Tocky vibes defeats nagative critics

Toti Toti & the Mystery of Tocky Vibes

If Tocky Vibes were another artist, he would have hung up his boots by now and found something else to do after the level of criticism heaped on top of him for his poor live performances. 

He has also received criticism for his sense of dress, with calls for him to employ the services of a stylist to help him spruce up his image.

But even after all this heavy scrutiny from fans and various media platforms, Tocky has managed to keep his head high and has just released a whammer of a new album.

Though he continues to struggle with his live act, his ability to pen deep, thought evoking lyrics, along with his infectious, effortlessly melodic vocals, have made him one of the most loved dancehall artists in Zimbabwe.

His brand new album ‘Toti Toti’, which was released mid-April, is a true reflection of Tocky’s amazing writing skill. 

In one of the songs, ‘Kuhope’, Tocky shows us that he can really fantasize as he describes an encounter with a lady who seems to be an angelic being in his dream. From one angle you can conclude that there is nothing more to the words, but when you twist it, the meaning changes totally as the story moves from being a mere love fairytale to being an account of the spiritual encounters he has. Whether these are real encounters or imagined is a story we won’t explore right now. Fact is, the song rocks.

Another interesting track is ‘Mweya Wekubereka’. In this number Tocky describes the anguish which mothers go through when their children are sick, but it doesn’t end there. He shows another side of the emotional struggles the mother faces as she asks the spirit attacking her child why it did not kill them while there were still in the womb. Again, the song explores the presence of the spiritual side in every human being.

‘Usarara Muka’ is yet another well written track from this album. In this one he encourages people to work hard no matter how difficult things may get, one has to solider on. This song is very relevant to Zimbabweans now, because nothing is certain in our society. One might go to bed with a master’s degree and a hefty salary, but when the sunrises they are told they have been retrenched. But as Tocky sings, “…….muka seshumba rwisa (don’t lose hope, like a lion, rise up and fight)….” 

Then there is ‘Nyama Yekugocha’. As I have stated earlier, Tocky has been and still is heavily criticized for his poor performances during live shows. This track makes one feel sorry for him. Riding on a heavy reggae beat, Tocky drops some emotionally loaded lyrics which evoke feelings of guilt for chastising the young man. 

Other tracks on the reggae-sounding album are also a testament of the youngster’s maturity as a studio artist.

The mystery of Tocky Vibes goes deeper with how he wows crowds in foreign lands. Every time he tours the UK, he leaves the crowd crying for more, whereas back at home he is booed off stage. 

However, one interesting element is that in the UK and other foreign lands, he uses back tracks and a not a live band.

So should Tocky resort to using backtracks only or should he just be given more time to work on his craft?

We are eager to see how Tocky will do in 2015 at his shows, but one thing for certain – he is pushing hard. Even on the video front, he is taking things up a few notches. We have no doubt that he will be one of the artists to be nominated for the best video at the 2015 Zim Dancehall Awards, for his impressive ‘Aenda Nenyika’ video.