The Sunday Mail
Dennis Chimanzi
THE beef between talented Zim hip-hop artistes Holy Ten and Ti Gonzi seems to be worsening with each passing day.
Last week, Holy Ten — real name Mukudzei Chitsama — fired a salvo at his rival, describing him as “a cry baby”.
The rising and gifted rapper said Ti Gonzi was only good at crying foul and could not compose compelling music.
“Top prizes and awards are for the genius, not for the lazy guys. Ti Gonzi must not be a cry baby but should simply work hard if he wants to reclaim his former status,” said Holy Ten.
Ti Gonzi, born Tinashe Gonzara, is still bitter after failing to make it to the Zim hip-hop nominees list last year.
He went on to criticise the quality of artistes that won and even labelled the Adrian “Beefy” Harrison-organised awards a “sham”.
“He is always crying foul instead of doing a self-check to see where he is getting it all wrong. He needs to do more if wants to be included on the music genius list,” added Holy Ten.
But Ti Gonzi is unfazed.
He still argues he had genuine concerns over the criteria used for selecting nominees and eventual winners.
The talented rapper said he will bounce back from the minor setback.
“Everyone knows I am the Zim hip-hop king. This year is my year to prove that I am better than these amateur rappers that are boastful for nothing,” he fired back.
“This year, I will reclaim my title as the best Zim hip-hop male artiste. It is unfortunate last year’s awards were manipulated in favour of the newbie. I was robbed, but I have magnificent work this time around that will make it difficult for them to ignore me.”
Ti Gonzi believes a clash with Holy Ten on stage will help prove who is the better rapper.
“I am yearning for a joint live show with him. I will humble and place him in his rightful place,” he said with a chuckle.
He added that his two new singles – “Ndimutsei” and “Photo Album” – currently dominating music charts were enough to prove his mettle.
However, Ti Gonzi has an upcoming album, “Hipu Hopu Yeku Ghetto 2”, which is due for release this month.
It gets interesting.
Holy Ten is also set to drop his forthcoming album titled “Energy”.
Some of the songs on the 14-track album include “Nhai Mwari”, “Ndiri Ndega” and “Bhachi re Dior”.
Commenting on the forthcoming album, Holy Ten said: “I have no plans to relinquish my title to anyone. I plan to dominate Zim hip-hop, again, this year, winning more awards. Our upcoming album has world-class standards and cannot be matched with any other local production.
“I have spent a lot of time working on the project and it will not disappoint. We defend our awards through producing good music.”
Meanwhile, Harrison, who is the Zim hip-hop awards founder and organiser, had a word or two for the rappers.
“Awards are given after votes and fans are the ones who decide the winner. The two rappers should focus on producing quality work. Dissing each other does not win one awards,” said Harrison.
There is massive competition in Zim hip-hop at the moment, he added, with many young artistes like Voltz JT and Luminous proving to be forces to reckon with.
“We have many young artists who are capable of wresting the prestigious award from the two giants (Holy Ten and Ti Gonzi).”
The annual Zim hip-hop awards are often held end of year.
