The Sunday Mail
He did not manage to play in Harare and was horribly late for Marondera.
APART from conscious reggae, both local and international, and a little bit of dancehall, dendera music is one genre I really enjoy listening to.
I believe I have listened to over 95 percent of all dendera music ever composed by all exponents of the genre.
When I see the train going off rails in dendera I always make it known privately or publicly to whichever of the Chimbetus I would have seen contributing negatively to the game.
Which brings me to my issue this week, an axe I want to grind with Suluman Chimbetu, better known as Sulu.
But let me digress a little — the reason why there are more than four outfits that play a genre of music that has come to be known as dendera in this country, is because of its appeal to hundreds of thousands if not millions of people.
The dendera brand, particularly Orchestra Dendera Kings — the outfit Sulu inherited after his father’s death in 2005, is immensely powerful.
Here is a brand which has remained alive and well over a decade after its charismatic founder, Simon Chimbetu, ceased to breathe.
Forget the farm(s), house(s), cars and all other items of value that Simon left his vast family. It is the music, the dendera brand that he created and popularised with his brothers Briam, Allan and Naison that has seen Chimbetu children going through school.
Most of the children, especially boys, in the family if not all survive through music. If they are not singers themselves they still work for the different dendera bands in various capacities.
Allan, the surviving patriarch of the Chimbetu family, is struggling to make ends meet through music, his son Douglas is trying but he is finding the going tough. Another Chimbetu, Tryson, who is Naison’s son, is hardly visible even though he releases albums consistently and stages live shows almost every weekend in different parts of the country.
This is not to say these guys are not talented. They have irrefutable talent and music puts food on their tables.
Sulu has been the torch-bearer in this musically gifted family. He has released hit songs, managed his brand well and is nearly as charismatic as his father was.
He is loved.
Even when he is not doing very well, be it attracting healthy crowds to his shows or releasing good material, his fans are patient with him, they know he is a hard-working fella who did not get what he has on a silver platter.
He had to fight with his uncle Allan before finally breaking free. His band, which is made up of veterans that bullied him, gave him a tough time until he took full control. He went through the phase of scandals that plague celebrities.
Right now he is dealing with very difficult competition in the form of Jah Prayzah, Zimdancehall, his cousin brother Tryson, a revived Alick Macheso and even Peter Moyo.
Yes, Peter believes himself to be way better than Sulu now. He believes he has a spot in the Big Five, the unofficial list of Zimbabwe’s music superstars, which currently features Oliver Mtukudzi, Alick Macheso, Jah Prayzah, Winky D and Sulu.
Peter believes Sulu does not deserve his spot there. This is not hearsay. Peter has said this to me.
And indeed Sulu has been slacking of late. Take for instance, what happened last Saturday in Marondera where Sulu and Peter were sharing the stage.
It was Sulu’s PA System that was being used.
The equipment only arrived at the venue at 920pm for a show that was slated for 7pm.
This was not the first time that Sulu had short-changed the Marondera folk.
The last time he went there he only arrived for the gig after 1am. He had three shows booked that night. He had to play at the Tuku @40 gig in Norton, the Star FM People’s Choice Awards in Harare, and then the Marondera gig.
He did not manage to play in Harare and was horribly late for Marondera.
A few weeks back he pitched up very late again for a gig in Kwekwe. I do not know whether it is this double booking disease or just lack of good organisation.
I remember one Friday at Inner Café where again he took to the stage way after midnight. Apparently he was coming from another gig. The bad thing is none of this is communicated to the fans who have to wait after paying.
The incidents are too many to mention. The other thing is about standards.
Take for instance his debut show at Dam View in Chitungwiza early this year. The place was still under construction. There was no stage, no lighting, no power points. Nothing, nothing, nothing!
The result was that sound went on and off the whole night, and the lack of light on a makeshift stage killed the whole “live show” experience.
Not one fan blamed the venue owner, everyone just said “but Sulu vakomana . . .”
He has a knack for doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Who can forget when his counterparts were launching albums at glitzy ceremonies, Sulu launched his while playing music from a cell phone?
It is sad. People love Sulu. People know what he is capable of. So why are we getting this from him? The patience is wearing thin.
Sulu’s management of Ally and Solo Chimbetu is out of its depth. They are too raw, too inexperienced to handle the brand.
I get it. It reduces costs for Sulu while keeping things in the family. But standards must be maintained and then improved; not systematically whittled into nothingness.
Right now Sulu is in the studio.
He is creating new stuff, some songs he is even playing at live shows. The album is expected in August, the same time that Jah Prayzah will be unleashing his project.
If Sulu does not manage his management circus now, it does not really matter what he releases: Jah Prayzah’s PR machine will overshadow him.
I love dendera music. Allan, Douglas, Tryson and Sulu’s music I listen to. All of it.
I follow, especially Sulu, even when he is out of town. Yes, things are hard, with a band made up of over 20 people, an extended family to look after, cars to maintain, new ones to buy.
But if he does not make the call now, and shake up his management team — well, he will soon be regarded as a has-been, ‘Dzakamboita mukurumbira’.
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