SOUTH AFRICA-based rapper Mlue Jay said many youths in Zimbabwe have lost hope for the system to change for the better.
Mlue Jay made the remarks in his latest single dubbed Lost Hope, which was released prior to the last general elections.
Lost hope was released following his second album "Less talk, more action".
Mjue Jay speaks of how people's hopes have been shuttered for decades and crushed with the 2017 military coup that ousted the late former president Robert Mugabe.
"They preach register to vote, since I have been a kid it's been a song, everybody knows that it won't change, everybody knows we took an L (lose) sathaba (celebrated) early," chants Mlue Jay in his chorus.
The chorus speaks of how elections have not changed the status quo and how the hope of a new Zimbabwe was shattered after the coup.
Mlue Jay further claims that Zimbabweans who are in the diaspora had hopes of returning home after the coup, thinking things would change for the better, but alas, nothing changed, as more Zimbabweans are still leaving the country of their birthright, legally and illegally in search of greener pastures.
“It was during the election campaign, everyone had hope for new Zimbabwe and I didn't,” he said.
“I saw a lot of people posting on social media that Zimbabwe will be free soon and after the elections, but I was scared to post my thoughts on that and rather aired my views through a song.”
The rapper said a failed economy and high rate of unemployment has led to brain drain.
“Seeing people believe that there can be a new Zimbabwe was crazy for me because since I was a kid, it's been always the same. Nothing has changed and nothing will change anytime soon. That is why we as the youth try by all means to get out of the country and go look for a better life. It’s because most of us have Lost Hope," said Mlue Jay.
"Life in Mzansi is just like Zimbabwe. It's not easy and my stay here has made me understand our brothers who lived here over 15 years without visiting home. It’s because life is hard and to get a job is a hustle especially if you are a Zimbabwean. I sometimes wish I was home and I had a stable job to support my family and also my music career, but that’s not the case back home.”
The rapper was recently nominated for best diaspora artist at the Zima awards.