adminyou’ve realised virtually all of your musical goals and become used to fame and adulation, summoning the will to earn it all again is something that few are willing or able to do.
However, there is one superstar who has defied all the odds by working even harder to up his act in order to reach dizzy heights.
The glorious rise and rise of Wallace Chirumiko, Winky D. a.k.a. Big Man, or the Ninja President, has been such a heartening climb that only the meanest of dancehall fans could take umbrage against the good man and his superb act.
Saturday, January 21 was my birthday. So I was in a festive mood. It was also the grand final promotional day of the Coca-Cola Pimped-up Ride draw in Africa Unity Square where four lucky winners walked away with fancy cars. There was a relentless downpour. (If the organisers of the event had music promotion experience, they would not have chosen an open-air venue during the rainy season.)
But the resilient and excited crowd was not put off by the rain since there was explosive live entertainment from a variety of groups who included the Mighty Winky D.
After Tichafa Matambanadzo a.k.a. Tich Mataz, who was master of ceremony, did the necessary introductions, the event was set on fire.
The show kicked off with Extra Large who did their usual stuff using backing CD tracks.
They found it rather difficult to warm up the crowd. After about four songs, they even had the cheek to invite Cindy “Appointment” Munyavi to join them on stage. Cindy complained that she could not hear a thing and was unfamiliar with the tune she was made to sing. Cindy gave it her best shot, but the CDs were a letdown.
Then came King Shaddy who combined his music with that of Stunner and sang some Stunner songs such as “Godo”.
The event took a different turn when Winky D came on stage. When his backing group, the Vigilance Band, was ready to roll, Winky D rushed onto the stage with his opening tune, “MaNinja: Zora Butter”. The crowd immediately went into a frenzy.
The Ninja President, as he calls himself, dressed up in his Sizzler-type bobble hat which was complemented by an immaculately decked out white jacket and a pair of baggy blue jeans which were about to fall off his waist, reminded us of his existence.
He grins before launching into the next song, “Ndiri Messi We Reggae” and the responsive crowd starts to sing along.
The next tune, “Musarurwa”, which has as much crowd-pleasing potential as “Musarove Bigiman” is belted out and the almost 5 000 people (could have been more if it were not for the rain) in attendance go wild.
Winky D then takes a few moments to teach his fans some Jamaican patois, translates the patois words into Shona before going into the next tunes “Green like Me Garden’ and “Controversy”. The crowd goes ecstatic!
Winky D has become one of the biggest draws of Zimbabwean dancehall music as he appeals even more to the ghetto youths.
He started his career using backing CDs but soon realised that these did not go down well with his audiences, as they did not give him the flexibility he needed during live shows.
He soon abandoned the idea and came up with the Vigilance Band, which he can command to “pull up!” or “cool down!” any time he feels like, and they obey.
The Vigilance Band which backed Winky D on Saturday the 21st, consisted of Zealman Munengu on drums, Jimmy Buzuzi on guitar and Pablo Nakapa, who was showing off his six-string bass.
There were three keyboard players who complemented each other with melodic and harmonious synthesiser sounds, namely Chris Fefani, Prince Nkomo and Mac D. Lipsy who joined the Big Man on just one song, and Layan added an extra dimension to the vocals.
I had seen Winky D perform with the same band before at the Lion Lager Beer Festival in October last year, which featured Jamaican artistes Cocoa Tea and Fantan Mojah.
This time around the band was much tighter and Pablo Nakapa proved that his six strings oozed out a heart-stopping thumping bassline that could stop an elephant dead in its tracks. Zealman also kept the beat tight and was equally brilliant. This pair gave the drum and bass rhythm in a Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare-style, which is common in reggae music. Indeed, it pays to rehearse!
As well as performing a further smattering of ghetto-inspired tunes such as “Rokesheni”, the Big Man continued dazzling the crowd with his new material. It’s his amazing package of energy that just seems to get better and better as the show goes on. He dishes out classics like “Ninja Saturday” and “Takaipa Takaipa” and throws down the gauntlet by demonstrating his untouchable vocal dexterity and dominance. The ferocity of his rhymes, which are just as powerful will leave one with no doubt that all Winky D’s tunes are well thought-out. Every time he brings something new to the gig, the crowd responds with unguarded wild screams until the excitement level is barely legal.
This time he decides to pull up something new once again. He calls upon Lipsy to come to the stage. Together they do a duet in the song “Taitirana (Pa First Sight)”. This combination absolutely blows the crowd away and it almost brings everyone to tears only to pick up again at the end of the song.
At around 5pm, it is time to say goodbye to the audience, but the show comes to a sudden stop due to power failure. Fortunately, the Big Man had already bid his farewells to his fans and they all looked satisfied by his delivery. Judging from the smile that is coming out of Winky D’s face, I am convinced he is also satisfied by his own performance. I am too.
After the show, I asked one uniformed police officer who had been on duty all day to give his thoughts on Winky D’s performance. This is what he had to say:
“I am a ZRP police officer who found comfort and enjoyment at this concert. The crowd was well behaved and I could easily control it when they went wild. I am grateful to those performers and to the people of Zimbabwe celebrating this kind of music. Even us, the police enjoyed ourselves very much. Seeing the faces of my fellow police officers who gave themselves over to reggae music for a brief moment made me proud yet overwhelmingly sad. I know that a lot of my fellow civil servants often have trouble reaching certain levels of emotion and, through good music, we were able to let go.
“Listening again to those first few crashing chords from Winky D’s band still gives me chills. I know how every one of us was feeling at that moment.”
Thomas Deve, a regular reggae reveller, also commented:
“This is not just great music; this music defines us. We grew up on it. From Bob Marley, Misty in Roots, Aswad, UB40, Don Carlos, Denis Brown, Maxi Priest, Beenie Man, Capleton —this music fuelled our youths and made us who we are.
“After the roots reggae artistes left the scene we found new meaning to these dancehall lyrics just as we had discovered more about ourselves. We should be proud to celebrate this music, in a country that lets us play it freely and with the volume all the way up.
“It reminds us how powerful music can be and how healing it is. I will replay this concert over and over.
“I have new-found love for life just by hearing this music, for life’s simple pleasures. Big Man has a future in this country as well as internationally”.
Indeed, the show was simply amazing. It really gives meaning to life as you watch those kids as well as the elderly dancing away to the sounds of the Ninja President. Big up Bigiman! We give you nuff respect as you continue to lift the Zimbabwean flag higher!
- Fred Zindi is a professor at the University of Zimbabwe. He is also a musician and an author of several books on music. He can be contacted via e-mail on [email protected]
Online Reporter