uMjabulisi 'Idlabuzane kosonkondlo'

A praise poet. An author of short stories and poems. A Master of Ceremonies. A creative consultant and a Refractionist. To the world, we present, and he is only 23 years of age, Zwelithini Dlamini best known as uMjabulisi The Poet. 

Hailing from the City of Kings and Queens, uMjabulisi The Poet is a proficient user of the Ndebele language in creating and presenting his poetry. Praises and ululations are his forte thus he has graced many weddings and anniversary celebrations. Rightfully so as he goes about his business spreading the gospel of joy through his mantra “Jabul’ujule’ which can also be found on his branded t-shirts. 

With this in mind, uMjabulisi is a poet who is also the CEO of his entrepreneurship in art. To support his craft, he has acquired an education and practices as a refractionist (eye care). Though that job maybe demanding, he always puts his art first as that is what he believes is his true calling. Inspired by Meliwenkosi, Nqobizwe and Brenda, school poets of when he was younger, the TV reality talent show Star Brite and the legendary Bhekumuzi Luthuli, uMjabulisi is looking to publish a book he has titled, ‘AKUNGIQABULE MBIJANA’ along with it some short stories, all set for the year 2024.

uMjabulisi has the goals of becoming a beacon of hope, source of inspiration, bring people together and preserving true culture through his poetry. To date he has participated on many platforms, been recognized at the Havilla School of Language in Harare and has performed at the Bulawayo spoken word event, P.O.W.E.R. Sessions as a highlight where he shared the stage with other poetic household names like Chester The Poet, Thaluso da Poet, Sage M-One and Brandon (Comedy). uMjabulisi has a typical sound of a praise poet. The moment he opens his mouth, you can feel the positive messages he is sharing imparting positivity to his varied audiences.

In spite of all the roses above, uMjabulisi, just as many other artists from Bulawayo, laments about the poor spirit of support when pushing your craft within the confines of the City of Bulawayo. Whether this is due to economic challenges faced in the country as a whole or just another Jesus-in-Nazareth scenario is not known. In one comment, he mentioned that it is actually a thorn in the flesh to the serving artist as it hurts when one is not received happily in their own home town. This however does not stop him nor discourage him as he believes with consistency, the city will eventually catch up to him. It is quite obvious that being an artist is not easy, just as it is in building and keeping any other career path. uMjabulisi encourages all upcoming and existing artists to keep growing in knowledge and acquire other skills so that one may be able to sustain a livelihood besides their art.

You can find uMjabulisi The Poets works like ‘Umjolo kanti yini’ on his social media listed below. Lets work on that support and help a brother grow. 

Zweli Mjabulisi  -  Tik Tok

Zwelithini Dlamini (Mjabulisi The Poet) – Facebook

dlanini.zwelithini – Instagram

Zweli Mjabulisi - YouTube

'I don't belong here' ThirstyFrik EP review

                           ThirstyFrik

ThirstyFrik is an all-out musician who produces, raps and sings. He gave us the club hit “Chokin’,” which sent waves through the Amapiano streets of Harare. ThirstyFrik has consistently been dropping singles in 2023 and he has dropped a body of works for his growing fanbase. His brand new EP with the provoking title, “I don’t belong here” is now out on various streaming platforms. Here is a review of the FOUR track EP according to how we heard it.

BuzzSaw. That’s the first word you think of when you hear “Hufananyina” soon as you play the number one track on the EP. The more you get into it, it begins to grow on you. It has a nice mixture of Shona and English lyrics. It features Runna Rulez who jumps in with a gutsy bar: “…. Ndiri under age but handisi Ben 10,….. Ndine glock 40 and I got his name pabara.” Translated it’s a flex basically saying ‘I’m young, good looking but I can’t be taken for a ride by the older ones. I got my bars ready and the hater’s name is on one bullet.’ Its my first time listening to him and I think he made a great feature. 

The second track is called “Thotty.” It’s a proper slow jam soul trap song with great production behind it. It is also the one track where the title of the EP is mentioned. By definition, a Thot is a woman who has multiple casual sexual partners or encounters. Basically a baddie. ThirstyFrik laced the track with some great vocals and a melody that’s catchy. This track gives you vibes like those slow and sensual club scenes. I can imagine the video with quite some thot in it (pun intended). It is easy to listen to and tones down from the vibe brought in from the first track. It is a good song and sure to rock the club scenes.

“Ukumbotemba nei” is a typical hip hop track where the rappers throw shots, parry hits, and place themselves on a pedestal either through interesting creative flows or straight up bars on bars. This one is more of talking smack about ‘wanna be’s’. weith lines like, “When I pull up with your b***h ndamupa raw, uchandidi!...... Pandomuka ndisina mari, I tell myself I gotta go. Musaganze nemota dzamunopihwa nemaMhomz.” As if that’s all, he also talks about “thots” again when he says, ‘Ma bhebhi akutyisa paunopfeka pfeka 3/ Ndanga ndina Kim achiedza kukwenya sinhi/ anga ane drop achisheedzera creamy.” Like really. In his eyes the streets are not safe so to speak as there are various sexually transmitted illnesses rampant out there. After mentioning the symptoms for gonorrhoea, it is everyone’s responsibility, who is sexually active to protect themselves by using protection, getting tested regularly with your partner(s) and practising safe sex always. Overall it is a hard banging track with a lot of that gangster feel and hip hop lovers are sure to get a kick out of this one.

The final track on the compilation features ‘pretty gal’ Bouje Shepretty. This is a new name to the circuits and you can tell it is one of her first times on a record. Her bars are a mix of flex, some history and origins story. As you are reading this, I am still playing the track specifically her verse. I would like to leave it open to your own interpretation and maybe hit me up with your thoughts about it. Both Thirstyfrik and Bouje claim in the chorus: ‘Ndiri pretty boy/girl, ndozvandiri….Gevha/Musikana akanaka vaifunga ndobva mhiri.’ This is the centre of the whole track. The instrumental has an interesting sample underlying from the introduction. It has a hard bass and a flow that gets your head rolling. Ladies and pretty boys are sure to set this as their anthem. 

‘I don’t belong here’ EP by Thirstyfrik is a well balanced piece of work although one or two more tracks could have really solidified it. The hard hitting bass on most of the tracks tells me the aim is for some club bangers with a hint of a message that a true hustler just does exactly that, Hustles. It comprises of great production and the sound is not lost from the Harare sound we have become accustomed to. Check it out for yourself on the links below, subscribe or follow the man Thirstyfrik and be sure to leave your comment below and tell me what you think about this review. 

Thirstyfrik - Hufananyina visualiser 

Thirstyfrik - I don't belong here EP