https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2024.2372556

Journal of Southern African Studies, 50 (1), 2024.

Janne Rantala

 

A Sonic Biography of an Afterlife: The Expelled Liberation Leader Uria Simango in Mozambican Rap

Welcome to the companion site to my Journal of Southern African Studies article about Mozambican rap music and its makers that invoke vilified revolutionary leader Uria Simango.

Simango was one of the founders (1962) and vice-president (1962-1969) of Mozambique’s dominant liberation front the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo), which fought the Portuguese colonialism in an armed struggle between 1964 and 1974. The article contributes in debates about the liberation memory and dissidence in southern Africa and for Hip Hop studies it suggests application of Hip Hop scholar’s lenses to a variety of other types of historical sources and research materials directly or indirectly related to this music; in this particular case it does it through contextualised listening to rap music within decades’ long disputes about liberation, heroism, betrayal, regionalism, tribalism as well as Frelimo’s contested monopoly of power since Mozambique’s independence in 1975.  

Below you’ll find links to all tracks to go along with the article. Please do read along with this music at hand, because it is your own listening to this music that is at least as important than interpretation I present in “Sonic Biography” arising from my personal expertise and experience about this Hip Hop knowledge. My article seeks to show one route among many other possible ones to listen to this music while this media companion will facilitate new readings and listenings based on other expertises, positions and experiences as much special as my own.     

Peace and truth, Janne

The article is here.

You can listen to all tracks available in Youtube through this playlist.

 

Invocation of Political Ancestors beyond Mozambique

Invocations of what I designate “political ancestors” by sampling their either recorded, mimicked or otherwise sampled voice is a common trope in Hip Hop. Examples referenced in Mozambican Hip Hop and beyond can be listened on through links embedded in images and text below.  

The international joint track “Presidentes Mortos” (Dead Presidents, 2016) with Angolan and Mozambican participation is playing with an US Hip Hop gem about “dead presidents”, which usually refers to money. In Mozambican rap, also, “Samoras” -- similarly to “Benjamins” in the United States -- most often refer to money because of Mozambican Metical notes, which have Samora Machel’s image as the first president of independent Mozambique. In this track, which starts with Martin Luther King’s voice, however, the gem’s main reference are African and African American political leaders who were assassinated in a collaboration between alive presidents and the West.   

Presságio featuring Flash Enccy and Azagaia: “Presidentes mortos”.

 The gem has already a long history: When I was writing earlier article where I first time utilised the concept of political ancestors, “ ‘Hidrunisa Samora’: Invocations of a Dead Political Leader in Maputo Rap”, I interviewed a legendary Hip Hop broadcaster Hélder Leónel from Rádio Cidade, Maputo city channel of a national broadcasting company. He told me that one of the first rap tracks he remembers paying tribute to Samora Machel and other late African revolutionary leaders was US Golden Era classic, “A.F.R.I.C.A.” (1987) by Stetsasonic.

 

Stetsasonic: “A.F.R.I.C.A.”

While not originally invoking a political ancestor as Nelson Mandela was alive, Prophets of da City’s classical track “Neva Again” (1994) had, anyhow haunting feeling: South African Public had not seen Nelson Mandela in 27 years while he was in prison and his way to speak English had reserved many features of language back in the 1950-60s.

  

Prophets of da City: “Neva Again”. 

As a bonus, please find below another (brand new) track paying tribute to Nelson Mandela and using his recorded voice. It is not referenced in the article, but is a perfect example of the international joint track invoking a political ancestor. It counts on a participation of my long-time research participant and friend Inspector Desusado from Chimoio who also directed the music video.

 

Inspector Desusado featuring Shadow Agency (USA), Xidus Pain (UK), SirHghtlight (USA), Majestic Da God (USA) and  Dumi Right (Zimbabwe): “Overcome (Brocken Shackles)”, 2024.

 

Rapping back Uria Simango to History

While school manuals either “forget” or vilify Uria Simango as a traitor, following tracks are rapping Uria Simango back to history while not having his legacy as a main theme. Tone of these tracks ranges between semi-neutral invocations to clear homage.

Azagaia: “Homem Bomba”, 2013.

In a moment of a publication of “Sonic Biography”, André Cardoso’s aKa MC Chamboco’s “A Narrativa” (The Narrative, 2019) cannot be found online, but his Youtube channel can be found here. The track will be a part of his forthcoming album Segredo do Estado.  

Tuz MC’s “Meus Heróis” is quite an exceptional track as it pays tribute to his living father and late mother who were Makonde combatants participating in the liberation struggle. Its alive performance can be found here. At a moment of publication his “Apocalipse 13” could not be found online.

Batalhão da Inteligência’s “Dia dos Heróis Moçambicanos” (Mozambican Heroes’ Day) as well as its music video have also a similar link to family memories. They pay tribute to a grandfather of one of the members alongside of a long list of more well-known heroes.

 

Batalhão da Inteligência: “Dia dos Heróis Moçambicanos”.

Inspector Desusado’s “Apenas a Liberdade de Espressão” (Only about Freedom of Expression), featuring W-Joker, makes a part of the album

A Emboscada Oficial (2016) by independent label Ladojo International. Whole album can be found here and a music video below.  

