The Sunday Mail
FIERCE, ruthless competition is expected this Saturday at the Glamis Arena when five top Zim dancehall artistes take to the stage at the Carnival After Party gig, which is being headlined by Busy Signal.
Winky D, Dadza D, Killer T, Seh Calaz and Soul Jah Love – the big five of Zim dancehall, will be out to win hearts and prove that they are the genre’s finest. Besides trying to outdo each other, the artistes will be out to outshine the visitor, Busy Signal, something that has befell his fellow countrymen in the past.
There is a stranger in the house, Jah Prayzah, the most sought-after entertainer in the country at the moment. His recent album, Jerusarema, has stolen the hearts of many music lovers across the generational divide, which makes him fit to perform for any given audience. It is unlikely that there will be any competing shows on the day, with most artistes scurrying for cover out of town.
FIERCE BATTLE
As if to put pressure on the visitor and make the show one of the biggest this year, the promoters have roped in two of the biggest sound houses in the country, Judgement Yard and the duo of Gary B and Templeman.
The two sound houses have massive following in the clubs that they play and on the two biggest commercial radio stations, ZiFM Stereo and Star FM. Gary B and Templeman do business for the Zimpapers-owned Star FM while Judgement Yard is a ZiFM asset.
Everyone on the bill at the Glamis Arena this Saturday has promised fireworks at the event where actual fireworks are expected to signal the official shutdown of this year’s largely successful carnival event.
All the artistes on the line-up are not new to sharing the stage with such big names and some of them have become notorious for even stealing the limelight from visiting acts.
With Signal’s credentials however, the local contingent will need to bring all their firepower if they are to put up a reasonable challenge to the “Come Over” singer.
Winky D, the man credited for taking Zim dancehall to the people, has promised to drop new songs off his forthcoming singles collection, which he is working on with on demand producer Oskid.
Said Jonathan Banda, Winky D’s manager: “We always make sure that we put up the best performance for our fans and this show will be no different. Winky has been working with Oskid on a singles compilation and what I can tell you is that this project is hot and fans will get to hear some of the songs at the show.”
Through his manager DJ Bima, Killer T last week assured his fans that he is available for the Busy Signal gig and is going to prove critics wrong.
DJ Bima said: “As usual, the Chairman is always at his best and fans should not expect anything less than an exhilarating performance. Some people have been saying that Killer T is not that good on stage but that is not the case. Those are rather statements by a few individuals who are not even our fans and are bent on pulling us down. On the issue of double booking, we are guaranteeing our fans that we will be there because on that day we have no other bookings.”
Keen Mushapaidze, Jah Prayzah’s manager said his camp cannot wait for the gig as they have something special for their fans.
“We have many collaborations with Zim dancehall artistes and across all other genres. It is a big night for us and our fans and we want people to come and witness the Third Generation in action, demystifying the issue of classifying music according to genres,” said Mushapaidze.
Godfrey “Vokal” Bakasa, who manages Seh Calaz said his team was bringing a totally different set for this particular gig.
“We are promising fireworks because we have a totally different act with a changed playlist and fans will have to come if they want to see what we have in store them,” said Vokal.
Adding: “When we perform with these Jamaican stars, we should avoid turning it into a competition but should rather try to learn a thing or two since we adopted their genre and they will also pick up something from our music.”
