Competition hots up in Zim-dancehall

28 Sep, 2014 - 06:09 0 Views
Competition hots up in Zim-dancehall TERMINATOR

The Sunday Mail

2509-1-1-TOCKY VIBES

TOCKY VIBES

Zim-dancehall continues to redefine the music landscape, blowing the norms to smithereens.

The genre is following typical Jamaican trends – an artiste is kept at the apex of the game, not by past but by current splendour.

While artistes like Alick Macheso have indisputably led the sungura genre for the past 15 years, that kind of reign is non-existent in local dancehall.

So stiff is the competition in the genre that artistes are not judged and respected according to their repertoire but by very current productions.

And new artistes are birthed almost on a daily basis.

TERMINATOR

TERMINATOR

While some are stillbirths, some leave the womb sprinting and grab the crown before they have crawled.

Tocky Vibes is a typical example of an artiste who literally came from nowhere to rule the roost.

Once great names like Sniper Storm, Ricky Fire, Dadza D and Winky D have been eclipsed by names such as Killer T, Shinsoman, Seh Calaz, Guspy Warrior, Soul Jah Love, Freeman and Kinnah.

But still debate rages on as to who is the king among them.

For long, Winky D has been regarded as the leading light of the Zim-dancehall genre but his throne has justifiably been under threat over the years.

Pulsating new entrants have created all sorts of problems for the Ninja President such that he rarely wants to rub shoulders with them on stage.

A month or so ago, two dancehall cup clashes were held by different promoters on the same day at different venues in the capital (City Sports Centre and Guard Alert Training ground now renamed Sunset Arena).

Winky D went on to retain his title while on the other side, Kinnah won the contest and was also duly crowned King of Zim-dancehall (meaning there are two “legit” kings within Zim-dancehall).

However, pundits argue that had Tocky Vibes (who is currently the crowd favourite) played at any of the two events; he would have walked away with the title with ease.

Tocky Vibes was denied entry into one of the venues by security details despite spirited calls by fans for him to go on stage.

The move was viewed as premeditated sabotage.

The focus of this article, however, is not on who was supposed to have won or not on the day in question.

It is on the rapid turnover of “stars” within the genre.

Not so long ago, Killer T’s “Po po po po”, Soul Jah Love’s “Hauite-hauite” and Seh Calaz’s “Check-check” trademarks were threatening to take over the music industry. Unfortunately that is no longer the case.

It seems the music jams are fast fading.

The once crowned kings seem to have reached their zenith.

It appears they no longer have anything new to offer.

Failure by upcoming dancehall artiste to be creative (particularly on stage) and to have longevity has somewhat created a perfect platform for the so-called “godfathers” who posses both creativity and ingenuity, to cling on to their titles.

Most of these upcoming artistes release new material on a weekly basis, a phenomenon that music critics argue dents their creativity.

Particularly, music fans argue that Soul Jah Love has exhausted himself and will not release anything close to “Gum Kum” in this lifetime.

Interestingly, this has not doused the fire of the in-form genre. Instead, it has made the “game” intriguing for the followers.

They are finding the good and poor productions fascinating.

With the launch of “Mad Level Riddim”, talented but unheralded artistes Alban Nyatsambo, whose stage name is “Terminator”, has hit a green patch.

Will he grab the crown to become the new “king”?

At the launch of the riddim, Terminator literally brought the house down.

He presented his case and got the nod from the fans.

The old guard in the mould of Killer T struggled and had to abandon stage before his time was up.

Freeman chickened out. It was only Sniper who managed to prove his mettle with a super polished act.

“This is the trend world over. Artistes are not guaranteed of a crown unless they are at the top of their game. One does not maintain the title of king because of old hits.

New hits are created on a daily basis,” notes Judgment Yard’s Tendai Tembo aka DJ Flevah.

As it stands, it appears Tocky Vibes, Terminator, Ras Caleb and new kid on the block Killer Mann have taken charge.

Kinnah will smuggle himself into this new group due to his huge following.

Share This:

Survey


We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds