Oliver Mtukudzi

On 23 January, Zimbabwean musician, businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi died in Harare at the age of 66. His lyrics often carried social messages about HIV/Aids and coded political commentary.

Mtukudzi grew up in Highfield, a poor neighborhood in Salisbury (modern-day Harare) in Southern Rhodesia. He began performing in 1977 when he joined the Wagon Wheels, a band that also featured Thomas Mapfumo and fellow guitarist James Chimombe. They were given the rare opportunity by Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo, an African nationalist and music promotor, who provided money and resources to the group. He allowed them to perform at Club Mutanga (Pungwe) which, at the time, was the only night club available for blacks under Rhodesia's policy of segregation. Their single Dzandimomotera went gold and Tuku's first album followed, which was also a major success. Mtukudzi was also a contributor to Mahube, Southern Africa's "supergroup".

With his husky voice, Mtukudzi became the most recognised voice to emerge from Zimbabwe and onto the international scene. A member of Zimbabwe's KoreKore group, with Nzou Samanyanga as his totem, he sang in the nation's dominant Shona language along with Ndebele and English. He also incorporated elements of different musical traditions, giving his music a distinctive style, known to fans as Tuku Music.

Mtukudzi had a number of tours around the world. He was on several tours in the UK, US and Canada to perform for large audiences.

(Source: Wikipedia, accessed on 9 January 2024)

Selected publications

The Cultural and Artistic Legacy of Oliver Mtukudzi Using Language for Social Justice / Edited by Munyaradzi Nyakudya. - Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022

The Life and Music of Oliver Mtukudzi Reconstruction and Identity / edited by Ezra Chitando and others. - Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022

Oliver Mtukudzi Living Tuku Music in Zimbabwe / Jennifer Kyker. - Bloomington, Indiana ; Indianapolis, Indiana : Indiana University Press, 2016

Listening in the Wilderness: The Audience Reception of Oliver Mtukudzi’s Music in the Zimbabwean Diaspora / Jennifer Kyker.
In: Ethnomusicology, 2013, Vol.57 (2), p.261-285

Oliver Mtukudzi's musical approach to HIV/AIDS / Jennifer Kyker.
In: American journal of public health (1971), 2012, Vol.102 (7), p.1298-1299

"You Don't Get to Sing a Song When You Have Nothing to Say": Oliver Mtukudzi's Music as a Vehicle for Socio-Political Commentary / Silindiwe Sibanda.
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts, 2004.

See also Oliver Mtukudzi on MusicBrainz, Muziekweb and Spotify.

Oliver Mtukudzi - (Norton, Zimbabwe) at VOA in Washington, DC, 2013

Musicians from Zimbabwe via DBpedia and Wikidata