T1 Wema1 Takes Addiction Head on In New Offering - Varanda EP
Varanda is a Shona word for slaves, labourers or any synonym that speaks of serfdom. That's the title of T1 Wema1's 2021 EP. A well scripted audio-memoir, largely inspired by the artist's intention to liberate his mind and his life from socio-economic turmoil, political injustice and addictions.
Of course in so doing, he hopes it sparks the same desire in others.
He is not alone, we all face different addictions in life. We are slaves to certain ideas that do not serve us. Human beings are creatures of habit and we have virtually become subservient to our urges.
The human being has continued to harbor ideas of colonial origins in the way we view our self worth, the way we run our governments and even the religious ideas we defend.
Varanda the entire EP is T1 Wema1 publicly diving into his shadow work to expose those chains and hopefully be able to unlock potential for himself and others.
A BACKGROUND OF WHY HE HAD TO DO IT
Tawanda Mhuriro (T1 Wema1) opened up at some time last year under a post I did that he had been battling alcohol and smoking addictions. He also revealed that he had already put together a project to address this.
It was about how he had fallen in love with substances and had used them as a quick escape to some life circumstances that were heavy for him during a certain time. However, instead of rescuing him, they became a problem soon after the problems had dissipated.
See, alcohol and other addictive substances stimulate the reward circuit of the brain artificially and more effectively than everyday joys. It stimulates the brain more than a cool breeze on a hot day or being with the ones you love.
The
problem is that in order to maintain homeostasis (our body’s way of maintaining
physiological equilibrium) during times of continued artificial stimulation,
the brain automatically decreases the pleasure that it actually receives.
Varanda EP is about his efforts to break away from this cycle and open up the discussion on mental health through art.
ISSUES ADDRESSED IN VARANDA EP
Ho Nhai (Produced by Rayo Beats)
Seems to be a song where he addresses detachment from fake people and friends, parasites if you will. The lyrics are filled with multiple entendres which all point to the abuse suffered by being in one sided relationships for which there is no mutual benefit. Thus I would say the song encourages symbiotic relationships.
Reciprocity, mutual investment of energy.
Tinebasa (Produced by Victoir Enlisted)
Piggy backing of the famous statement by former President of Zimbabwe, The late Cde. Robert Gabriel Mugabe's "Iwe neni" tinebasa (You and I have work to do), the rapper decides to encourage his peers to contribute to the development of the whole.
Though the song evidently speaks of outward work, such as hustling and looking for money. It is pre-empting us and preparing us for the inner work to be discussed by the title track Varanda.
In fact some lines do a lot to point to the inner work and how he looks to his faith in God to help him with success.
Musombodhiya (Produced by Victor Enlisted)
Ma1 atanga has always been T1's tagline, but the number of time he says it as we transition into Musombodhiya implies that we are now getting into the meat of why we came in. Hoo Nhai and Tinebas were appetizers and if we are fair, they look like joints that came before he decided what the album was about (especially Tinebasa).
Musombodhiya is now getting into his relationship with substance abuse. It's no longer curtain raiser time but rather, the main actors have arrived.
There is personification of musombodhiya that would make a passer by assume it were a song about a man and his lover. This makes the message so understandable to someone who has never been on the drug but has fallen crazily in love before. The only problem is "she is a bda girl"... she is making him forget what's important.
Yet he cannot help but indulge. Poor Tawanda!
Ndakabatwa (Produced by McLyne)
Ndakabatwa is a slang word in Shona for being high. After listening to Musombodhiya we can already tell where this is going. As I said, the main actors at this point are in full swing. The confessional is open for the public to be in on what he experienced.
In this one he creates his world for us. Stating his intentions as he came up to better himself and refine himself without pitying his ghetto background. With these intentions came a strenuous work rate and always contemplating the next move, so that he could make a living. In the shadows of the pressure that was born of this came Mary Jane (which we all know represents marijuana).
From here on he speaks of how Marijuana became a way for his mind to wonder away from the experiences and disappointments that come with wanting to be the best version of himself. So not only was he seeing Musombodhiya, T1 Wema1 is ahe was cheating her with Mary Jane "pamwe nechibhomba neka Cola" (Alcohol with coke mix).
The title track takes a more political approach on mental slavery, where the artists laments the lack of ideological and financial independence we still lack decades after breaking the physical chains of oppression.
He also highlights that it is improbable that we would be saved by the very ones who held us captive and encourages us to be vigilant and stop being naïve of the hand that feeds us.
His second verse steers from the political to alcohol and substance addiction. Tawanda Mhuriro, expresses how it guilt trips him to know sometimes that the money expended on alcohol would have moved a mile for his family which will be home. This is probably something a lot of men contemplate.
There is also the slavery of looking rich in the club by buying more alcohol, hopefully to impress the ladies who are looking.
Spencer Madziya (Prodcued by Victor Enlisted)
This is a flex song. Very dope flows about how dope T1 Wema1 is.
T! Wema1 must have felt moved to give a tribute to Spencer Madziya the popular business man who has for many years shared drinks with artists from across the country. A lot of people love his humility and ability to create opportunities for the arts industry myself included.
It may seem like a reach to connect this song to the major theme until you realize that Spencer madziya by coming from humble beginnings as a vendor in Norton is a symbol of hope for a society that has been enslaved to be "Varanda" by all the vices around it.
Spencer Madziya no doubt drinks alcohol too. He owns alcohol spots. However as a master of his destiny he probably now drinks to celebrate and does not drink to maintain.
PRODUCERS IN THE PROJECT
THE QUALITY OF WRITING AND DELIVERY
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