I WAS not present when Suluman Chimbetu launched his "Syllabus" album in November 2012, but I have heard so much noise being made about it since then. This is what has prompted me to listen to

the album and give an opinion, especially on the controversial track, "Sean Timba". I spent quite a bit of time listening to this well-polished album. I even spent more time listening to the lyrics of the track "Sean Timba" word for word. It went something like this:

"Kana munhu anetsa varume batai munhu. Mubate nepapa, mumurove ndari, kuponda musoro, musote munhu" which is loosely translated as: "If someone has become a problem people should grab him and savagely hit his head in order to sort him out." Then there is a bit where Chimbetu sings about the rationalism behind someone who accompanies others to make money but suddenly changes his mind when a hat goes missing.

Chimbetu defends his lyrics by arguing that they are aimed at music pirates and if someone steals his music, he should be savagely beaten. In his own words, Suluman says: "This is my own work and sweat. If someone just comes from nowhere and pirates my music, getting millions from it, I think I will be justified to take the law into my own hands."

Many people I have talked to on the street think that the hit song explicitly promotes violence and revenge as a way of solving conflicts and should be banned from airplay. The rumour mill already says that ZBC has banned it.

Since Chimbetu appeals to youths, the question to ask is whether it is good advice to sing about violence in Zimbabwe, a country dominated by young people?

When asked about this hit song, this is what one political commentator had to say: "Sean Timba is a deceptively catchy song with a toxic and dangerous message celebrating and promoting the use of violence to settle differences.

"Suluman is an upcoming musician with a large following of young people.

"He must take responsibility not to mislead them with the stupid messages of violence, especially as the nation prepares for elections in 2013," he went on to say.

It has also made me wonder whether the Zimbabwe Censorship Board should be involved when artistes release new albums. The Censorship and Entertainment Control Act allows for freedom of expression but also determines what is indecent or obscene or harmful to public morals.