The Sunday Mail
Zim dancehall artistes have embarked on a charm offensive that is directed towards corporate institutions, though industry and commerce remain sceptical in dealing with a sizeable chunk of the musicians.
With piracy’s stranglehold on the music industry not loosening, endorsement and sponsorship deals supported with live shows have become the way to go for local artistes. Corporate approval guarantees better returns.
Endorsement deals usually involve artistes featuring on billboards, in print media advertisements and radio and television jingles.
While corporate institutions have endorsed a number of local artistes, players in the Zim dancehall genre are still to benefit from the trend besides being the genius of the moment.
Sungura king Alick Macheso has a number of endorsement deals under his belt. He is the face of Nash Paints, Baker’s Inn and is also the Red Cross ambassador.
The Charambas (Charles and Olivia) are Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe ambassadors while Dendera crooner Suluman Chimbetu was recently appointed brand ambassador of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services and is also the face of Zinara, among other deals.
Only a few selected dancehall artistes namely Wallace “Winky D” Chirumiko, Kelvin Kusikwenyu aka Killer T and Soul Musaka better known as Soul Jah Love have managed to win meaningful corporate endorsements.
The hallmark of dancehall is arguably centred on dirty lyrics, sexually seductive dances, drug abuse and violence that the corporate world does not in any way want to be associated with.
While dancehall artistes have come up with radio (clean) and club (dirty) versions for their music, the corporate world appears not comfortable supporting the youthful group.
Soul Jah Love’s endorsement came from a company that deals with goods and products that are directly targeted at youths that support the genre.
Conversely, Winky D’s potential as a brand ambassador began to be recognised when the seasoned artiste consciously decided to transform his image to match his now mature state.
The ninja president’s project, Ghetto Defender, arguably became his turning point and transformed him in the face of the corporate world.
The song Mafirakureva, which condemns the abuse of drugs by ghetto youths, sparked controversy among the youths yet it was the one that won him numerous endorsements from companies like G Tel, Delta and Population Services International.
Previously he had songs like Godo and Mzii that somewhat condoned the use of drugs by youths.
Nash Paints director Tinashe Mutarisi acknowledged that dancehall artistes had potential to help companies boost business due to their pull factor.
He, however, said the bad boy/girl images portrayed by some of the artistes made it difficult in most instances for the corporate sector to support the group.
“These young guys are fast becoming popular with each passing day and they have the power to influence the consumer in ways that can help improve any brand.
The likes of Soul Jah Love and Tocky Vibes have a huge fan base and must continue singing inspirational songs like Ndini Uya Uya and should shy away from celebrating violence and drug abuse,” he said
Another company spokesperson who spoke anonymously did not mince his words: “The dancehall artistes are, indeed, popular, but as a company we are not ready to support them.
Imagine an artiste singing obscenities donning your company logo, or youths fighting at a venue where your banners are displayed all over, it destroys the company’s image,” said the spokesperson.
The ghetto youths that support the dancehall movement think otherwise.
They do not want their stars’ compositions compromised for financial gains.
“The moment you remove drugs and violence, the whole affair becomes a ‘salads’ issue and no longer a part of us,” argues the ghetto youths interviewed.
Authorities in Jamaica, in a bid to bring morality into society, have taken steps to stop dancehall artistes from using dirty lyrics in their music though the move is facing stern resistance from both artistes and fans.
