Once referred to as the Bob Dylan of Zimbabwe, a social activist and founder of chimurenga music, Thomas Tafirenyika "Mukayana" Mapfumo is also often referred to as "the Lion of Zimbabwe". For almost 30 years he and his Blacks Unlimited band have musically supported his people, the Shona, in their struggle for social and economic justice and for the preservation of their culture. Mapfumo dubbed his music chimurenga after the Shona word meaning "struggle", a concept he and his people are familiar with. The artist became associated with politics and social justice when his music spoke of his people's difficulties during Rhodesia's quest for independence from Britain. He took part in the creation of a new nation as Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, a transition that was marked by the 1980 election of President Robert Mugabe. Chimurenga blends traditional Shona music with Western instruments and features social and political messages about colonialism, poverty, government corruption, and the loss of the Shona culture. Mapfumo introduced the mbira, a traditional Shona instrument used in religious ceremonies, to music that had a more Western popular flavor. Some of his songs have been banned by both the Rhodesian and Zimbabwean regimes under which he has lived, and he has endured jail and self-imposed political exile in his fight for justice.

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