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Crimson Blu

Sharon Kavhu Own Correspondent
Two years ago, Harare rappers had a significant division which was mainly based on territorial grounds where there was North and South Samora central rap territories.

The North Samora was represented by the Few Kings, an innovative and talented trio of artistes comprising of Tehn Diamond (Tendai Nguni), Junior Brown (James Mpakula) and Take Fizzo (Tatenda Jenami).

The trio basically represented the upper town suburbs of Harare known for lavish lifestyle.

On the other side there was MMT better known as MC Cut (Kevin Sagomba), Mariachi (David Chitate) and Tate da MC (Tatenda Nziramasango) who represent the down town urban scene famed its hard and grounded lyrics.

However, the tables have turned after a new compilation (EP) “Back to Basics” was released last week.

The new compilation features artistes from both sides.

“Back to Basics” was released by Mc Cut and Darkfface born as Marshall Mutemajiri both from South Samora in order to rejuvenate the Hip hop flavour by bringing in talented rappers from the two sides.

The new project, which is already making waves on local radio stations, carries five songs namely: ‘We Going In’ which features female rapper Trae Yung (Tracy Mbeulani); ‘Can You Believe This’ which features a new female talent Tinashe Makura; ‘U Can Do It’ featuring female rapper Farida Caprice (Gamuchirai Gute); ‘The Cypher’ which features Mc Chita; Tricky J (Julius Mbewe), Mcknife (Tinashe Mubanga), Promethius and Young Nash (Tapiwa Nyagwaya); ‘Thank You’ featuring Crimson Blu (Tendai Dikinya) and Tehn Diamond.

“All these five songs are taking us back to an era where Hip Hop wasn’t all about getting high and partying. Back when there were no territorial divisions within the genre,” said Mc Cut.

“The compilation is bringing all rappers on one project despite their territorial backgrounds and previous differences with each other and that is the reason why we called it “Back to basics”.

He said the project was produced by three different hip hop producers that brought a unique compilation with different flavours.

Local multi-award winning producer Anonzi Xndr (Alexander Mutumha), International Hip Hop producer Russell Gurupira and Yung Nash made combined efforts in producing the EP.

Anonzi Xndr produced “We are going in” which is a declaration type of a song where the artists talk about how they want to dominate the Hip Hop genre with a “bang”.

He also produced “U Can Do It” which carries a message to encourage young people to stay focused in school and away from drugs or substance abuse. It basically encourages and motivates this group of people to build a better community and become better citizens.

“ON the song ‘Can You Believe This’ we were basically describing how things have been changing, how life events have come to pass and how we wish our family and friends would be alive to see how things are changing,” said Mc Cut.

He said Russell G also produced “Thank You” which is a song to show gratitude to Hip Hop fans, family, friends and promoters who have contributed to the growth of Hip Hop music in Zimbabwe.

Young Nash produced “The Cypher” which basically gave the rappers a platform to flex their artistic nature on a gritty beat. Mc Cut said the idea of composing such songs was greatly influenced by the fact that such lyrical content had been neglected for a while.

The duo decided to put the territorial feud aside and produce a unique product and thus they have incorporated Mc Chita and Tehn Diamond who are from North Samora.

Due to the overwhelming response that the compilation has received, Mc Cut said he and his partner Darkfface will continue working all rappers despite their territories.

“We are definitely going to work on another musical project similar to ‘Back to basics’ which carry more substantial messages that educate the audience. Although we love our culture parting anthems, we also need to make our music beneficial to the listeners,” said Mc Cut.

On the other hand, Russell G has applauded the combination of Tehn Diamond (North Samora), Mc Cut, Darkfface and Crimson Blu.

“When I made the beat of ‘Thank you’ I had a feeling that something epic was about to come. I didn’t know exactly who was going to ride on the beat but I guess God had already made a plan and one thing led to another and these three hip hop giants eventually came together and made this masterpiece,” said Russell G.

“I am very impressed with what these guys did on this beat, I feel they have the right energy and as a team they will take this game to new different level.”