The award-winning spoken-word artist aims for global reach while staying rooted in Shona language and African tradition.
VaChikepe The Poet is taking a calculated step into new linguistic territory. According to the Jamaica Observer, the Zimbabwean artist will release A Dollar, a seven-song collection, on October 28. The album marks a significant departure: it is his first body of work recorded entirely in English, a strategic move to broaden his audience beyond the African continent.
Raised in Harare on Shona-language poetry and the revolutionary reggae of Bob Marley and Mutabaruka, VaChikepe has built his reputation as a socially conscious wordsmith rooted in African oral tradition. His 2021 win in the International Reggae and World Music Awards’ Best Poet category underscored his growing recognition. Yet he has remained primarily a Shona-language artist, speaking directly to his base in Zimbabwe and across the continent.
The shift to English is deliberate but not a departure from his core identity. In conversation with Observer Online, VaChikepe explained that he wants A Dollar to resonate with listeners “from Zimbabwe and the wider African continent to Jamaica, the Caribbean, North America and beyond.” Crucially, he added, “I don’t want my existing audience to meet a stranger when they hear it.” His goal is recognition, not reinvention.
A turning point came three years ago when VaChikepe met Jamaican poet Richie Innocent at a convention in Virginia. That friendship deepened in 2024 when he performed at the inaugural Poetry Echoes Of Expression in New York, an event organized by Innocent. Through these connections, Jamaica transformed from an admired nation into lived experience—a place whose rhythms, history, and spoken-word tradition became tangible influences.
VaChikepe, an ordained minister with a master’s degree in Divinity from Duke University, sees no contradiction between reaching a global audience and honoring his roots. “My base has known me primarily as VaChikepe: The Poet, a Zimbabwean poet deeply rooted in Shona language, African culture, spirituality, social commentary and the spoken-word tradition,” he told the Observer. “I don’t want to abandon that identity in order to reach a wider audience. In fact, I believe that identity is precisely what I have to offer the wider world.”
VaChikepe The Poet hails from Harare, Zimbabwe, and has established himself as a significant voice in African spoken-word and poetry circles. His recognition by the International Reggae and World Music Awards in 2021 reflects the growing intersection between African and Caribbean artistic traditions, particularly in the realm of conscious, socially engaged performance poetry.
VaChikepe’s artistic journey intersects meaningfully with Caribbean culture through his connection to Jamaican poetry and reggae tradition, as well as his collaboration with Jamaican poet Richie Innocent. His new album represents a bridge between African and Caribbean creative communities, and his decision to record in English signals an openness to Caribbean and diaspora audiences seeking authentic, spiritually grounded voices in the spoken-word tradition.
Written & Edited by Orlyn Edwards. Published by Caribbean Air Force Media.
Category: Culture · Island routing: Jamaica