Oliver Mtukudzi & Black Spirits
October 19
"No foot, no footprint." That's the message of Afro-pop icon Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi, a best-selling artist in his native Zimbabwe. "What kind of footprint are you leaving behind on your path through life," he asks, "and how would that footprint look if it were pointed in your direction?" Tuku explores his version of the golden rule on his new CD, "Tsimba Itsoka" (Heads Up), with socially and politically fired lyrics sung in Shona. His sobering pleas for social change are offset with optimism, humor, and breezy melodies that ride over percolating African, Caribbean, and Western pop rhythms. Tuku, who played in the legendary Wagon Wheels with Thomas Mapfumo in the 1970s before forming his Black Spirits band, envisions himself mostly as a social commentator. But his songs display a wealth of musical heritage as well - mbira (thumb piano) music, dandanda village music, South African mbaqanga, bouncing jiti township pop, and the traditional drumming of katekwe. The lilting mbira style will be highlighted for Tuku's Somerville Theater show. (For more on Oliver Mtukudzi, see tomorrow's Weekend section.) 8 p.m. $28. Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. 617-876-4275. worldmusic.org
