MR. KOJO NNAMDIFrom WAMU 88.5 at American University in Washington, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," connecting your neighborhood with the world. Later in the broadcast, voices from Zimbabwe, what oral histories tell us about life inside a country where a strong man has ruled with an iron fist for decades. But first, it's a voice that's synonymous with rebellion and dissent in that country, a voice now living in exile in the United States.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIIn the 1970s, Thomas Mapfumo created the soundtrack for liberation in Zimbabwe, singing in his native Shona language and playing the traditional mbira thumb piano. Mapfumo and his group, the Blacks Unlimited pioneered a sound called chimurenga, which loosely translates into English as struggle music. When Zimbabwe won its independence 31 years ago, Mapfumo was a critical icon and folk hero. In today's Zimbabwe, where speaking out against President Robert Mugabe can get you arrested or worse, Thomas Mapfumo's music has been banned. He performed the song you just heard in our studio last Friday and he spoke to us about his homeland, his music and his life in exile.

MR. THOMAS MAPFUMOWe have problems in Zimbabwe and myself is a friendly man. I have children to look after. I'm not worried about myself, but I was worried of my children. They needed a place, somewhere where they could attend the education without any disturbances. And I thought maybe coming down here to the United States will help them. I would have loved my -- if it wasn't because of my children, I wouldn't have been here. I would have been there fighting it out with them. I don't fear -- I don't fear no one.

NNAMDIWith some international music stars, they jump at the opportunity to leave their homeland and come to the West. But you, as you pointed out, came here because of the safety and security of your children. So is it painful for you to watch what is happening in Zimbabwe from a distance?

MAPFUMOIt's really painful. It's really painful. And next one, you know, a lot of crying because the situation in Zimbabwe is just, I mean, beyond repair. Right now, they don't have, I mean, money. They are using the United States dollar as the local, I mean, currency. And that is not accepted rule to our people. That shows how bad the situation is in our country. Right now, as you know, there were elections that were held last time and the opposition won those election. I'm not a member of any political party, but all I want to see is the survival of our people. People shouldn't be divided by political parties. You see what is happening today in Egypt, in Libya? So it's something that is going to catch up with the rest of Africa.

NNAMDII'm glad you mentioned what is happening today in Libya and what happened in Egypt because what we're witnessing are protests successfully toppling those governments.

MAPFUMOThat's true.

NNAMDIIn Zimbabwe, though, the government has taken steps to clamp down on the protests. And last month, more than 40 students were arrested at a university in Zimbabwe for attending a lecture and just having conversations about the uprisings in Egypt.

MAPFUMOThat's the beginning of it because you cannot put a good man down. When the people will speak, the whole world will listen. And this is what is happening today. People had been fooled yesterday. But today, you cannot fool them.

NNAMDIBack in 1980, you performed on stage along with Bob Marley and the Wailers at Zimbabwe's famous Independent Concert. You wrote the music line for the struggle that took place in Zimbabwe. At what point did you become so critical of the government of President Robert Mugabe that had became dangerous for your family. And what made you come to that point?

MAPFUMOYou know, the way the guerillas operated in that country put a lot of fear into the people. And all that they did was beating up the locals, intimidating them and some were shot and some were beaten to death. And by so doing, they are putting a lot of fear into every one of us, you know, trying to accept what they wanted. But in the long run, we realized that this was all -- they are not fighting for the people, they are fighting for themselves. It was after eight years we recognize there was a lot of corruption within our government. And the people who faced that government were not as bad as the ones who actually replaced them. When some of them passed away and some of them grew older and they just head actually to -- I mean, to leave the government because of old age. Those are good guys. They really -- they were waiting for the people.

MAPFUMOBut when the New Blood come in, there was a lot of corruption and we notice that after eight years there was a lot of corruption within our government. I even composed a song entitled "Corruption." And everyone was saying, why did he -- I mean, composed such a song? But people actually knew what I was talking about. They supported me, even some people who were working within the government. They said this song was good. The words he's talking about corruption and we are noticing this corruption within our government.

NNAMDIThere are people who would say, but you have a choice. You didn't have to talk about corruption in government.

MAPFUMOYes, yes. That's true.

NNAMDIBut knowing you, I guess people who would say, if you know Thomas Mapfumo, he really didn't have a choice because his whole history is one speaking up for the people. You felt this was something you had to do.

MAPFUMOI felt this was something that I had to do because some people are trying to associate me with some certain political parties. And I said, no, I'm not a member of any political party. I stand with the poor people and that's where I belong. I came from the ghetto myself. My father was a very poor man and I grew up with a lot of poor families and those are my friends. I even -- I got a house in the suburbs, a nice house, there's swimming pool, everything. But every morning I wake up, I go to the ghetto, that's where my friends are.

NNAMDIToday, your music is banned in Zimbabwe. I was reading about a bartender who was arrested for playing your new record in public. How does that make you feel?

MAPFUMOI hope he carries on doing that.

NNAMDIBecause that, I guess, is the spirit of chimurenga.

MAPFUMOYes, yes, yes. Yes.

NNAMDIHow would you describe chimurenga music?

MAPFUMOChimurenga music, you know, is the voice of the voiceless. Those who cannot speak for themselves, this music is there to speak for them. So I learned about, you know, about traditional music. And since my own grandparents were into this type of music, drumming, singing, playing mbira and there was music for the youth where you could -- everyone who was young got outside their hearts and start singing.

MAPFUMOSo I was using -- I had music already and I said, why can't I change this type of music and make it danceable, especially the mbira music and the other music that I was listening back there in the country. I started waking on some of these music. And a few people were appreciating because I used to -- where they are -- the way into the well of pop music, like rock and roll and other. And they've never had somebody singing in shona or...

NNAMDIPlaying the mbira.

MAPFUMOYeah, playing the mbira. So it was very strange to them. But I actually managed to convince most of them, some few who understood where I was coming from. They came to me and they said, this is the right direction you have taken and these are our roots. And they -- actually, they encouraged me to carry on. And that's when I started writing my own music. I wasn't thinking about the freedom of our people, but at the same time, the very time when the liberation war broke out in our country and I thought I was one of them. And my music was supposed to play a role in this struggle and that's when I started writing about, I mean, the struggle, the struggle within our country. Our people are, I mean, oppressed and I needed to be by their side and help liberate our country.

NNAMDIWhat is your hope for Zimbabwe in the future?

MAPFUMOMy hope for Zimbabwe -- I'd love Zimbabweans to be united and to not to be divided. They should be united and they have to know that, I mean, united we stand, divided we fall. This is what is happening all over the world. People are getting united to fight out dictatorship. This is what is happening and I hope the people of Zimbabwe are also watching the TV and seeing, I mean, what is happening today. The revolution is taking over.

NNAMDIThe voice of Thomas Mapfumo, a video of Thomas Mapfumo and guitarist Gilbert Zvamaida performing in our studio is available at our website, kojoshow.org. When we come back, we learn about life in Zimbabwe from a collection of oral histories. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.