The Sunday Mail
Dennis Chimanzi
ZIMDANCEHALL artiste Silent Killer — born Jimmy Mudereri — is unhappy with some producers whom he said are benefiting financially from his music without his consent.
The Mbare-born singer said he was surprised to discover that his music is readily available on online music platforms such as YouTube, iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.
He said he never gave any producer the permission to upload his music on any music platform.
“Some of the producers are uploading my music and getting money out of my sweat. These producers are taking advantage of the fact that I am not active on social media,” he said.
Lovemore Muopwa, one of Silent Killer’s closest friends, however, blames the singer for the predicament that he is currently in.
“Silent Killer is not serious about his life and career. Honestly, how can he operate without social media accounts? He does not even have a smartphone. He is to blame for this mess,” said Muopwa, who is commonly known as Dr Love in Mbare.
Silent Killer’s former manager Elder Shambare, born Paul Shambare, also laid the blame on the chanter.
“I used to manage his social media accounts. This guy is not serious. He can stay for three months without a phone,” Elder Shambare said.
He said Silent Killer is now “beyond redemption.”
“Last year, we toured the United Kingdom and when we got back from the tour, Silent Killer had a lot of money. I used part of the money to buy him a phone but after three days, he had lost it.”
“I then decided to dump him since he was not serious with life,” Elder Shambare said.
Silent Killer, however, shot down Elder Shambare’s claims and insisted the people surrounding him are only after his money.
“The problem with Elder Shambare is that he wants to control me. Last time I bought a car after a United Kingdom tour and he was not amused. He had other plans with my money,” he said.
Music producer Clive Mono Mukundu urged local musicians to fully utilise the social media.
“Some of these guys still believe their breakthrough will come through radios or television. This is a wrong assumption. They should learn about iTunes, YouTube and Spotify, among other online platforms,” Mukundu said.
