Zulu Zulu by ZMD

Felt that my FIRST compilation of songs should include a track about the significance of rap today. Wrapper has a bit about why I rap. Social anxiety and fear characterised my youth. My response to this was to avoid people and platforms. This resulted in a growing sense of feeling shut in with all my emotions and ideas. Rap became my way out..my escape route. Through rap I could finally speak up and speak out and I'm convinced that its a powerful tool for personal growth and positive societal change. In 'wrapper' there's encouragement for rappers no matter what their level of popularity is. There's also a celebration of the kind of rap that makes everything and everyone better!

'Born4This' was released as a single a few years ago and in it I paint the picture of my journey with rap from my early influences like Snoop to how God led me to pick the mic up again. God used rap to help me deal with depression and in this song I'm declaring that I'm in this game for the long haul no matter how frivolous it might seem to some. I knew the SECOND I started putting this EP together that 'Born4This' had to be part of it as an introduction of sorts to ZMD!

I absolutely enjoyed putting together the traditional mandobo instrument (scratching drum) from the TjiKalanga tribe in Southern Africa, the eloquent poetry from my good friend and theologian Dr. Batanayi Manyika and the Ndebele/English/Hip-Hop worlds I'm a part of to create art that challenges us towards deeper connection with God.The title track 'Zulu Zulu' was born out of a desire to experience more of the Holy Spirit and to yield more to His leading. It was to challenge those who have put off exploring the gospel, those who've been Christians for a long time and those who are trying to use God for what they really want. It had to be THIRD in the line-up to take its place as the centrepiece.

Beats and Bars was me having fun with a tight beat from Adoebeatz a rising music producer in the Hip-Hop sphere. Writing without a specific framework of where the song is going is exhilarating especially when it lands on an important message as happened on this FOURTH track. You get to a point as a rap creative where you can feel like not many are actually taking in what you're saying in the songs and are content with a few clever wordplays and hard hitting beat without much depth to it. The temptation at this point for the rapper is to take the heart investment out and give the people what they seem to want. The result could be bumped up stats and money in the bank but surely there's more to this artform. This is my favourite track on the EP and my daughter featuring is the icing on the cake.

Last but certainly not least, the FIFTH song Giants brings together two of Zimbabwe's most prolific gospel rappers in one cypher style track. How I managed to squeeze in among these giants is still a mystery to me. Truly grateful for my recent connection to Naboth Rizla a Bulawayo based author and Hip-Hop go-to-person in the Zimbabwean scene. His intro on the track is like the match that sets the scene ablaze as one MC after another jump on the banging beat by SimbaTagz and Touch the Peacemaker.