The Bhundu Boys: True Jit

The Bhundu Boys: Wonderful World from: True Jit (WEA, 1988)
Zvichatinesta from: Shabini (DiscAfrique, 1986)

I’m always surprised at how some of the happiest most uplifting music can come from terrible times or hard places. Not only that but how people making beautiful music can have their lives deteriorate so rapidly from the highs of creative, financial, and critical success. When I first heard of The Bhundu Boys I wasn’t prepared for their music to reach me. It’s amazing beautiful and well crafted and yet while it sounds great it never sounds painfully produced like much of the recorded music of the 80s.

They came out of Zimbabwe in 1985 and recorded two highly successful albums in Shabini and Tsvimbodzemoto before being signed to Warner Music. They were one of the highest paid world music acts ever and eventually performed with Elvis Costello and opened for Madonna for over a quarter million people.

Sadly by 1990 the band had already begun to fall apart. The lead vocalist and one of the guitarist was fired or quit depending on the story or account of events. Biggie Tembo would later commit suicide in a mental hospital in 1995. David Mankaba, his replacement Shepherd Munyama, and Shakespeare Kangwena would eventually die of aids much like their countrymen in Zimbabwe where the rate of infection has reached nearly 40%. Multiple members have since been arrested or jailed and Rise Kagona is still trying to make music despite eeking out a meager living in Scotland far away from his children in Zimbabwe.