THE SOCIAL ALBUM THAT NEVER WAS - STRAY BULLET







As far as concepts go the album cover and the title were a great start. Just for definitions sake, according to Wikipedia “A stray bullet is a bullet that, after being fired from a gun, hits an unintended target”[1]. I must say for me as Bad Cop the elephant in the room that is 2017 introduced us to Desmond Chideme and as long as you didn’t live under a rock, in the middle of the bundu and had absolutely no access at all to any form of media you heard about the drama. The question is of all the shots fired directly or indirectly at Stunner who were the innocent victims, who are the people who didn’t see it coming and what are the long lasting effects of what happened? Without hearing a single second of the album, I was personally intrigued with vast possibilities that such a concept provided. I mean was Stunner about to tell Zimbabwe WHAT REALLY HAPPENED over some great tunes. For me it definitely seemed like it because in an interview Stunner said the album was “a sort of reflection of his life”[2]. In another interview he described the album as “…an album basically about being wrongfully accused, being at the wrong place and at the wrong time. It just tells a story, you know. We’ve a lot of people serving sentences in jails for the crimes they didn’t commit. So, it’s a very social album put in an entertaining way, like, if you don’t think deep into it you probably might miss the message.”[3] So like I said the idea got Bad Cop’s ears tingling ready to hear Stunner tell his story and the story of the innocent.



In light of the clear concept, I was taken by surprise as the stories told by Stunner are far from the social commentary I was expecting. The album opens up with the track My Lady a catchy rhythmic afro-dancehall vibe. Stunner expresses his love and loyalty “no toy story” to his Lady. I enjoyed the memorable hook of talented Ghanaian afro-dancehall artist Epixode. On the next track They Know, a hard knocking hip hop track, Stunner must be commended for skilfully infusing his lyrics with a plethora of Zimbabwean popular culture (not cultural, there’s a difference) references and analogies that include popular radio stations ZiFM and PowerFM to tell the whole Zimbabwe and his ex girlfriend he is at the top of his game. Stunner was definitely firing back. On the next track, “Akarohwa mari, Ba Shupi”, a regular collaborator with Stunner, returns to provide another classic hook teaming up with Stunner to tell the story of a young man who “fell prey” to glamorous trappings of life in the city. On the next track, Follow Me, which is Bad Cop’s favourite track because of one person and one person only and her name, is Pesshi. I was instantly hooked by the contemporary afro-pop fusion dancehall vibe and then Pesshi comes in sweetly and melodically telling me to follow her. I was so in love with the track that I sought out more of Pesshi’s music and I was able to find the cherry on top of the cake, the pot of gold at the end of the Rainbow?, “Follow me” by Jupiter Seven featuring Pesshi.[4] So honestly I was less focused on Stunner’s lyrics but I agreed with him. The lady in the song is a lady we are both willing to follow. On the next track, “Zvinei Nemi”, joins forces with Zim Hip Hop Awards 2017, Best Diaspora, “Mr Heal Your Girl”, Hillzy on grand piano, brass backed, 808 infused instrumental to tell the Zimbabwe mind your own business. Which as far Bad Cop is concerned was disappointing because half way through the album, I’m not hearing any confessionals and there are four tracks to go. On the next track, “Musatifinhure”, I felt Stunner gave Zimbabwe a throwback to the urban grooves days. The track is simply chant-able track readymade for the next party or braai. So, here it is; the title track- a live recording, “Stray Bullet, Stunner teams up again with dancehall chanter Element and the insanely talented Shabach Tha Band. Stunner lays subliminal lines, passing shots and some social commentary leaving us to have to seek revelation from God on high because God is the one who knows WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. So with that being said, Stunner on the penultimate track “I Need Money”, a trap beat, tells you and I Zimbabwe, he is only about the money. Well, at this point I think it’s safe to say we are never going to know and just in case you didn’t hear him on the final track, “Vakomana (Mune Mari Here)” supported by Boom Beto, Stunner on classic urban grooves hip hop track tells you and I that IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS, talking about his favourite subject money and making money.



So as Bad Cop, firstly I was disappointed, I had to high hopes and maybe I am at fault for being one of the many Zimbabweans who were constantly tuning to the Facebook lives, the interviews and the articles. Musically Stunner is able to capture a diverse amalgamation of popular sounds a young Zimbabwean listen to and loves. But these sounds made me personally struggle to label the album under the general internationally acclaimed sound of Hip Hop as I know it. This is due to the fact the popular sounds, are unique to Zimbabwe under a genre called urban grooves, which according to most records is genre that became popular around the year 2000, when the government made a deliberate policy of promoting local arts by enforcing a 75% threshold for broadcasting local content on national media. This genre, which is an amalgamation of music styles, including internationally recognized forms such as Hip Hop, RnB, reggae-dancehall and many others. So I believe in all honesty Stunner is not the King of Hip Hop, he is the King of Urban Grooves and that’s not a bad thing. I am glad that Urban Grooves is back.

My favourite tracks were “Follow Me” (of course), “Akarohwa mari” and “Stray Bullet”. I would give the album 6/10.

                                                                                                                                                                                       


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stray_bullet
[2] http://youthvillage.co.zw/2017/09/what-to-expect-from-stunners-new-album-stray-bullet/
[3] http://www.3-mob.com/entertainment/its-a-very-social-album-stunner-on-stray-bullet/#.WmMhXWczzm4
[4] https://soundcloud.com/jupiter-seven/follow-me

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