“Muchangodndinzwa musigade muchida, mungava muine radio kana hamuna”. I always had a subconscious belief that Tocky Vibes was prophetic but his recent works aptly affirmed that! Toti Toti the artist keeps growing and delivering solid projects. 

By Lennon Mudzengerere

Every year Tocky Vibes keeps growing bigger in discography and lyrical depth. Recently when he dropped his latest body of work some screamed “Who is going to listen to 36 songs?”. Chicken and Chama the mixtape proved to be a potpourri of flavour and melody.

The project stirred debate on “How many songs make a perfect album project?”. I do not have an answer to this question and frankly, no one else does. One thing that I can tell you is that 36 songs might be a national record in Zimbabwe then (before R.Peels’ 45 track album) but we still have a long way to break the international record of 446 songs per project held by British superstars, Mark Lee and The Pocket Gods. 

The thought of having to go through 36 songs from an artist may seem quite overwhelming but I am glad that Chamakuvangu as he affectionately called may also have felt the same and made sure that he avoided monotony by ensuring quality control and spicing up with several collaborations on the album.

I can assure you that the last thing this album will give you is monotony. Another masterstroke was making sure that the album had a full bouquet of producers. Having Oskid, Mr. Kamera, and TMan on the same project is no mean fit and well I have to say it did pay off in terms of adding diversity to the project. 

“My Favorite Picks”

Kete featuring Saint Floew easily stands out for me. I love hip hop and hearing two powerful voices from different ends of the local music bridge come together was quite something for me. Leo Maggozz also deserves a mention. If you thought Fire Emoji was a stroke of luck, well then you might have to reconsider as the youngster from Chegutu gave Tocky Vibes great complementary value in the vocal department. 

If you are a fan craving to hear Tocky Vibes on his own, the track Mango will show you why Oliver Mtukudzi hipped praises on Obey Makamure’s artistic prowess.

It is also good and refreshing to see ExQ collaborating with Tocky Vibes after that public spat, it is a great show of maturity to bury the hatchet.

Chicken and Chama is a great project. It has great replay value and with visuals for the project coming through thick and fast we are definitely well served until the chickens have come home to roost!