Corruption

Thomas Mapfumo | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 2, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mango
• ASIN: B000003QJR
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,547 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #78 in Music > World Music > Africa > Zimbabwe

Track Listings

1. Moyo Wangu [My Heart]

2. Varombo Kuvarombo

3. Shabeen [House Turned into Illegal Pub]

4. Corruption

5. Muchadura [You Will Confess]

6. Handina Munyama [I Am Not Unlucky]

7. The Kupera Kwevanhu [Perishing to the Peoples]

8. Chigwindiri [A Very Strong Person]

Editorial Reviews

Inspired in part by American soul and rock & roll, Thomas Mapfumo began singing and playing guitar in the '60s. In the '70s, though, he turned his attention to the music of his native Zimbabwe, resplendent with the sounds of the mbiri (thumb piano). And while his politically charged lyrics would get him jailed by the white minority government of the time, he made it out in time to celebrate Zimbabwe's 1978 independence. Along with his Blacks Unlimited band, he cut several popular albums for the Earthworks label in the '80s, all featuring his chimurenga (struggle) songs and an Afro-pop backdrop of bass, guitars, drums, horns, backing vocals, and mbira. By 1989, he began recording for Mango and released this, his international debut disc. Now taking on the failed government that took power after independence, Mapfumo continues apace here with fluid grooves and potent barbs. A highlight of the singer's catalog. -All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best ever, May 18, 2006

By 

Muk (Azusa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corruption (Audio CD)

This might be Mukanya's best ever album - and this comes from someone with almost all his albums. No filler, all killer here.

1. Moyo Wangu - my favourite deep chimurenga song, Jonah Sithole shows why he was without peers onlead, Mapfumo is on his moaning, groaning, growling finest!

2. Varombo Kuvarombo - fast but plaintive jit

3. Shebeen - slow but rugged, enough to make a drunkard shed a drunken tear. Zim's finest drummer, the late great Jethro Shasha guests.

4. Corruption - a dozen years before Zim's problems became worldwide fodder, Mukanya was singing it.

5. Muchadura - deep chimurenga, vintage Mapfumo, vintage Jonah Sithole

6. Handina Munyama - more jit, catchy horns

7. Kupera Kwevanhu - gallping beat, keyboard driven lament to Mozambique's civil war victims

8. Chigwindiri - more great rhythms and guitar licks when both Mapfumo and Jonah Sithole were at their peak.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zimbabwe's premier prophet!, April 25, 1998

By 

T. Togwe "thembani" (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corruption (Audio CD)

The longevity of Thomas Mapfumo as an artist is illustrated by his ability to address everyday issues in song. This is true of Corruption; a single that was banned from the airwaves in Zimbabwe because it hit too close to home in the days of the Willowgate scandal. This magician blends African rhythms with reggae very successfully.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Great Album, March 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Corruption (Audio CD)

Many people say that this is Thomas' most reggaefied album. This album even garnered a mention in "Rough Guide to Reggae". I'm sorry, but I don't hear it. Nothing on this magical album sounds like reggae to me. What it does sound like is Mapfumo's complex, hypnotic and sweet chimurenga. And you can't top that. Not five stars but a million!