Voltz JT's N.O.P Makoni - The two sides of a journey back home

While Zimbabwe's urban music landscape has sometimes been accused of being parochial, Voltz JT is one of the few artists who's consistently delivered tracks with depth beyond the common feel-good anthems. Whether drawing from personal experience or acting as a vessel for the stories we see in everyday society, the Jecha-Trap pioneer's music has always carried the weight of social consciousness. This has been prevalent in his singles and full-length bodies of work.

Voltz JT

So when he announced his upcoming album N.O.P Makoni with the release of "Ma War Vets," I was immediately pregnant with anticipation, doubly so when Rain Jasmin Midzi invited me to an exclusive listening session of the album this past Sunday. 

In a quaint gymnasium in Harare's Belvedere suburb, a select audience got the first listen to Voltz JT's upcoming album 'N.O.P Makoni.' The first public consumption of the album, well as public as 50 or so people could be. Attended by renowned names in the music industry such as DJ Tamuka, ProBeatz, Zero the Producer, Charisma, and artists featured on the project in Celscius, Poptain, Tha Bees, and Atenda Chinx, the listening session also had loudmouthed personalities such as Dennis Shoko and Denzel Sambo.

It was an intimate occasion dedicated to the music, and while Zesa had done its thing, even load-shedding couldn't dim Voltz JT's light on this occasion. While reflecting on how he'd never attempted such a concept before, the rapper was as passionate talking about his music as if he was back in the moment when he made it.

When Voltz had initially announced this project, I thought to myself that it would have big shoes to fill, as it was following in the footsteps of 'The Life of Muvhimi.' Yet how wrong I was. While N.O.P Makoni comes after The Life of Muvhimi, it is a project that charts its own path. Both in storytelling and sound. Voltz intentionally wanted to go outside of his comfort zone, and as an artist with the weight of thousands of expectations, there's a certain bravado to that decision.

Nop Makoni Album Cover

N.O.P Makoni Tracklist:

1. Ine Basa Rei ft Bagga
2. Ma War Vets
3. Mweya Remix ft Tha Bees
4. Maziso Two
5. Bread & Butter ft Celcius
6. Easy
7. Interlude 
8. Rima ft Atenda Chinx
9. Nguva Newe ft Poptain 
10. Kutidzosera Kumashure
11. Gara Ndichauya ft Nyasha David
12. Ngairire ft Celcius

N.O.P Makoni gets its name from the chant by public transport touts used to refer to the route that goes to Units N, O, P and Makoni shops, in Chitungwiza. However, the album itself is about the two sides of a journey back home. At the album's core, it is about Voltz returning to his childhood home, which is his grandmother's house located in the same area. Something that grounds him in troubled times as reflects on where he began, so that he may remember he's only experiencing a bad moment and not a bad life.

Voltz not only reflects on the past but he brings a bit of the past with him, as "Maziso Two" which is the 4th track on the album, is a song he should've released after his breakout hit "These Days" all those years ago. While "Nguva Newe," the collaboration with Poptain, was also inspired by the fact that after Voltz's breakout moment, Poptain was the first major artist to reach out to him to work together. Something Voltz still deeply appreciates.

The other side of the coin on the journey back home is how when taking public transport countless people are heading in the same direction but they have different stories to tell, and that's where his choice of features comes from. Different artists are adding their own reflections on that journey back to a grounding place.

While the album may be Voltz's story, it's also the story of so many other people when it comes to the Zimbabwean experience. It is an introspective project that also displays a contrite rebelliousness, asking us to question some of our thoughts and experiences. While it can be argued which album has more depth, I have no doubt N.O.P Makoni will one-up The Life of Muvhimi when it comes to hit songs.

N.O.P Makoni is now available on YouTube and soon on other streaming platforms.

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