Zimbabwe Legit, the duo of MCs Akim Ndlovu, simply known as Akim, and Dumisani Ndlovu, who performs as Dumi Right, became the first African act to lay down hip-hop tracks on American soil. After inking a deal with Hollywood BASIC, the pair issued their 1992 debut single “Doin’ Damage in My Native Language,” helmed by Black Sheep’s Mista Lawnge. The label folded before a full-length could be finished, yet that solitary 12-inch turned into a prized collectible, often commanding hundreds of dollars on the strength of a remix from an up-and-coming DJ Shadow—one of his earliest credited appearances—which later surfaced on the 1996 Mo’ Wax anthology Headz II. In 2005 the Glow in the Dark imprint released Brothers from the Mother, a collection that gathered leftover material from the abandoned project alongside assorted other cuts. Two years afterward the pair regrouped for the fresh House of Stone on Redline, which included guest spots from Mike Gee of the Jungle Brothers, YZ, and Vast Aire. Dumi subsequently joined forces with Cadence under the name Alternate Reality, issuing a self-titled album in 2011, and he also delivered his own solo effort, Connect the Dots, the following year.
