‘Tonkadiya’ puts Munyenga back on top of the league

Dec 05, 2005

Singer Winnie Munyenga is a strong-willed young woman with a thick rubbery skin. Last month, a reporter called her a ‘one-hit wonder!’ But she did not bitch about it.

By Joseph Batte
Singer Winnie Munyenga is a strong-willed young woman with a thick rubbery skin. Last month, a reporter called her a ‘one-hit wonder!’ But she did not bitch about it.
Instead she got a bunch of songs, assembled a group of top producers, walked into recording studios and lay the songs down on track.
The result is an artistic album titled Tonkadiya that will be released on December 5, at Pride Theatre.
All the six tracks on Tonkadiya — Nkoye Okunvumavuma, Tonkadiya, Twagala Baavu, Mulamu Wange and Omulembe Gw’abakyala — can stand on their own. Rhythmically there is not a single boring second; just your solid Afro-pop, where everything is thrown together with a rare live feel.
There is soukous, rumba and reggae, which make Tonkadiya a curious and competent ragbag of styles, but with her unmistakable identity etched into every track.
If we go by the rulebook vocally, Munyenga sounds as if she is not certain in the upper register. Do I hear a bit of a wobble and an unintentional vibrato somewhere? But guess what? To hell with the book. To my ears, she sounds better than she did on Saasira.
What really stirs me is the way she emphasises the words in each track. By so doing, she makes the songs speak directly to you.
The lead track Tonkadiya, a plea to some moronic men not to ignore their sweethearts and keep the fire burning, kicks off the party.
Nkoye Okunvumavuma is another gem on which she says ‘enough is enough’ to the abuse that she suffers at the hands of her husband. She is, of course, speaking for millions out there.
Twekolorere is by far the best song on the album. If you have been feeling cynical about Munyenga’s hit worthiness, one listen to this track will restore your faith.
It is a call on all women to shake off the shackles that have been holding them and stop lurking in the shadows of men. “It is the only way we will win our rightful place in society that has been denied us for long,” she sings.
All this is to the goings on of an infectious rhythm and bouncing lead guitar solos by Jekaki’s guitar genius Aziz that leave you wanting more and more of the song.
Add to this some truly stinging saxophone licks by her father, Martin Munyenga, and you have just a solid, extremely tightly performed album that is great fun. The most striking element is its musicality. It is intense, yet not too heavy.
Munyenga’s gentle vocals and enigmatic arrangements of the music are rooted in African culture, yet infused with contemporary prospective. It is movement inducing, but not too frenetic to punch you in the face.
Ends

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