Original Research - Special Collection: New Testament landscape in Zimbabwe

Musicians as prophets: A comparative analysis of Winky D’s music and John the Baptist’s message

Ishanesu S. Gusha
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 79, No 4 | a8993 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v79i4.8993 | © 2023 Ishanesu S. Gusha | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 15 May 2023 | Published: 23 November 2023

About the author(s)

Ishanesu S. Gusha, Department of New Testament and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

This article has interrogated the prophetic role of musicians in Zimbabwe’s political discourse with Winky D’s latest album Eureka Eureka (which was launched on 31 December 2022) being the case study. Two tracks (Dzimba Dzemabwe and Ibotso) have been singled out for analysis. The message of John the Baptist in Luke 3:7–14 has been used as the framework for understanding the prophetic phenomenon of the 1st century AD Palestinian environment. The article has employed the comparative methodology in comparing these two distant figures. The fivefold process of selection, description, juxtaposition, redescription, and rectification and theory formation has been employed as steps in doing a comparative study. The study identified some notable similarities as well as some differences in the messages of Winky D and John the Baptist and concluded that Winky D’s message played a prophetic role in the Zimbabwean political discourse in a similar way that the message of John the Baptist in Luke 3:7–14 played in the 1st century AD Palestinian context.

Contribution: The article concluded that Winky D in his album Eureka Eureka played well the prophetic role in the political landscape of Zimbabwe.


Keywords

politics; Zimbabwe; prophet; Winky D; comparative; music; Eureka Eureka; John the Baptist

Metrics

Total abstract views: 968
Total article views: 1152


Crossref Citations

No related citations found.