Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
RAPPER Asaph’s recent nomination at the MTV Africa Music Awards (Mamas) in the Listeners Choice category has a huge impact on the development of Zimbabwe’s music industry.
It is no mean feat for someone like Asaph to have won the public vote to represent the country in one of Africa’s biggest music award ceremonies.
The Mambo hit-maker was up against heavy hitters such as Winky D, Jah Prayzah, Gemma Griffiths and Shasha who last year won a BET Award and not many thought that he would represent Zimbabwe at the prestigious Mamas.
After being nominated, there were some quarters that were puzzled as they did not know who Asaph was and how he managed to pip the “big names” such as Winky D and Jah Prayzah from Zimbabwe and internationally acclaimed Shasha.
Cries of rigging flew around on social media, which is normal when the so-called favourites fail to make it.
What is however, a fact is that it is Asaph representing Zimbabwe Mamas against other nations.
The Bulawayo-based rapper will be vying for the gong with 19 other artistes from across the continent including Nigeria’s Tiwa Savage, Ghana’s Sarkodie and Focalistic, DJ Dinho and DBN Gogo from South Africa. Other nominees are Anna Joyce (Angola); Dagi D (Ethiopia), Didi B (Cote D’Ivoire); Drizilik (Sierra Leone); Khaligraph Jones (Kenya); Locko (Cameroon); Malome Vector (Lesotho); Meddy (Rwanda); Mohamed Ramadan (Egypt); Ngaaka Blindé (Senegal); Pallaso (Uganda); Rayvanny (Tanzania); Shirazee (Benin); Slick Stuart & DJ Roja (Uganda) and Souhila Ben Lachhab (Algeria).
This is definitely an opportunity for yet another Zimbabwean to win the award as was the case five years ago when Jah Prayzah won the Listener’s Choice Award at an awards ceremony that took place at the Ticket Pro Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa.
These awards cannot and should not just be a two-horse race, year in and year out, where only Jah Prayzah and Winky D are the preferred candidates that can represent Zimbabwe.
The country has diverse talent and as such different musicians should take turns to be our cultural ambassadors.
The nomination of Asaph, a hip-hop artiste, should inspire other artistes to represent Zimbabwe in future.
What the nomination of Asaph has confirmed is that these international awards are not just for artistes from the capital but for all Zimbabweans who have the talent to represent the country.
Every artiste worth his or her salt deserves recognition in Africa and it is time for the leaders of the new school music to take over. The more we have, the better.
Perhaps as a nation, we are pushing and propping up people whose music (Zimdancehall) has no appeal to the powers -that-be at MTV for their African audience. A look at the music video genres that are given rotation on MTV base shows that it is mostly hip-hop, R&B, Afro pop and dance music that is played.
The nation should not only be known for having the late Dr Oliver Mtukudzi because the talent is abundant. It is high time more and more music from the country starts making headway into Africa through such channels as MTV.
We should avoid a situation like last year when the Africa Day Virtual concert hosted by MTV base did not have a single Zimbabwean artiste on the line up yet there were 100 artistes from different countries.
For the sake of pride and progress, Zimbabweans should rally around Asaph and vote for him as the other nations will vote for their own.
To vote for Asaph one has to log onto to the Mama website. – @bonganinkunzi
Online Reporter