‘Vapfanha ava havasi kurara neGuka’: Zimdancehall, drug and substance abuse.

Abstract

The paper discusses the nexus between Zimdancehall music and drug and substance use and abuse amongst ghetto youths in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a qualitative design in which observations, interviews, and document analysis were used as data collection methods. Lyrical content analysis of ten Zimdancehall songs was also done to expose how they promote or castigate drug and substance abuse. The study revealed that Zimdancehall lyrical content, peer pressure, family disintegration, and availability are the major causes of drug use/abuse by youths in the country. Some Zimdancehall musicians now advance a counter-narrative that castigates drug and substance abuse, opposing the earlier one where some of them tended to ‘glorify’ it given the addiction and mental health challenges that youths now face in life. The government needs to tighten the implementation of anti-drug laws, and Zimdancehall musicians ought to strongly educate and encourage youths to desist from all forms of drug and substance use and abuse. We recommend that artists' lyrical content be improved to portray positive messages in a morally acceptable manner so as to combat the problem that has risen to pandemic levels.