Challenging chickens

Chicken to Change is a brilliant collaboration between Freshlyground and ZA News, commenting on the leadership of Robert Mugabe.

Dressed in grotesque (but stylish) 1980s Zim-style fashion, local band Freshlyground are challenging Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe in the second music video for their new album Radio Africa.

The group have teamed up with the satirical internet show ZA News to point out that Mugabe is chicken to change. In the song “Chicken to Change” the group sing about how Mugabe once was “a noble supernova” and how he lost his way.

In the music video ZA News introduces a latex puppet of Bob Mugabe to dance along with Freshlyground. The decision to include the puppet was taken after “His Excellency Comrade RG Mugabe declined a cordial invitation to participate in the video”.

With a choreographed chicken dance and lyrics like “an iridescent example of honour for the coming generation… You promised to open the doors for us… Indeed it is you and only you who sleeps with the key… You are chicken to change”, the song is already a hit.

The band pointed out that the song was not an attack on Mugabe but rather a tongue-in-cheek challenge to review his style of leadership.

Dressed in grotesque (but stylish) 1980s Zim-style fashion, local band Freshlyground are challenging Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe in the second music video for their new album Radio Africa.

The group have teamed up with the satirical internet show ZA News to point out that Mugabe is chicken to change. In the song “Chicken to Change” the group sing about how Mugabe once was “a noble supernova” and how he lost his way.

In the music video ZA News introduces a latex puppet of Bob Mugabe to dance along with Freshlyground. The decision to include the puppet was taken after “His Excellency Comrade RG Mugabe declined a cordial invitation to participate in the video”.

With a choreographed chicken dance and lyrics like “an iridescent example of honour for the coming generation… You promised to open the doors for us… Indeed it is you and only you who sleeps with the key… You are chicken to change”, the song is already a hit.

The band pointed out that the song was not an attack on Mugabe but rather a tongue-in-cheek challenge to review his style of leadership.

Watch the Talk with Jonathan Shapiro