Deep down in Murehwa district at a tender age of seven a young boy Jacob realized his drumming talent and decided to give in to the yearning of his heart to play the African traditional drums. Getting a school visit from Mr Vambe the man behind the traditional drum beat played at the beginning of news bulletins in Zimbabwe, Jacob was intrigued by the sound of the drums that he decided to learn how to play them and within a year he became the drummer for his primary school traditional dance team.

Jacob Mapfumo then did his secondary education at Dombodzvuku Secondary school right there in Murehwa where his talent continued growing until he relocated to Chitungwiza where he continued playing his drums.

Jacob has played on various platforms and has also mastered playing other traditional instruments like Mbira and Hosho and he is learnt how to create new and improved melodies with such instruments. Jacob is well known in Seke Chitungwiza as he is part of a group of young men who voluntarily play at funerals to celebrate the lives of those who would have deceased. Walking long distances with a heavy drum of his shoulder has become art of his day to day lifestyle and Jacob says that at times he may not have money for bus fare but that does not stop him from going places to play at funerals even if it will be a stranger’s funeral.

He states that playing traditional drums connects him more to his ancestors as they are the ones who bestowed the drumming talent on him and they give him the strength and ability to continue playing and to develop his talent day by day. Asked how his fellow age-mates feel about him speak so highly of ancestors ad taking pride in playing traditional drums Jacob said that growing up his age-mates did not really understand his passions as they felt that traditional drumming was for elderly people and association with them was difficult but now they are coming to him begging to be taught how to play traditional instruments.

Mapfumo also talked about some challenges that he faces as a traditional drummer, one of the challenges being cracked hands. He said that because of the hard surface of a traditional drum, his palms have cracked countless times and they are now very hard hence he resorted to using adhesive bandages for his fingers and wearing gloves on top to avoid experiencing so much pain. Another challenge is ignorance and judgement from people as they associate traditional drums with extreme ancestral worship which Jacob spoke on behalf of his fellow traditional drummers stated that not every traditional drummer believes in ancestral worship. Competition with modern drummers is another challenge he faces though its not that serious because he usual plays at traditional events such as mabira.

Jacob’s talent has awarded him the opportunity to feature in contemporary songs giving him the opportunity to fuse the traditional beat with modern beats. He has been featured on a song called Ndichiringa produced at Tau Gun studios and sung by T-flex, Taurai Gun and Izwi rembira crew which was released a week ago. He has also captured the hearts of many parents in Chitungwiza who ask him to teach their children to play traditional instruments especially drums. This has been an honorable thing for Jacob as he proudly passes on his talent to the younger generation that is still interested in playing traditional instruments.

To his fellow age-mates and to the youngsters, Mapfumo offered sound advice saying “People should know their talents and should nurture those talents because they might be your source of livelihood. Young people should not copy what others are doing especially their friends because we all have different paths in life and we should respect that and see where our paths take us individually”

Jacob can be found on various social media platforms as Jacob Mapfumo