Zimbabwean music is heavily reliant on the use of instruments such as the mbira, Ngoma drums and hosho. Their music symbolizes much more than a simple rhythm, as the folk and pop style styled music was used as a symbol of hope for Zimbabweans looking to gain independence from Rhodesia. Music has played a significant role in the history of Zimbabwe, from a vital role in the traditional Bira ceremony used to call on ancestral spirits, to protest songs during the struggle for independence. The community in Zimbabwe used music to voice their resistance to their oppression, as one of the only weapons they had available to fight back with. In the eighties, the Music of Zimbabwe was at the center of the African Music scene thanks to genres such as Sungura and Jit. However, several performers were banned by state TV and radio leading to the closing of several music venues.
The Proclaimers are a Scottish rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid. They came to attention with their 1987 single "Letter from America", which reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom, and the 1988 single "I'm Gonna Be ", which topped charts in Australia, Iceland and New Zealand. The duo's biggest album, Sunshine on Leith (1988) has been certified multi-Platinum in Australia and Canada, selling over 2 million copies worldwide, including around 700,000 in the United States. The Proclaimers have sold over 5 million albums worldwide.
Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of which have charted in the UK Albums Chart top 50.
Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9", is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, they became acquainted in 1997 and formed the hip hop duo, Bad Meets Evil the following year. Their 2011 single, "Lighters" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of their debut extended play (EP), Hell: The Sequel (2011). The song and its parent EP, which debuted atop the Billboard 200, have yielded Montgomery's furthest commercial success.
Jagged Edge is an American R&B group from Atlanta, Georgia. The group, initially signed to record producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, is best known for their string of hit singles including "Let's Get Married" and "Where the Party At", most of which were produced by Dupri. The group's members include identical twin lead singers Brian and Brandon Casey as well as Richard Wingo and Kyle Norman. The group's debut album, A Jagged Era (1997), performed modestly at the time of its release but achieved gold status; however, their subsequent albums until 2007 all became commercial successes—debuting within the top 10 of the Billboard 200.
Keith Lionel Urban is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves International Award, thirteen CMA Awards, and six ARIA Music Awards. Urban wrote and performed the song "For You" from the film Act of Valor, which earned him nominations at both the 70th Golden Globe Awards and at the 18th Critics' Choice Awards in the respective Best Original Song categories.
Bad Meets Evil is an American hip hop super duo composed of Detroit-based rappers Royce da 5′9″ (Bad) and Eminem (Evil). Formed in 1998, the duo's name comes from the namesake song from Eminem's The Slim Shady LP (1999), which featured Royce da 5'9". They debuted the same year with the release of the double single, "Nuttin' to Do" and "Scary Movies", the latter of which for the soundtrack to the 2000 horror comedy parody film Scary Movie. A decade later, the duo reunited to release an extended play (EP) to critical and commercial success.
Freshlyground was a band formed in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2002. Freshlyground is best known for writing, perform and playing the instrumentals of the afrofusion and soca single "Waka Waka " alongside Colombian singer Shakira, which received worldwide recognition. The music video featuring the group has achieved over 3.9 billion views on YouTube, which has resulted in it becoming one of the most-viewed videos on the platform.
Sophie Alexandra Jessica Barker is a British singer and songwriter from London, best known for her work with the British downtempo group Zero 7.
Chocolate Puma are a DJ and music production duo from Haarlem, North Holland, consisting of René ter Horst and Gaston Steenkist ("Dobre"). Their stage names include "Zki & Dobre", "The Good Men", and "Riva".
"I Swear" is a song written by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers that became a hit for American country music artist John Michael Montgomery in 1993, and for American R&B group All-4-One in 1994.
"Saturday Night" is a song by Italian Eurodance project Whigfield, fronted by Danish-born Sannie Charlotte Carlson. It was first released in 1992 in Italy and 1993 in Spain through Prodisc. Throughout 1994, it was released across the rest of Europe and experienced worldwide success. The song was written by Italian producers Larry Pignagnoli and Davide Riva and produced by Pignagnoli. In 1995, the song was included on Whigfield's debut album, Whigfield.
Sibusiswe "Busi" Ncube is a female mbira musician and singer from Zimbabwe, who sings in six African languages. She play the guitar, mbira and percussions.
Womack & Womack was the singing and songwriting partnership of married American musicians Linda Womack and Cecil Womack. The duo were successful as songwriters for other artists and had several international hits as a singing duo in the 1980s and 1990s. Later recordings with other members of their family were credited to The House of Zekkariyas.
Solomon Skuza (1954–1995), also known as Jah Solo was a Zimbabwean musician, one of the most popular to come out of Plumtree. In addition to his native Kalanga, he wrote lyrics in Ndebele, Shona and English as well. Other popular Kalanga musicians include Nduna Malaba, Ndolwane Super Sounds, Mokis Connection and Solomon's brother Chase Skuza.
Geoffrey Royce Rojas, known professionally as Prince Royce, is an American singer. At an early age, Royce took an interest in music, and in his teenage years began experimenting with music and writing poetry. By age nineteen, Royce met Andrés Hidalgo, who became his manager. Hidalgo later introduced Royce to record producer Sergio George, who immediately signed him to his label after hearing three of his demos.
"Lighters" is a song by American hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, a group composed of Royce da 5'9 and Eminem, from their first EP, Hell: The Sequel (2011). The track features American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It was written by Bad Meets Evil, along with Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine of the Smeezingtons, and Roy Battle. The production was handled by all aforementioned names, except Royce. It was released on June 14, 2011, by Shady and Interscope Records, being later serviced to mainstream radio in the United States by the two latter labels along with Aftermath Entertainment as the second single from the EP. After writing and recording their own verses for the song, Eminem and Royce da 5'9" met Mars in Los Angeles, and the singer's vocals were added after minor adjustments were done by him and Eminem to the original cut.
Lovejoy Matare, popularly known by his stage name L kat, is a Zimbabwean hip hop recording artist originally from Kwekwe, Zimbabwe. He records mostly in Shona, his native tongue. In 2005, he released his first single "Wandinoda" as part of his high school compilation album dubbed Manunure High School Mic Fever 1. In 2013, he released his debut studio album Goodlife while signed to Maskiri's record label, Mhondoro Music. The album was supported by the singles "Ndinotya", "Ndiudze", "Tisanyadzise", and "Kupiko". On 6 April 2015, he released an EP album The Golden Episode. The album's singles include "Zita Rako", "My Special Munhu" and "Rudo Ma1". L kat has won several music awards, including multiple Midlands Music Awards and also have been nominated in the Zimbabwe Music Awards.
Nox Guni alias Nox, is a Zimbabwean musician, performing artist, songwriter and producer based in South Africa. He is renowned for the musical movement in Zimbabwe of the early 2000s dubbed Urban Grooves.
Freeman HKD Boss, born Emegy Slyvester Chizanga, is a Zimdancehall artist who rose to prominence after release of Joina City single.
