Hailed as a national hero and musical revolutionary, Thomas Mapfumo,
along with other Zimbabwean artists, burst onto the music scene in the
1980s with a unique style that combined electric guitar with indigenous
Shona music and instruments. The development of this music from its
roots in the early Rhodesian era to the present and the ways this and
other styles articulated with Zimbabwean nationalism is the focus of
Thomas Turino's new study. Turino examines the emergence of cosmopolitan
culture among the black middle class and how this gave rise to a variety
of urban-popular styles modeled on influences ranging from the Mills
Brothers to Elvis. He also shows how cosmopolitanism gave rise to the
nationalist movement itself, explaining the combination of foreign and
indigenous elements that so often define nationalist art and cultural
projects. The first book-length look at the role of music in African
nationalism, Turino's work delves deeper than most books about popular
music and challenges the reader to think about the lives and struggles
of the people behind the surface appeal of world music.