419:. On this album, he sings about many issues, one of which is the unequal resource distribution in Zimbabwe on the Chewa song, "Governor Cornwell". Chimbetu was of Chewa origin, although born and raised in Zimbabwe; when declared a provincial hero, his actual burial was kept a secret in line with his religious burial traditions. A younger brother who was already part of the Orchestra Dendera Kings, Allan, fronted the band for a while before Suluman Chimbetu, Simon's second eldest son took over. His eldest son being Collin "Kodza" Chimbetu who ventured into farming. He has recorded a well-received albums has toured overseas.He has managed to take over from Simon as well as he is a Simon lookalike which has popular musician Alick Macheso to mimick on stage that Sulu anenge Chopper literally translated as Sulu is like Chopper(Simon's common alias)
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commercial farmers. Towards the end of the 1990s, Chimbetu recorded many hits and grew to be force to reckon with on the scene. He is famous for penning and singing such songs as "Samatenga", "One Way", "Dzandipedza Mafuta" and many others. Simon also had a great facility with languages, being fluent in several and having in sung in Shona, Chewa, Ndebele and
Swahili, among others. Chimbetu is also noted for his critical lyrics such as in the songs "Southern Africa", "Kuipa Chete" and "Simba Nederere", among many others.
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306:, on 23 September 1955. He was of the Yao tribe and his ancestral roots can be traced to the town of Tukuyu, in Southern Tanzania. His father Benson Mwakalile was a bricklayer and Simon regularly accompanied his father on his business errands. He attended the local Musengezi High School before trekking to
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Chimbetu worked for a tobacco processing company for many years after the attainment of
Zimbabwe's internationally recognised independence in 1980. His passion for music did not wane. Rather, he regularly played at Mushandirapamwe Hotel in Highfield, a high-density suburb in Harare. At this point he
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Chimbetu wasn't far from controversy during his career. At the peak of his popularity, he spent four years in jail and thereafter, rumours hit in 2002 that he hadn't paid his own farm workers for months. Additionally, his pro-government stance contributed to his somewhat rising unpopularity. As the
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because of the then prevailing political ideology which had also shaped Simon's war experiences. Together, the siblings penned songs like "Dr Nero"(Naison) and "Nherera"(Simon) which gave them visibility on the
Zimbabwean music scene. After recording several albums together, the two split in 1988
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What also distinguished Simon from many other sungura/museve artists at this time and throughout his career was that his music focused on contemporary social and political topics. The song "Kuipa Chete", for example, is about black
Zimbabweans being abused and exploited economically by white
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The album carried hits such as "Spare Wheel", the soulful "Samatenga", "Pasi
Rapinduka", and others. "Samatenga" stayed at the number one spot for a long time; it was somewhat prophetic in that the suffering it describes was mirrored in Simon's own life soon after when he was arrested for
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Out of the two brothers, Chimbetu had the greater success. This was interrupted by his 4-year imprisonment from 1991 after being convicted of receiving stolen property. He was released in 1995 and immediately shot to the top with
Pachipamwe (Welcome Back). The song "Saina", off
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are highly critical of the Mugabe regime. One of
Chimbetu's distinct successes was being able to reclaim his top spot even after being jailed for such a long time. While in prison, another musician,
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had wooed many fans with his similarly styled beat and well thought out lyrics. After this purple patch, Simon's career plummeted after he became more directly linked to the ruling ZANU-PF party.
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Chimbetu realised greater success when he went solo, recording classics like "Kuipa Chete", "Ngoma
Yanditora Moyo", "Mwana Wedangwe", "Southern Africa" and many others. He called his brand of
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with Simon forming his own band, The
Orchestra Dendera Kings while Naison formed his Gee(Great) 7 Commandos. It was after splitting with Naison that Simon recorded the hit album
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Chimbetu died on 14 August 2005, following injuries sustained in a car accident. Curiously, at the time of his death, his career appeared to be on the mend with the release of
368:'dendera', a reference to the Southern Ground Hornbill's booming bass sound. Chimbetu's songs are distinguished by this deep, booming bass guitar.
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theft/receiving stolen property. Although he pleaded his innocence, he was found guilty and incarcerated at Khami Prison in
Bulawayo.
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Chimbetu was born in the Musengezi area of Mbire District in Mashonaland Province of
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227:Singer, songwriter, musician, arranger, bandleader
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46:adding citations to reliable sources
403:controversial land reform programme
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586:Ncube, Sarah (2 October 2009).
339:was backed by John Chibadura's
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566:10 Million Pounds Reward
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290:. He was known by many
288:Orchestra Dendera Kings
235:Singing, rhythm guitar,
139:Background information
508:(1994)Briam on vocals
652:Zimbabwean musicians
428:The Marxist Brothers
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322:, Chimbetu went to
592:Zimbabwe Telegraph
320:Rhodesian Bush War
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423:Discography
318:During the
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636:Categories
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560:Takabatana
542:2000 Blend
512:Pachipamwe
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378:Pachipamwe
298:Early life
280:Zimbabwean
208:, Zimbabwe
190:Manicaland
181:, Zimbabwe
172:1955-09-23
145:Birth name
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245:1975–2005
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