The Sunday Mail
AFTER a false start that saw a fake nominees list being circulated, organisers of the Zim Dancehall Awards say they have put in place measures to eliminate such controversies ahead of the March 6 event in Harare.
Concerns have been raised over the criterion to be used to select nominees and, eventually, winners in the different categories. It is an open secret that Zim dancehall artistes are rarely in top form for extended periods, with careers often taking the trajectory of shooting stars: blazing for a while and then disappearing into the darkness.
In short, there is a rapid turnover of stars and that creates a crisis for adjudicators.
But awards founder Phinias Mushayi last week said they had come up with an “all-inclusive nominee selection system” to help eliminate or at least minimise controversy.
Mushayi indicated that stakeholders were going to be involved at all stages of the awards process.
“It is always difficult to have a controversy-free awards ceremony, but we are trying our best to guarantee one. We are working in close consultation with relevant stakeholders like the media, producers and promoters to come up with a credible event,” he said.
Though helpful, ghetto youths’ views have over the years proved to be a tricky yardstick for selecting award winners considering that they tend to vote or support an artiste from their own neighbourhood.
Awards organisers last week distributed nomination forms to stakeholders to capture their input. After the nominee selection process, actual winners will be selected.
“Stakeholders will again meet on February 4 (this week) to report on progress. During the meeting we are going to make sure that we address concerns that might have arisen and/or threatening the selection/adjudication processes,” said Mushayi.
But critics argue it will still be difficult for a select few to come up with a genuine representation of people’s choice, particularly in categories like Best Male/Female and Best Stage Performer.
Last year’s event was marred by violence as fans protested against Wallace “Winky D” Chirumiko getting accolades they felt he little deserved.
Winky D walked away with the Male Artiste, Social Message, Live Performer, and Video awards, while his handler, Jonathan Banda, was adjudged Best Manager.
Rioting fans felt, for instance, that the best male artiste of 2013 was either Soul Jah Love or Killer T.
“We are trying to do things differently from last year as well as other awards ceremonies. This is the reason why we have made sure that the adjudication panel is known by everyone. Though social media is not that reliable we are also going to use it to get ideas on what the public wants and what our nominee selection teams will have come up with,” said Mushayi.
The nominees will be announced three weeks before the awards ceremony and Zim dancehall fans are already tipping Seh Calaz, Soul Jah Love and Tocky Vibes to dominate.
There are 23 categories this time around, up from 18 last year.
Some of the categories include Best Artiste 2014 (male), Best Artiste 2014 (female), Best Collaboration Song, Best Vocalist, Song of the Year, Best Social Message, Best Stage Performer, Best Zim dancehall Youngster, Most Promising Artiste, Best Video 2014, Best Medley Video 2014, Best Album and Best-dressed Artiste.
Mushayi said corporate support was good though more sponsorship was needed.
“Each and every winner is going to walk away with a cash prize. We have companies that are coming in to sponsor different categories and that should be lauded for it adds value to our event. I still believe that the corporate world can still do more to support our arts industry.”
