Heavy Metals Music

Zamrock emerged from the optimism of postindependence Zambia, fusing psychedelic rock with nationalist ambition. Its rise and fall mirror the promise — and the exhaustion — of a country built on copper.

In the early 1970s, Zambia was a country built on copper and belief. Less than a decade after independence from Britain, its newly nationalized mines were generating enormous revenues. Under President Kenneth Kaunda’s doctrine of Zambian humanism, the state promised to convert mineral wealth into schools, clinics, and a unified national culture. At its peak, […]

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