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he hid the same girdle in the cleft of a rock in the river. However, on retrieving it later, the loincloth was good for nothing.
It was soiled and no longer appealing to the eye.

Even those who had seen the anointed one donning the waistcloth before hiding it in the cleft were perturbed. They thought he had crawled out of his senses and or vice versa. Sadly, this is the situation Zimbabwe’s musicians find themselves in.
Most of them lead lives parallel to the tale on an emperor without clothes. It’s a veduwee veduwee situation. Instead of investing in beneficial projects, they seemingly have a penchant for those who wear long garments and ruby red lips – fast-tracking their way to the grave.

Seeing the way most musicians while their time, even Rachel the Biblical mother of the nations would certainly weep in her grave. Their profession is sliding back to its yesteryear image, which forced parents to dissuade their children from joining musical outfits despite their immense talent.
“Siyana nezvemagitare mupfanha. Ndezve marombe. Unofira mahara. Rega vanoimba, vaimbe,” mothers often tell their children before breaking the homemade box guitar the child will be playing into pieces.
It’s bad news if your dad sees you with the guitar which is viewed more dangerous than a gun in the hands of a friend.

A guitar is worse than poison judging by the lives of people who survive through the use of the stringed instrument.
Strumming guitars is entertaining, helps one see the length and breadth of the world and is a major sources of livelihood. But it can be a minefield.
Countless people have died owing to the stringed instrument and the evils it calls forth. Kuve gwenyambira mutambo wemujecha!
And musicians have not made their situation any better. They burst onto the scene with imposing works of art laden with well-thought-out lyrics pregnant with meaning.

Most artistes unveil polished works of art that catapult them to stardom, but wait until fame and fortune knock on their door and you start seeing them in their rightful colours. There is just something about women that makes the lion in most musicians roar.
Once a musician looks at a woman and she beams back, the rest is history. Some musicians cannot control their sexual appetite.
They seem to think anything in dresses should be bedded. Havana muti unoera sanhu.

Those of loose morals often complicate the puzzle.
They place the unsuspecting artistes between a rock and a hard place, resulting in the unthinkable.
This bids on society to educate the girl child on the ills of falling in love too quickly and looking at fame as the doorway to a happy marriage.
Boys too need the same education.

The way some musicians behave continues to bring shame to the otherwise noble profession.this gentle reader is not to say only musicians are guilty, everyone is involved.
It is rare to find a successful artiste without a history of womanising hence this writer’s concern.
This has made it difficult for even their God-fearing workmates to find soulmates.
“Handidi kunzwa nezvemamusicians. Varume ivavo vanenge Scud. Umwe akasiya umwe obva angosimudza pakare ipopaye,” some women said in a kombi.

So some artistes are being made to suffer for the sins of their misguided counterparts. Vari kungozorwa mafuta enyama yavasina kudya.
Some women said falling in love with an artiste was akin to wishing oneself dead.
If you see women arguing or exchanging blows at live performances, in nine times out of 10, they will be fighting over the band leader and other members of the crew.
During live shows, a lot of things happen backstage.

Pictures splashed in magazines and newspapers have often told the story clearly.
There are countless tales of musicians who when they go on break almost often fail to finish up the show while in the arms of gold-diggers and flesh-peddlers.
Some gigs have been disrupted midway, leaving fans crying foul after their lovers clash.
If you thought the hiring of bouncers by artistes was a sign of affluence you were wrong.

Today’s musicians’ love life makes it almost difficult to operate without a bouncer or a spy to avoid trouble.
“Imi mothers vanetodo jena ibvai ipapo. Chovherai kure nekuti hatisi kulavha vanhu kuno. The promoter does not want people here. If you need to see mudhara, try tomorrow,” yours truly heard a woman being told straight in the eye by a henchman with large round and red eyes.
It’s almost difficult for a musician’s wife to attend her husband’s show without incident.

Having women fight over you everywhere is not on. Even beasts of the wild exercise restraint.
She may be assaulted by a girlfriend feeling her territory would have been invaded. It’s not a one-size-fits-all affair, but most artistes sadly find themselves in this predicament. Murky love lives seem to be the mark of the Zimbabwean artiste.

At a time when HIV and Aids are wreaking havoc, it may not be a bad idea to provide artistes with free counselling sessions to ensure the country does not continually lose talented souls to the grave.
Hardly a day passes without newspapers reporting on a musician’s love triangle and other issues that present those of their ilk in bad light.
Without mentioning names, some artistes penchant for controversy is mind-boggling.

These artistes are always in the headlines for the wrong reasons and it serves them right to pull themselves together and perhaps attract scores of people to the industry.
Besides dirty love lives, untrustworthiness is among the local artistes’ major undoings.
Very few artistes honour their contractual obligations. They collect promoters’ money and fail to perform.

This has often resulted in the artistes being sued and seen would-be consumers of their services doing away with music, thereby affecting the growth of the music industry.
Lack of creativity is not a crime. It becomes criminal if someone steals others’ works of art and fail to attribute the music to the original composers.

Artistes need to understand the market they operate in and strive to produce music that competes favourably with other works from the region and beyond.
Whither Zimbabwe’s music industry? We still have a long way to go and I am sure the country deserves better.

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