Chronicle Editor
Showbiz Reporter
Bulawayo has the best artistic talent in the country and this is being proven by the city’s artistes who are slowly coming out to reclaim their space on the national scene.
This past weekend, four songs from the city, Vuyo Brown’s Thula Wazi, Crisswiss and The Dot’s Bad Vibes, Asaph and Ti Gonzi’s Ginde made top five with Asaph’s Like So taking the top spot on ZiFM Stereo’s Top 40 chart show.
This was very impressive especially considering that the station’s listeners are the ones who voted for the songs, meaning the city’s artistes are getting a lot of support and appreciation of their songs nationally.
This visibility through national radio stations should not be taken lightly as it is the one that propelled one of the city’s top rappers, Cal Vin.
Other than topping the charts, the city’s artistes are now making their presence felt through online shows with the likes of Kyla Blac, Nate and Sam (Samuzik) Siwela shining during Monday night’s lockdown live concert that was hosted by Fusion Media Group (FMG). Those who watched gave positive feedback.
Sadly though, judging by the views on the Facebook stream, the artistes do not seem to be getting much support back home as less than 100 people watched the show during its stream.
If the artistes are to make an impact nationally and eventually internationally, they need support from their own people first so as to hype them up, so it is important that people rally behind the artistes.
The artistes on their part, also need to support each other by sharing the live streams, even if they are not performing. Influencers from the city such as Mbo Mahocs, Braydan Heart, Samantha Tshuma, Carl Joshua Ncube, Albert Nyathi and Raisedon Baya are also needed to market the live streams in order to bring in the numbers.
But to rally behind the artistes, especially online where one needs data (which is not coming cheap nowadays), the artistes and event organisers need to ensure that they deliver. FMG on its part tried by all means to deliver as the sound and picture quality was great although they can improve on the packaging of the show.
For example, they may want to take notes from Nash TV and perhaps have a presenter who during intervals, can interview the artistes so as to get people to know more about them. This will make the show more engaging while promoting the artistes.
Hosting the event on a Monday may also be working against the artistes and event promoter as some people may not watch as they will be glued to their screens watching their favourite soapies or watching news since the show started at 8PM. Also, Monday has generally never been a good day to party for many, so Thursday or even Sunday, may be a better option considering that Fridays and Saturdays have become oversubscribed due to the high number of live streams hosted on the days.
It is hoped that the next live stream will have more people watching as the city’s artistes desperately need the support in order for them to get backing from the corporate world and in turn, grow their brands.
Online Reporter