Could This Be the End of a Music Era in Matabeleland ?

 

Insimbi zeZhwane 

When Silence Becomes Louder Than Sound

Matabeleland has never lacked rhythm.

What it has lacked historically and persistently is recognition.

This is a region that once sang with confidence, danced with pride, and told its stories without apology. From township beerhalls to cultural festivals, from protest songs to celebratory anthems, Matabeleland’s music was once a mirror of its people: resilient, spiritual, defiant, and deeply African. Today, that mirror appears cracked.

The question many are afraid to ask is now unavoidable:

Could this be the end of a music era in Matabeleland?

When the Best Had to Leave to Be Heard

History offers us painful evidence. Some of Matabeleland’s most celebrated voices found their flowers only after uprooting themselves from home.

Legends like Lovemore Majaivana carried the soul of Ndebele story telling across borders when the local industry could no longer carry him. Cultural ambassadors such as Vusa Mkhaya, through their work with global ensembles, became internationally respected while remaining under-celebrated at home.

Lovemore Majaivana 

The world-renowned IYASA dance group gave birth to superstars who now shine abroad symbols of excellence exported because the local ecosystem could not sustain them.

IYASA 

This migration of talent is not coincidence.

It is consequence.

From Crying for Airplay to Crying Louder Than Ever

There was a time when the blame was simple. Artists accused state broadcasters particularly ZBC of gatekeeping culture and sidelining regional voices.

Then came the promise of plurality.

Community and commercial stations emerged across Matabeleland:

Skyz Metro FM

Khulumani FM

Bukalanga FM

NUST FM 

NUST University 

Queen of the North

Breezy FM

Luzibo FM

More stations. More platforms. More hope.

Yet the public outcry did not fade it intensified.

So we must ask the uncomfortable but necessary question:

Is it the radio stations that are failing the artists,

or is it the audience that has stopped believing in the sound?

The Invasion That Wasn’t an Invasion

While Matabeleland debates itself, neighboring countries are not waiting.

Dance sounds from South Africa Amapiano, Afro-Tech, 3-Step have crossed borders with confidence and clarity. They arrived not as enemies, but as fully formed identities: well-packaged, well-produced, well-marketed, and culturally assured.

They dominate clubs, radio playlists, and youth culture in Matabeleland with ease.

Not because they are foreign.

But because they are intentional.

This is not a story of outsiders overpowering locals.

It is a story of locals losing control of their narrative.

Where Did We Lose the Plot?

The crisis is layered:

Identity Confusion ..... Many artists chase trends instead of refining a Matabeleland-rooted sound like Tshibilika Sound from Insimbi zeZhwane, Madlela Skhobokhobo. 

Production Gaps, In an era of sonic excellence, average is no longer good enough.

Audience Trust Listeners support what moves them emotionally, not what they are guilted into playing.

Industry Fragmentation Artists, DJs, producers, promoters, and radio rarely move as one ecosystem.

Culture does not survive on nostalgia.

It survives on evolution with memory intact.

So… Which Sound Can Save Matabeleland?

The future does not lie in imitation.

Matabeleland’s revival will come from a hybrid identity:

Traditional rhythms fused with modern dance frameworks

Ndebele storytelling layered over Afro-Tech, 3-Step, and deep house

Spirituality, struggle, celebration, and urban reality coexisting in one sound

A sound that says: “We know where we come from and we know where we are going.”

A Final Word to the Music Lovers

This is not an attack.

It is a love letter written with trembling hands.

Radio stations must reflect deeply.

Artists must be brutally honest with themselves.

Audiences must decide what kind of culture they want to inherit.

Because when a region stops supporting its sound,

silence becomes its loudest legacy.

The battle continues.

The conversation must deepen.

👉 What do you think is killing or saving music in Matabeleland?

👉 Which sound should define the next era?

Leave your comment.

Let us dwell deep.

Producer Corner

Truth lives here.