Zamrock! The Zambian Rock Revolution.

Music
Written By Mandla Mhlambi

Zamrock is a Zambian genre of music that incorporates traditional African music with psychedelic rock, hard rock, blues and folk music.

My introduction to Zamrock was through the album Welcome to Zamrock, How Zambia's liberation led to a rock revolution, vol 1 and 2. Zamrock, as a genre, has it's roots in Zambia's liberation from British colonialism.

Zamrock on one hand is gritty, unhinged, emotional and experimental. Artists such as Crossbones, WITCH and Blackfoot really took it to the next level by making purely and authentically African psychedelic rock. Listen to You Better know by WITCH.

On the other hand, Zamrock is kind, benevolent, tender and preaches companionship and love among Africans. Artists such as Amanaz on Khala my friend illustrate this point. What appealsto me most about Zamrock is how it exemplifies what I call the African complex. Being a black African has a number of attached or at least lingering preconditions. Chrissy Zebby Tembo started his song born black on Welcome to Zamrock! How Zambia'sliberation led to a rock revolution, vol 1 by saying " I am born black and I'm poor. What wrong did I do?".

This quote is the essence of the African Complex, the condition that all black Africans need to learn to live with. The question of why am I poor, even when I'm rich; inferior, even when my class in society is relatively high; undermined, regardless of how much I have proven myself; oppressed, even when I have rights. Zamrock took those feelings of animosity and turned them into art. Rough around the edges, gritty, honest and beautiful... art.

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