“Spread the Word” - Zimbabwean protest poets rock America!

March 30, 2009 - PRLog -- Two of Zimbabwe’s hottest young bands will hit the US in just one week.
These two powerhouse groups, “Comrade Fatso and Chabvondoka,”—Zimbabwe's leading protest band—and “Outspoken and the Essence”—one of the country's most cutting-edge hip-hop groups— will launch their joint “Spread the Word” tour with a performance in Boston on April 2nd.  Coming from a country of extreme human rights violations and rampant poverty, these young African cultural activists will bring their message of hope and activism through music, poetry, and spoken-word hip hop at a time when American audiences are becoming more aware than ever of the plight of their African brothers and sisters.


Although the government of Zimbabwe has banned Comrade Fatso and Chabvondoka's album, House of Hunger, this recording has nevertheless received global recognition and praise.  Canada’s major newspaper, Mail and Globe, labeled House of Hunger "undeniably alluring" and Agence France Press calls the album "revolutionary.”  Fatso and his band have toured extensively, and their poetry and music have appeared in print and broadcast media in over 50 countries.  Fatso's poetry is required reading in universities in the UK and South Africa.  He also blogs about politics and conditions in Zimbabwe for CNN.com (www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/14/zimbabwe.blog/index.html).  

Outspoken and the Essence are a fresh, radical sound in Harare, combining soul-stirring, politically infused lyrics with an Afrosoul hip-hop sound.  The Essence fuses classical and African instrumentation with hop hop beats. And Outspoken performs regularly in southern Africa and is often featured at poetry festivals in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa.  

Outspoken and Fatso also co-founded Magamba!, a youth cultural activist network that relies on arts and culture in the non-violent struggle for justice in Zimbabwe.  

Besides the bands’ first performance in Boston, the “Spread the Word” tour includes stops in New York City, New Jersey, Washington, DC and Connecticut, and features performances at Harvard University, Princeton University, Berklee College of Music, Wellesley College, Howard University and Tufts University.  The two bands will also give public concerts at WHAT (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre) and Chief Ikes, nightclub in Washington DC; shows at local public, private, and charter schools; a performance at Trinity College International Hip Hop Festival; workshops at the Plugged In annual song-writing workshop in Needham, Massachusetts

The “Spread the Word” tour will also include poetry and spoken word workshops, lectures on music and human rights in Africa, and the role of protest poetry in modern African society.  The bands will also participate in public debates on the current political and economic crises in Zimbabwe.

Poets:
Samm Monro (Comrade Fatso)
Tongai Makawa (Outspoken)

Band members:
Tendai Manatsa   Acoustic Guitar
Josh Meck      Bass guitar and back-up vocals
Freedom Manatsa    Drums
Themba Mawoko   Marimbas
Verity Norman   Violin, tour manager

Tour Regional Dates
Boston, MA:    April 2; 5-13; 24-26
Hartford. CT:    April 3, 4
New York, NY:   April 14, 15
Princeton, NJ:   April 16
Washington DC:   April 17-23