Zimpapers Logo

Stanely Mushava Arts Correspondent
Zimdancehall rookie Tocky Vibes is staking his claim as the foremost social evangelist of the genre. The lyrically varied 20-year-old is dropping tune after tune with mature messages and poetic mastery uniquely his own. His recent tracks including “Kushanda,” “Kudzamisa Pfungwa,” “Usakande Mapfumo Pasi,” “Mhai,” “Hama” and “Ndivhurei Maziso” starkly contrast with the train of bad influence which most young artistes are riding on.

With themes revolving around the hard work, gratitude, honesty, love and prayer, the “Marshall Munhumumwe of Zimdancell,” as Tocky Vibes is fondly called, appears to be safely weaned off the bubblegum factory.

Tocky Vibes told The Herald Entertainment that he has earned the ears of all age groups as his music is now family oriented.
“The tunes I am dropping now appeal to a mature audience. If I sing in support of drugs and sexual immorality, I will lose one generation of my fans,” Tocky Vibes said.

“The older listeners will shun my music once I support slackness so I am sticking to positive values in all my tunes now,” he said.
The avant-garde artist attributed his lyrical facility to talent and his commitment to singing what he knows instead of tagging into any buzzword of the moment.

“I sing about things that I see; the lessons of life I consider worthy sharing with a broader audience.
“I know nothing about style and pattern so I can’t sing about that. I have experienced different types of life so I know better about the life challenges I put across in my songs.

“I sing especially for the poor and my message is about upliftment. I urge those who are currently struggling that with hard work and dedication nothing will stop them from amounting to their dreams.

“But I can’t take credit for the tunes. ‘‘Ndezvashe, tigazvitsvaga isu tingatozvistressa’’ (it’s all of God, we can’t figure it out ourselves). I am just availing myself as a vehicle for the message.

“I want maturity to define my music.
The thing is young people may like slackness now but because everyone is growing there will be no place for that kind of music in the future.
“Those who like slackness now will not like it forever. We may say it’s for young people but they will also grow to condemn it when they become adults.

“We should always emphasise the right values to all people including the youths.
Tocky Vibes said his favourite tracks are ‘‘Ndotoshaya Hope’’, ‘‘Handityi’’ and ‘‘Kushanda’’ (his latest single on Chillslam riddim).

“The song ‘‘Mhai’’ (currently riding high on the charts) is a reflection of the relationship between me and my mom. I also had to pay her homage because she was supportive of my musical career. ‘‘Ndivo vakatanga kundibvumidza zvekuimba’.

“Another track I have in my heart is Kushanda. I have witnessed that without hard work one will never reach the next station in life.
“In ‘Ndivhurei Maziso,’ I was pleading with God for spiritual enlightenment so that I don’t take the wrong steps,” he said.
Tocky Vibes’ parents forced him to quit music after he had recorded two singles under Winky D aged only 15.

He was dispatched to their rural home in Chivi so music would not divert him from his studies, before being sent to help with cattle rearing at his father’s farm in Rusape.