Hokoyo Is a Great Zimbabwean Album
By Onai Mushava
Jah Prayzah’s continental wars are well-known but after every battle is fought, an artist’s never-ending conflicts are against himself. Think of a musician as different splinter personalities in one room, each fighting for creative control. That is Jah Prayzah, the stage monster, the business strategist, the regional crusader, the cultural revivalist, and the vulnerable underdog. The best of these splinters have just won the latest round and recorded a great Zimbabwean album.
Hokoyo, the new fifteen-track album, is Jah Prayzah’s tenth. It is not just a comeback from the uninspired Chitubu, but one of his most ambitious yet, alongside Tsviriyo, Jerusarema and Kutonga Kwaro. There are songs to make you feel and sounds that are as grounded in the Zimbabwean tradition as they...