Over the years Chitungwiza's Aquatic Complex has been the home of many things. For a brief moment in 1995 it was home to the All Africa Games that featured 46 countries from the continent. After that swimming tried to claim it but the claim died that same year. Yet the sport's loss was the musicians' gain.
Before long after its inception Aquatic Complex became the home of sungura, echoing with the guitar riffs of Alick Macheso. When Zimdancehall reached the pinnacles of success, Aquatic Complex welcomed it and it became a third home for the genre (after City Sports Centre and Stoddart Hall). This saw the walls of the swimming centre vibrating to the rhythms of Dhadza D and Guspy Warrior.
Now in the 2020s, the venue seems to have added another tenant in the form of Zim hip hop. From being a sound on the fringes of Zimbabwean society, Zim hip hop has grown to become a potent force. Any conversation about Zimbabwean music is now incomplete without mentioning it, and as the genre has grown it has reached the point of needing a place to call its own.
The sound has long had an existence on platforms that revovled around different places, but the last few years have seen it establishing roots at Aquatic Complex. This year alone the venue was sold out for Bling4's Majeso Festival, Voltz JT's Homecoming Concert, Bagga's Gorejena Album Launch, and Saintfloew's upcoming Ndo Ghetto Racho Album Launch is expected to achieve the same feat.
Before long after its inception Aquatic Complex became the home of sungura, echoing with the guitar riffs of Alick Macheso. When Zimdancehall reached the pinnacles of success, Aquatic Complex welcomed it and it became a third home for the genre (after City Sports Centre and Stoddart Hall). This saw the walls of the swimming centre vibrating to the rhythms of Dhadza D and Guspy Warrior.
Now in the 2020s, the venue seems to have added another tenant in the form of Zim hip hop. From being a sound on the fringes of Zimbabwean society, Zim hip hop has grown to become a potent force. Any conversation about Zimbabwean music is now incomplete without mentioning it, and as the genre has grown it has reached the point of needing a place to call its own.
The sound has long had an existence on platforms that revovled around different places, but the last few years have seen it establishing roots at Aquatic Complex. This year alone the venue was sold out for Bling4's Majeso Festival, Voltz JT's Homecoming Concert, Bagga's Gorejena Album Launch, and Saintfloew's upcoming Ndo Ghetto Racho Album Launch is expected to achieve the same feat.
Although now expected, and almost commonplace, getting 8,000+ people to pay to see your work is not a small victory. This is a sign that you have established a brand worthy of note, something that takes years of work.
This is also not just a symbol of the strides Zim hip hop has made but the continuation of Chitungwiza's musical heritage. From the likes of Alick Macheso, Mechanic Manyeruke, John Chibadura, and System Tazvida, to Dhadza D, Guspy Warrior, Lady Squanda, and now Bling4, Voltz JT, Bagga, Saintfloew, Tanto Wavie and Mugaratia.
This not only says that the Aquatic Complex has become a home for urban sounds, but Chitungwiza as a whole has become a hub for Zimbabwe's urban music. What Mbare has long been to music in the last 2 decades, Chitungwiza has also become.
Zim hip hop now has a home, and the numbers that used to just been seen on YouTube and streaming platforms are now actual people on the ground singing along to every word. People that have created a culture around the experience of Zimbabwean urban music; a culture that has burning aerosol torches in the audience, distinct fashion and a commitment to dancing until the sun rises.
To those who have never heard of the place, an aquatic venue being a hub for music might be a complex notion. In fact the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex's entire existence is a bit complex.
Against Sports & Recreation Commission's advice, it was built by a minister who wanted to leave a legacy in the neighbourhood he represented as MP (not so complex really, just the usual day in Zimbabwe). A year after its construction it was already burnt out, but music is the phoenix that rose from the Aquatic Complex's ashes, and Zim hip hop has clearly latched onto one of the phoenix's wings.
This is also not just a symbol of the strides Zim hip hop has made but the continuation of Chitungwiza's musical heritage. From the likes of Alick Macheso, Mechanic Manyeruke, John Chibadura, and System Tazvida, to Dhadza D, Guspy Warrior, Lady Squanda, and now Bling4, Voltz JT, Bagga, Saintfloew, Tanto Wavie and Mugaratia.
This not only says that the Aquatic Complex has become a home for urban sounds, but Chitungwiza as a whole has become a hub for Zimbabwe's urban music. What Mbare has long been to music in the last 2 decades, Chitungwiza has also become.
Zim hip hop now has a home, and the numbers that used to just been seen on YouTube and streaming platforms are now actual people on the ground singing along to every word. People that have created a culture around the experience of Zimbabwean urban music; a culture that has burning aerosol torches in the audience, distinct fashion and a commitment to dancing until the sun rises.
To those who have never heard of the place, an aquatic venue being a hub for music might be a complex notion. In fact the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex's entire existence is a bit complex.
Against Sports & Recreation Commission's advice, it was built by a minister who wanted to leave a legacy in the neighbourhood he represented as MP (not so complex really, just the usual day in Zimbabwe). A year after its construction it was already burnt out, but music is the phoenix that rose from the Aquatic Complex's ashes, and Zim hip hop has clearly latched onto one of the phoenix's wings.