The Sunday Mail
Without doubt, Tocky Vibes is a powerful engine with impressive raves and has just begun to run though he is yet to cover the miles required to be certified the best on the Zim-dancehall road.
And he is in danger of veering off the road if he persists with his current ‘wayward’ behaviour, with regards to the basic etiquette within the music industry.
Maybe his management is to blame.
The young man is increasingly becoming a nightmare to both the media and promoters.
Failing to turn up for interview appointments, reneging and renegotiating deals whose ink would have long dried up are fast becoming his habits.
And those dealing with the talented chanter are understandably becoming annoyed.
While Tocky tries to portray a humble personality to the public, his actions behind the scenes are fast proving otherwise. Tocky Vibes and his management are losing the plot by overrating their brand.
Self-praise lyrics like: “MuRugare, ndodiwa zvakapfurikidza, Kuwadzana, vanondida zvisigaite, vakandishaya vanochema sepafa hero,” aptly describe the chanters’ thoughts and attitude.
Last week, the artist cancelled a scheduled interview with ZiFM Stereo only 18 minutes before the scheduled time to go on air. His manager, Elvis Bokosha, sent an apology to the presenter for the cancelation through a WhatsApp message.
A chat revealing the conversation between Tocky’s manager and the ZiFM presenter was posted on the radio station’s Facebook page which, however, was unprofessional on the part of the radio station.
Tocky Vibes responded on the same post saying, “It’s true I’m not feeling well since yesterday evening.”
Before this, the chanter had ZBC producers biting the dust when he also failed to show up for a scheduled interview.
A couple of weeks back, this publication also had similar challenges with the young lad. He postponed set interviews for more than three times within 48 hours.
His current form that has bestowed him “fame” is indeed, getting the better of him. But the 20-year-old artist needs to be reminded that he still has a long way to go in the industry.
The route that he is taking is not new.
Not so long ago, the likes of Killer T, Kinna, Freeman, Sniper and award-winning Soul Jah Love enjoyed similar status. Though the artists still have support today, they are no longer as red-hot as they used to be.
And Tocky Vibes should draw lessons particularly from the award-winning Soul Jah Love.
His behaviour and that of the later are more or less the same with regards to their business approach. Soul Jah Love lost promoters’ faith due to his double booking habits.
Soul Jah Love also had a tendency of not pitching up for scheduled interviews and gigs but he has since made an effort to address the anomaly after noticing a sharp decline in business.
Tocky Vibes was supposed to have scooped some award(s) at the recently-held Zima awards but he missed out on the awards despite being the crowd’s favourite and best candidate for the Zim-dancehall award. Why? Because he simply did not enter the awards as required on the assumption that organisers were just going to shortlist him because of his popularity.
Arguably Tocky Vibes was also supposed to have been crowned king of Zim-dancehall at either one of the cup clashes held in the capital sometime in August. However, he again missed both shows that were held on the same day and ended up crying foul.
While it might be easy to pin blame on the artist, it is also clear that his management team set-up is causing him problems. He has two managers that seem to confuse each other in their day-to-day operations.
“Yes, there are two of us in the management team but I don’t think that is a problem. Bokosha is responsible for portfolios to do with PR, band management, show and interview bookings while I’m more like a general manager,” argued Peter ‘Pound’ Kapondo, one of the managers.
“We are in the process of engaging ZiFM officials over a problem that arose on Tuesday (last week). It was a situation beyond our control and should not be used as an overall blanket to judge us,” he added.
With Tocky’s graph growing, it would be prudent that he enlists the services of qualified management or at least recommend that his current administration undergo executive training courses because clueless managers will not help push his brand.
