If its not broken! To fix or not to fix it? The Baba Harare case study

By Trevor Mawaka

Soccer and sports coaches, in general, have ‘clichéd’ the adage that says, “if its not broken, then there is no need to fix it.” The dictum often applies to music and it seems Baba Harare has taped from this wise saying in crafting his latest album, Ramba Wakadzvanya.

After enjoying the fruits of the Jit tree from his hit The Reason Why off his second album Munamato waRasta he went on and planted anther orchard titled Ramba Vakadzvanya. The Reason Why opened doors for the artist, real name Braveman Chizvino. It gave him a name in the showbiz from a nickname he had earned while still under Jah Prayzah’s leadership at the 3rd Generation Band.

Ramba wakadzvanya the title track comes with an enigmatic video loaded with dance moves that will surely capture more views on Youtube.

Jit music is best danced by voluptuous women whose wiggling ability defies logic is no secret at all. Baba Harare was generous enough to apportion more screen time to these, and the result is a feast for the eyes. His own dancing ability comes to the fore.

The lead guitar on the track is nostalgic and reminiscent of yesteryear Jit Music masters who popularised the genre. The drums take you back to a late night Jerusarema dance under a full moon in a rural setting. Anyway, what is Jit music without the inviting sound of the drum? It is this sound of the drum that makes sure at a jit event, there is no audience as everyone is a participant through dancing.

His lyrics, as usual, are comic, light and they force a smile even the on the most cold-hearted.

In typical Baba Harare nature, the lyrics turn flirty, but all covered in the rich Shona lingo, leaving only those naughty at heart with the ability to deduce the meaning.

He borrows mostly from well known traditional and nursery rhymes that all and sundry can sing along to but his figurative lyrics give depth and delivers the message.

The call and response way the backing vocals come in makes the song to be easy on the tongue making it a sing-along song that fans will easily learn to sing.

All in all, the production has texture and might line up some awards nominations for the lanky singer. Sticking with the same producer that produced Minamato WaRasta, Maselo ensured momentum and growth in the quality of production though he might be criticized for borrowing to much from his earlier hit, The Reason Why.

In other words, Ramba Wakadzvanya as a single is in everything Part B of The Reason Why. The tempo of the two songs is the same. The pitch is the same. Even the key is the same. The similarity, if one can call it that, if not monotony, goes further as even the folklore songs that he borrowed from are in essence one song. In The Reason Why he sang Nzimbe Inobvira Kumusoro and on the Reason Why he picked Mhiripiri Nyoro inovava.

That Jit music has one drum beat cannot be an excuse as that one drumbeat has many songs that can be played on it. Even traditionally, one could be creative and introduce their own variations to the songs.

The verdict on whether Baba Harare’s move was a wise one or not remains with real owners of the music, the fans. Will they love the new song as they did he previous one?  However, one thing is clear, if one enjoyed the Reason Why, then they will probably enjoy this song.

The song will endear him more to those who love this type of music but as of earning him new fans, well that’s quite debatable.