The Sunday Mail
A MONTH in Zim dancehall is a long time so much can change within an unbelievably short period of time.
Picture this: on November 8 last year a 10 000-strong crowd endorsed Soul Jah Love as the king of the genre after a 15-minute lyrical contest with Mabhanditi boss, Seh Calaz aka Tawanda Mumanyi.
It looked as if Soul Jah Love, real name Soul Musaka, was on his way to ending the year on a high note especially after bagging some gongs at the Zimbabwe Music Awards.
But alas, the ghetto youths had other plans , he ended the year fighting boos as he was heckled and called names at most of his end of year shows.
At Godfatha Templeman’s birthday celebrations on December 26 at the Harare Show Grounds, Soul Jah Love was literally shown the middle finger by music fans.
And more recently, at another birthday bash at the home of dancehall, Club Superlabel , he could not even last the distance as fans demanded that “he take his boring act elsewhere”.
For an artiste who has been touted as the poster boy of Zim dancehall, his fall from grace is unbelievable.
Before Soul Jah Love, Kinnah and Seh Calaz hit the limelight in 2014, Killer T aka Chairman had long made noise and engraved his signature chant “popopopopo” on the Zimbabwean music industry.
He (Killer T) too suffered heavily in 2014 as he struggled to remain relevant in a genre that unleashes new talent almost every week.
The Big Man aka Winky D or to some the Ninja President, born Wallace Chirumiko, almost had a bad year. Despite having won four awards at the Zim dancehall awards held in early 2014, Winky D struggled to maintain his yesteryear form. He was saved by the Lion Lager Beer Festival held at the Glamis Arena where he did not do particularly well, but did enough not to attract missiles on stage. Good management of his brand and unmatched professionalism has also kept him in the game but only with the less ardent followers of the genre.
If there were people who did not know about Zim dancehall, then one 20-year-old singer by the name Obey Makamure popularly referred to as Tocky Vibes made them know.
He arrived on the scene with so much noise such that everything became centred on him. Be it on television, radio, newspapers, on posters and flyers – it was just Tocky! Tocky! Tocky!
But even for him, with his “sober lyrics” staying at the top proved too tough a task. As the year drew to an end, the amount of controversy, much to the detriment of his brand, had reached unacceptable levels. His biggest letdown was, of course, at the Harare International Conference Centre, where those who did not throw missiles on stage simply walked out on him after a forgettable performance.
Seh Calaz, who had been “disgraced” by Sting 2014, came back to life and is yet to disappoint. But at the same time, the likes of Terminator, Ras Caleb, Ninja Kabhidha, Princo Spice and Legend Elly, among many others, keep up the pressure at the summit.
Forgotten are such names as Guspy Warrior, Sniper Storm and even Mic Inity.
Freeman’s many lives keep him in the game, hardly, while Kinnah consistently mesmerises his fans but without ever breaching the top level.
Such is the competition in Zim dancehall it is a dog-eat-dog industry. Predictions are impossible to make and there is never a clear winner.
Which is why I feel pity for whoever is responsible for choosing the winners at the upcoming Zim dancehall awards to be held on March 6.
To be held at the Exhibition Park’s East End Hall – the awards could even turn riotous as happened last year, should a section of the fans feel that their favourite artiste has been disenfranchised.
Yes, the adjudication panel may be made up of veterans and gurus in the genre, but the 23 categories that make up this year’s awards will definitely cause them serious headaches.
The nominees are expected to be announced at least three weeks before the awards and these will come soon after the prestigious National Arts Merit Awards (Nama).
Phinias Mushai and his team of co-ordinators of the Zim dancehall Awards better be on top of their game come March 6.