 

Inspector Desusado featuring Wjoker: “Apenas a Liberdade de Espressão”.

Alongside a version of “Superherói” (Superhero), also by Inspector Desusado, and featuring Ray Breyka, cited in the article, I wish to facilitate your access to another version featuring Sunday with English refrain. It can be found in the album D.D.M. (Diretamente das Mantas) available in Spotify. Both versions are produced by legendary Maputo producer Proofless.

 

Discussing with Simango’s “Gloomy situation in Frelimo”

While not directly referencing to Simango or his legacy, some tracks are continuing the very same criticisms against regionalism and tribalism that Simango conducted in his “Gloomy Situation in Frelimo” (1969), an open letter and arguably a key factor in his expulsion from Frelimo and eventual execution. These tracks include a controversial “Se Não Fosse a TV” (If There Was No Television, 2017), and its sequence track “Tribalismo” by Chimoio rapper Extraterrestre, produced by legendary Chimoio producer Az-Pro.

Extraterrestre: “Se Não Fosse a TV”, production: KDS, music video: Bless Ngonhama.

 

 “Sacred Munhava”

The article starts and finishes its analysis by citing Duplo V’s “Sagrada Munhava” (Sacred Munhava, 2015, produced by Mr. Get). Impressed of its performance in the first edition of Punhos no Ar festival in 2016, I actually intended to refer to this track in the main title of the “Sonic Biography” before the article had taken its final focus. Currently the studio version where I transcripted the cited lyrics, cannot be found online, but below you can see the first live performance in 2017 as well as another one in 2020, as an acapella, which was performed online during the Covid 19 restrictions. Please note that he omits the name of the dominant party in the latter performance either by his own initiative or as requested.    

 

Duplo V: “Sagrada Munhava”, Beira, 2017.  

 

“Sagrada Munhava”, acapella version, Punhos no Ar Festival, Maputo, 2020.

Y-Not´s two tracks from his Clássico Hip Hop Time awarded double album As Últimas Palavras (Last Words, 2010) are discussed extensively in the article. The first, “O Tempo que Passou” (The Time That Has Passed) narrates a history of early post-independent Mozambique, including re-education camps and their most eminent detainees such as Uria Simango.

     

Y-Not: “O Tempo que Passou”.

 

The track’s refrain intertextually refers to well-known revolutionary hymn “Não Vamos Esquecer” (We Shall Not Forget), which revokes suffered discrimination and cruelty during the colonial era.

 

“Não Vamos Esquecer” (traditional, We Shall Not Forget) as Grupo Coral Xonga Voice’s performance.

 

Y-Not’s “Um Cobarde Vivo, um Herói Morto”, with participations of Azagaia, 4 Ases and Stupa Serious, from the same 2010 album is discussed in the article in a relation to Frelimo’s internal struggle in the end of the 1960s. The track reflects violent resolution of Frelimo’s conflict where Uria Simango became outnumbered in the troika by Samora Machel and Marcelino dos Santos, expulsed and eventually detained and executed. The main target of the track is Marcelino dos Santos who was labelled as a living coward. As an interesting anecdote, a triangle between Josina Machel (originally Muthemba), Samora Machel and Filipe Samuel Magaia, referenced in the “Sonic Memory” has a materialisation in Maputo´s city plan, either intentionally, subconsciously or entirely by coincidence: parallel avenues of two military commanders are both crossing with Avenida Josina Machel in a downtown (Baixa) of the city.   

 

I couldn’t identify any other tracks that refer to Marcelino Santos except Idóneo Pariela’s (2019) “Declarações de um Líder, Vol. 2” (produced by El Capo) where recently died Marcelino dos Santos goes to heaven and meets Renamo commander Afonso Dhlakama who has been there already for a while. The track samples shortly Marcelino Santos’s interview in the Angolan radio, archived online. The representation of Dos Santos is quite negative considering that he arrives to heaven. Also, when Clássico Hip Hop Time paid tribute to Dos Santos in 16 February 2020, no any tribute tracks were broadcasted, but only spoken audios.

Some Artists’ Online Channels

Extra-T Official.

Inspector Desusado Official.

MC Chamboco Rap Face.

Y-Not’s Zalde Records.

 

Selected Written Sources

All the written sources can be found in the article’s footnotes. I will confine myself here to listing only the most relevant historical sources that are directly related to the debates in which the tracks contribute.

U. Simango, “Gloomy Situation in Frelimo”, the 3rd of November 1969.

 “Interview: Samora Moises Machel. President of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) Speaks to Africa”, Africa, 46, 1975.

 “Marcelino dos Santos: ‘Nós Não Estamos Arrependidos’”, Canal de Moçambique, the 17 May 2006.

The article itself is archived here.

Thank you for professor J. Griffith Rollephson’s CIPHER (International Council for Hip Hop Studies) unit at University College Cork to provide space for this media companion.

Thanks a million for all artists who provided their music and knowledge to this research.

 

Writing was partially supported by funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska–Curie grant agreement number 101033296 (Performing Political Memory as Hip Hop Knowledge in Mozambican Rap).