Solarnet International.

The two, will spend two weeks with 35 other participants from 18 countries attending the International Reporters’ Conference.

“I am happy to be invited to take part in this international editorial conference comprised of other young people who are very diverse in terms of knowledge, culture, lifestyle and backgrounds, coming together to report about issues that concern young people.

“I know that in my capacity as a musician, I can make a meaningful contribution to my society as well as be diverse in my way of thinking, thus writing more relevant issues when I compose my music,” Mafika said.



The conference brings young people from countries around the world and trains them in journalistic skills in new and traditional media.

Mafika will perform with Shoes Lambada to perform a fusion of mbira and poetry as well as conduct workshops. This is not the first time the two artists will collaborate. This year in February they set the Black History Month Celebration ablaze with their performance at the US Ambassador´s (His Excellence Charlesd Ray) residence.

"The mbira poetry fusion just flows like blood in the veins. Its African and the emotions the mbira bring to the words is amazing. We will definitely rock in Munster" remarked Shoes Lambada



Taku is currently riding high with his new album Dzimwe Nguva which is being sold both locally and globally.On this album he worked with the likes of Alexio Kawara, Willom Tight, the late Sam Mtukudzi and Carmen Hwarari of African Destiny.

The Nyunga Nyunga mbira master will perform alongside the latest crop of mbira students: Diana Samkange, Tererai Mugwadi, Pauline of Mafriq, Tina Watyoka and Willom Tight’s son, Gary.

Poets Shine at HIFA

The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) this year saw poets invading Street as they once did two years ago. This year running under the theme, "The Engagement Party" saw poets performing at the usual HIVOS poetry cafe run by the HIFA consultant Chirikure Chirikure and also perfoming along international artists in Harare's First Street. The street poetry programme saw poets performing alongside Gospel Power, Zimbabwe College of Music Brass Band and also the Dutch rock and roll band "The Moke". The Moke band is very popular in the Netherlands and is based in Amsterdam.

The band also closed down HIFA with a spectacular act alongside the Zimbabwean songbird Chiwonison Maraire. The poets in First Street perfomed alongside this energetic band without boring the audiences. The poets who thrilled the audience in First Street include Thando Sibanda, Mbizo Chirasha, the duet of Robson Isaac Shoes Lambada and Michael Mabwe, Elizabeth Zaza Muchemwawere, VaSadza and the Malawian based Linda Gabriel.

Some of the poets at the Pro-Peace Poetry Party