Hope Masike Blends Mbira, Poetry and Feminist Reclamation in Bold New Project

By Own Correspondent

Celebrated mbira musician and poet, Hope Masike, is once again pushing artistic boundaries in Zimbabwe’s cultural landscape. On 30 September 2025, Masike will premiere a new music video based on Ndimutsewo Zvakanaka, a poem from her acclaimed anthology of erotica. Directed by Jonathan Samkange of Dream Hous Productions, the video promises to be more than a performance, it is a bold cultural statement.

At its core, Ndimutsewo Zvakanaka is a conversation between sound, word, and identity. The poem, written from a distinctly female perspective, is playful yet provocative, layered with tongue-in-cheek exuberance and suggestive undertones. It is a call for intimacy that is both attentive and respectful, encouraging the art of “doing it right.” Through this project, Masike brings together her literary, musical, and visual worlds in a transdisciplinary convergence that challenges norms while celebrating African womanhood.

Masike’s work cannot be separated from the mbira, an instrument deeply tied to Zimbabwe’s cultural and spiritual history. Traditionally, the mbira was central to Shona cosmology, played during ceremonies to invoke ancestral spirits and to maintain dialogue between the living and the departed. Its cyclical, hypnotic melodies embody a worldview where music is not mere entertainment, but a sacred bridge between worlds.

For centuries, mbira was guarded as a masculine domain, with women often excluded from performance in ritual settings. Yet, Masike has reclaimed the instrument as part of her artistic arsenal. By fusing mbira with poetry, jazz, and contemporary sounds, she not only modernizes the instrument but also challenges patriarchal boundaries that once kept women’s voices from being heard in these spiritual and artistic spaces. Her work situates mbira at the heart of modern conversations about identity, freedom, and self-expression.

In Ndimutsewo Zvakanaka, Masike shifts her attention to one of the most personal yet political battlegrounds, the Black female body. For centuries, colonialism sought to criminalize, fetishize, and control African sexuality. Women’s bodies were policed, objectified, and silenced. By writing and performing openly about sensuality, Masike confronts these legacies head-on.

Her poem, performed in Shona, intensifies verse by verse, culminating in a powerful crescendo that mirrors both musical climax and sexual liberation. Language itself becomes a tool of reclamation: by choosing indigenous expression over colonial tongues, Masike grounds her work in Chidzimbahwe, the cultural fabric of the Shona people.

The upcoming video is not the end, but the beginning of a larger movement. Ndimutsewo Zvakanaka will spearhead a series of reading tours across six provinces in Zimbabwe. These performances will blend mbira music, poetry, and dialogue, creating spaces where communities can reflect on the intersections of culture, gender, and identity.

Through her art, Masike is not merely performing, she is sparking conversations about decolonization, gender equity, and cultural continuity. By bringing mbira into dialogue with erotic poetry, she reminds Zimbabweans that their traditions are not static relics but evolving legacies that can adapt, critique, and liberate.

Hope Masike’s latest project demonstrates how mbira music remains alive and relevant in the 21st century. From sacred ritual ceremonies to modern concert halls and now into the realm of feminist literature and visual art, mbira continues to be a vessel for truth-telling, healing, and transformation.

For Masike, the mbira is not only an instrument of sound but an instrument of liberation, challenging patriarchy, resisting colonial legacies, and celebrating the Black woman’s body as a site of joy and freedom.

As Zimbabweans and global audiences anticipate the premiere of Ndimutsewo Zvakanaka, one thing is clear: Hope Masike is not just performing art. She is reimagining tradition, rewriting narratives, and ensuring that the voice of mbira continues to speak powerfully into the future.