By Fidelis Manyange

LONG back in the 1980s before the arrival of social websites and sophisticated media gadgets in the country, musicians used to be original, hardworking and creative.
Leonard Dembo, a great composer of all time, once said it took him almost 10 years to pen the award-winning song ‘Chitekete’, but it took Batswana musician Vee a few hours to copy the beat and change the lyrics of the popular song.
Locally, in the 1970s and 1980s, music was engineered, edited and produced manually by gifted engineers and producers like Bothwell Nyamhondera, the late Tymon Mabaleka and Peter ‘The Cool Dude’ Mparutsa, among others.
Each musician was unique with his or her voice, lyrical content and beat.
Musicians such as Thomas Mapfumo, Khiama Boys, John Chibadura, James Chimombe, Paul Matavire and Marshall Munhumumwe, among others, were unique.
Nowadays, many upcoming sungura artistes, for example, will wait for Alick Macheso to release an album before they release theirs because Macheso is creative and always introduces new rhythm and bassline antics on every recording.
The young crop of producers are also found wanting.
After producing for Macheso or Winky D for instance, they persuade upcoming artists to copy these creative artistes ‘if they want their music to reach the intended market’.
Young music producer and bassist, Norman Tapambwa once had a verbal war with Macheso after taking Macheso’s basslines to other upcoming sungura artistes.
Gospel producer Lyton Ngolomi was also at loggerheads with Blessing Shumba after he had done the same for Mathias Mhere and other artistes.
In another disturbing development, besides copying other artistes’ music, some musicians are turning to YouTube, surfing for good beats and lyrics to plagiarise.
YouTube is a free video and music-sharing website that makes it easy to listen and watch online videos.
It is estimated that through YouTube, people watch more than six billion hours of videos every month.
Some musicians have plagiarised music from YouTube hoping to go unnoticed, but the unlucky ones have been shamefully exposed.
For example, hailing from Uzumba, Mukudzei ‘Jah Prayzah’ Mukombe once fished out Ghanaian musician Emmanuel Samini’s 2007 hit track ‘Samini’ and came up with his song ‘Mwanasikana’.
To his credit, the high-riding star apologised to the composer of the song.
Seemingly still riding on his father’s fame and tracks, Sulumani Chimbetu took the beat and some lyrics from the Kenyan group, Les Wanyika’s song ‘Kajituliza Kasuku’ on his duet with Tuku which he called ‘Kwedu’.
Unlike Jah Prayzah, Sulu was not man enough to apologise.
Instead, he remained adamant, claiming his song was original.
Renowned musician, Dino Mudondo’s song ‘Ndipe Zvandareva’ sounds like a Shona version of ‘Zangalewa’ by the Cameroonian army band Zangalewa.
The chief culprits, however, in this copycat business are local Zim-dancehall and hip-hop youngsters.
Owning a speaker, microphone, computer and working in a makeshift backyard studio, youngsters are simply plagiarising music before calling themselves musicians.
Apparently it is now possible to become a musician without putting much effort.
Copying beats by other hardworking musicians and changing lyrics from YouTube displays laziness and destroys talent.
If one plagiarises works of art from other artistes, he or she is a criminal cheating fans.
The future of our local musicians will be jeopardised if they don’t stop this culture.
It must be the responsibility of DJs, presenters and Entertainment writers to name and shame musicians who plagiarise.
Former Radio Zimbabwe presenters, the late Sam Sibanda and Simon Pashoma used to play music from copycats alongside the original and would open lines for listeners to judge.
This is why music from Jonah Moyo, Safirio ‘Mukadota’ Madzikatire, Lovemore Majaivana, John Chibadura and other yesteryear greats is still appealing.
Upcoming musicians must take a cue from yesteryear greats.
The likes of the Chimbetu boys (Sulumani, Tryson and Douglas), Peter Moyo, Morgan and Tendai Dembo, Simba Chibadura, Faheem Somanje and Amara Brown, among others, must surely know better by now.
Their parents were beyond comparison.