The Sunday Mail
Zion Divaris
AFTER almost two years without setting foot in the gold-rich town of Kadoma, sensational reggae-dancehall performer, Winky D, is set to make his long-awaited return to Odyssey Hotel on Saturday November 9.
With him will be Enzo Ishall, who is set to have his first bite of the cherry since hitting the big time. It is Enzo Ishall, who should do his homework and go to Kadoma prepared. His short sets that are often interrupted by his hype man might not cut it with the Kadoma crowd- they will want him to sing and he will have to be on stage for a long time.
Enzo Ishall
One thing going for him though, is the fact that this is a family show. Enzo Ishall is a hit with the kids and thus they are expected to come out in their thousands. These will be his saviours as Winky D will take over towards day end.
Tich Mharadze of 2 Kings Entertainment, the proprietor of Odyssey Hotel, said the event, a Braai Festival, was a family show meant to bring all of Zimbabwe to the mining town.
“This is an annual event that we conceptualised with Kadoma families in mind. These are people starved of entertainment.
They never get to watch some of these superstars. However, it has evolved into a national event, but still catering for families,” said Mharadze.
Mharadze said the hard-core party crowd, which always shows up later, would be dealt with by the evergreen duo of Gary B and Templeman – “the team that never fails to deliver”.
Kadoma’s Odyssey Hotel has created a reputation for delivering, to its community, top-notch events.
The place has hosted numerous local and international stars including South Africa’s Mafikizolo.
Recently, one of the fastest rising reggae-dancehall artistes to come out of Chillspot Records, Bazooka, proved that he is no pushover when he serenaded a difficult crowd at the same venue. Just as he had done earlier at Shoko Festival in Chitungwiza -the youngster put his grit on display mixing with the music-mad Kadoma horde in a showstopper that saw him being applauded by the hard-to-please crowd.
Bazooka was accompanying a more seasoned performer, who knows all about tough crowds, Seh Calaz. Together they set the place ablaze, leaving the thousands that thronged the venue quite satisfied.
This time around – it will be Winky D and Enzo Ishall’s turn to go into the lion’s den and soothe the party animals in Kadoma with their respective string of hits. Not that Winky D has to prove anything anymore to any Zimbabwean audience -but the Kadoma crowd has been patiently awaiting his return to the City of Gold for a long time.
