About Me

Comrade Fatso

Member since May 7, 2007
Zimbabwe
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Samm Farai Monro, better known as Comrade Fatso, is one of the most
popular poets in the Zimbabwe arts scene. Born in 1980 he spent most of
his youth in Zimbabwe inspired by life and the struggle for justice. Cde
Fatso calls his poetry Toyi Toyi Poetry, urban street poetry that mixes
Shona with English, mbira with hip hop, poetry with the struggle to
survive. His poetry is the voices of the marginalized, the brutalized,
the street kid, the abused maid. His poetry is not the voice of the
voiceless. His poetry is insurrection.

A flexible performer Fatso performs his rhythmic poetry acapella,
accompanied by bass guitar or with his band, Chabvondoka. Chabvondoka's
sound effortlessly blends the sound of Chimurenga, Jazz, Afrobeat and
Hip Hop to create a sound that is at once revolutionary and immensely
danceable. Their performances have uplifted crowds from Harare to
Johannesburg, with their recent perfromance at the Harare Interational
Festival of the Arts 2007 labelled as "the best perfomance of the
festival" (Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa). Fatso has performed extensively,
having been invited to perform his rebel poetry at festivals in France,
the UK, Holland, Kenya, Botswana, Malawi and South Africa. He has shared the
stage with leading performers such as Pops Mohammed, Mzwakhe Mbuli, Zubz
and Metaphysics while also performing with artists such as Chiwoniso,
Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa, Kgafela oa Magogodi, Napo Masheane, Lebo
Mashile, Jitsvinger, Dizraeli and Adisa. Fatso's poetry has appeared on
BBC, CNN, SABC, Mnet, ZBC, KPFA FM (USA) and various international print
media. 2007 saw Fatso nominated for a Zimbawe Human Rights award in the
music category, alongside Zimbabwean icons Thomas Mapfumo and Leonard
Zhakata. 2008 has seen Comrade Fatso and Chabvondoka launch their much-acclaimed album, House of Hunger, labelled by Agence France Presse as "the most revolutionary album since Thomas Mapfumo's music in the 1970's."

Not one to be confined, Fatso is more than a mere poet. He has been
arrested in 5 African and European countries for his political beliefs
and activism. As a cultural activist he is one of the founders of the
House of Hunger Poetry Slam, Harare's hugely popular poetry slam where
the next generation of poets spit fire to appreciative crowds. At the
same time he is co-founder of the Uhuru Network, a radical grassroots
youth network that uses arts, media, permaculture and community action
in the struggle for social justice in Harare's ghettos. Fatso recently
founded MAGAMBA! a cultural activist network that uses arts and culture
in the struggle for justice in Zimbabwe organising resistance concerts
in Zimbabwe and the SADC region. Fatso has also been involved in
journalism for many years starting when he was 17 years old as a
columnist for the popular Horizon magazine and has subsequently had
articles on politics and culture appearing in publications such as The
Zimbabwean (UK), ZMag (USA), SchNEWS (UK) and Indymedia (USA). As a grassroots blogger Fatso's blogs during the recent General Elections in Zimbabwe have been warmly received by a global audience with his daily reports being used by CNN, BBC World Service and France 24.