A Shebeen is an unlicensed establishment or private house selling alcohol and typically regarded as slightly disreputable. Such watering holes became prominent in the 90s in several countries in Southern Africa. Despite the bad tag that is often associated with the spots, the joints are a melting pot for people where drinks, music, and stories meet. Such is the power of a new Hip Hop sub-genre called Shabeen Rap.

By Tafadzwa Gambiza

Zimbabwean hip hop artist DING’O THE DUKE describes SHEBEEN RAP is a sub-genre of HIP HOP that is fused with elements of future bass, 1990s Kwaito, HIPHOP and other and it is being pushed by a group of local artists and producers like CASE BTZ, DOUGH MAJOR and DJ ZEDAZ. The idea is to create a sound that can relate to any type of audience from our local taverns/shebeens (where it originates) to the world “

DING’O and MAJOR have been putting pressure on the accelerator since stepping into the game.

Producing super amazing music from different projects and as well working together on several projects. On Harare garden blues DOUGH MAJOR said “handiimbe ma song but ma national anthem “. The pioneers of the genre are destined for greater heights.

DING’O has released 14 singles and THE EMAGINERY AUDIENCE EP in a decade and all seem to have made noise in the streets. Using a street lingo to his advantage, he has managed to capture the minds of the young people as well as fathers and grandfathers who usually hang around the taverns better known as shebeens. His most banging single that wowed every BLACK LABEL stan was CARLING which he worked on with CASE BTZ.

DOUGH MAJOR lays down a rare construction of vernacular raps to his body of work. He is one of the prominent underground voices that are set to blow the world. As an artist in Zimbabwe there are always those few things that might make you kneel. As for Dough Major, he seems to be blazing through the wind.

Most MAJOR’s tracks kicks off with a crazy, fun and cool vibe plus on top of that adding a bluesy soul to every bar and croon.

Case BTZ who is also a pioneer of shebeen rap might be one of the best underground producers. He has produced a notable singles like HAMENO, FOMO, JUVENILES, CARLING by DING’O. He has also worked with quite a number of producers and artist, DJ ZEDAZ, YUNG NIRO, GOLDEN SPECTAR, MASII ARKAD just to name a few. His passion is to make music that connects with people that can provide a europhic experience. 

DJ ZEDAZ has been in the shebeen rap community for a while. In 2019 he released SUMMER IFIKILE ridden, which had DING’O jumping on CONFIRM. The beat consists of piano synths and drums leaping out at a significant speed. With no doubt ZEDAZ creates a vibe to match with.