Wailing brothers: is everything alright?

It appears Takudziwani and Paul Chokani are not leaving Black Missionaries.

Their comeback release shows they are simply back to their roots, restarting where they stopped the day they decided to back their cousin—the country’s fallen reggae megastar Evison Matafale in 1999.

The restoration of the Wailing Brothers has left tongues wagging that warps are deepening in the Black Missionaries, the band Matafale founded after ditching the Chokani brothers.

Lead guitarist Takudziwani and drummer Paul were already top of the beat when Matafale arrived from Zimbabwe where he was reportedly reduced to a prodigal son.

The Chokanis, together with their brother Elias, evoked their cousinship with Matafale and played the instruments for his debut album Kuyimba 1. Listeners know they were part of his success.

They stepped aside and Matafale recorded Kuyimba 2 with his next set of cousins, Black Missionaries. Some thought the Wailing Brothers were replaceable.

They soon bounced back with the Blacks and have been touring together since the late Musamude Fumulani succeeded Matafale about 13 years ago. They silently proved critics wrong.

Now, the Wailing Brothers seem to be back to assert their rightful space in the reggae culture which they co-modernised with the Somewhere or Nowhere great. However, some seem to think their return could be a symptom of graver rifts in the Blacks.

The fears might be right or wrong, but neither the Blacks’ core members nor the Wailing Brothers have confirmed any breakaway so far.

This leaves the speculators with the certainty that only time will tell whether the re-emergence of the Wailing Brothers can sustain or strengthen the unity of purpose that has kept the Blacks going for over a decade and endeared them with multitudes.

However, veteran broadcaster Patrick Kamkwatira, who often uses his music programme on Times Radio to share vital tidbits acquired when he was managing Matafale’s lucrative career, wants you to believe all is well in the Blacks’ camp.

Kamkwatira invokes the Wailing Brothers’ historic ties with Matafale, their blood connection with the Blacks and the reggae missionaries’ circuits involving their Chileka cousins—solo artists Anthony Makondetsa, Toza Mourner Kapito, Moda Fumulani and Yanjanani Chumbu.

“The Black Missionaries and Wailing Brothers are one and related to each other,” he told Times listeners recently, christening the conspiracy theorists confusionists and too young to understand the unfolding renaissance of Wailing Brothers.

Kamkwatira could be right or too close to Blacks’ inner politics to see the writing on the wall and read the signs of the times. In Photography, cameras require the beholder to observe distance because closeness sometimes puts the object out of focus.

The so-called detractors feel the Chileka-based singers have long consigned the Chokani brothers to the background, restricting the two players of instruments to the back sleeve of their CDs as the front cover remains dominated by lead vocalist Anjiru Fumulani, his brother-cum-keyboardist Chizondi and bassist Peter Amidu.

Forget the conspiracy theories.

There is one thing that nobody can either cover up or judge by its cover: what the Wailing Brothers have on offer.

What value does the rebirth of the band add to the country’s reggae culture littered with imposters mimicking Matafale?

The Chokani brothers have since released It’s Gonna Be Alright, a music video which offers a glimpse of their competences.

The video premiered last Friday marks a bold start not only because Taku throws away his beloved guitar to lead the vocals.

Rather, they have dared to debut with an English song, a path not so rosy for Prince Martin and Soul Raiders Band, TJ Bless and Limbani Banda and other promising reggae artists in the country.

The clock chimes to one minute and 20 seconds when the plucking instrument is literally thrown back at the guitarist-turned-vocalist who needs just 20 seconds to prove the sterner stuff with Paul on the drums.

In the first 80 seconds, Takudziwani dictates the music from the microphone and demonstrates what a great vocalist he would have been if he had not dedicated his career to playing a guitar like ringing a bell as reggae pioneer Peter Tosh sings of Johnny B. Goode.

Save for a few bytes in which he seemingly works too hard to belt out a voice equal to or courser than Matafale’s, Takudziwani largely sounds at ease—startlingly at peace with English intonation and lyrics of everlasting hope that proclaim everything gonna be alright as everyone wants it to be alright.

“If I go to Chikwawa to have shower everyday/everything wanna be alright and everyone wants it alright,” the songwords go, portraying the determination of a person who works hard all day and does not care what people say.

No useless rhyme, Chikwawa is part of the Shire Valley stretch with such scorching sunshine that visitors often find themselves heading for the shower repetitively.

Interestingly, the casting does not belabour viewers with excess visuals of the Chokanis’ friends and relatives, but restricts the footage to relevant role-players.

As they unpack the message and jive to the reggae jams in a hilly setting, their extensive braids in the air, the dreadlocked brothers seem to be striving for serious reggae business.

But they are not getting anywhere yet. They find themselves grappling to disengage from the so-called Chileka reggae legacy which put the Blacks and Matafale in one pod.

On Everything is Gonna Be Alright, the instrumentation precariously transports listeners on the knife-edge, blending the Kuyimba 1 instrumentals that introduced Matafale and the hit Freedom, one of the Kuyimba 2 tracks that validated the Blacks’ existence.

This is a lovable reggae tune, but it does not sound distinctive when it comes to splitting the difference. It scarcely brings home the unique touch that makes the solo tunes of Gramps Morgan praiseworthy among followers of his family band, Morgan Heritage.

The introductory anthem leaves listeners with questions: Is it their best song yet? Is the resuscitation of the Wailing Brothers worthwhile or just some form of catharsis? Is this not a peaceful protest to whom it may concern? Are the Wailing Brothers not just another act with blood ties to Chileka? What does the future hold for their renewed act?

For now, sheath the swords and let’s enjoy the music until the rest of the songs earmarked for their comeback album are released. Maybe the next releases gonna be alright, for Shaky beginnings sometimes transition into sound endings. n