Side Effects 🇿🇼

© JP Asher 2026 _____________ I spent part of my adolescence in Zimbabwe. It is a beautiful country that I remember with great fondness, but not so beautiful is its LGBTQIA+ rights record - according to the 2021 Global Acceptance Index, one of the five least accepting on Earth. Same-sex relationships are criminalised and many LGBTQIA+ Zimbabweans remain closeted or leave the country in search of safety and acceptance. This stands in stark contrast to neighbouring South Africa, the only country in Africa that provides full equal rights. Despite these challenges, organisations such as GALZ continue to advocate for LGBTQIA+ Zimbabweans with remarkable courage and resilience. This song is a reflection on that contrast - the affection I will always retain for Zimbabwe and its people, juxtaposed with the reality faced there by many people like me. Today I am far away in the UK, but Zimbabwe will always be a part of me and of who I am. I hope that one day it will offer every one of its people the dignity, protection and equal rights they deserve. ✨ JP 🇿🇼🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ _____________ Side effects... Head on the deck Tread on my neck Weather so wet... Side effects Hex in the sex Flexin' the text I'm such a wreck... Side effects Let it drop... Side effects Side effects Side effects Side effects... Eyes in the sky Flyin' so high Grind on my mind... Side effects Drop again... Side effects Side effects Side effects... Head in my hands This was not in the plan...! One more time...! Side effects Side effects Side effects Side effects...