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THE HARARE Cup clash that marked the end of this year’s Zimbabwe Agricultural Show on Saturday night has generated a lot of interest.
It attracted a huge turnout, a continuation of massive crowds at Harare entertainment functions.
The Doek and Slay gig at Alex Sports Club earlier on the month had set an attendance record and Saturday’s turnout for a Zim Dancehall event was impressive.
More encouraging was the relative peace at the event given such gigs are associated with violence.
This probably explains the barbed wire separating the crowd from the performers although that becomes a safety concern in the event of crowd trouble.
The huge turnout and the way the audience sang along was also a reminder that Zim dancehall is the most popular genre in Zimbabwean music right now.
It is therefore not surprising that there has been so much scrutiny. Most of the comments have been critical of the Clash concept at this year’s event.
Much of the criticism has been on the manner in which artists were crowned, which did not go down well with even some of the top musicians in the genre.
Sir Calaz is never far away from controversy and this time he declared that the awards were scandalous and undermined the industry.
As someone who believes he is the best in Zimdancehall, any award is of interest to him whether he participates or not.
Hence his request that there be clarity that winners of Saturday’s clash are champions of that contest only.
But the biggest source of discontent was the seeming capture of the contest by the popular emcees.
The popular DJ Fantan, Etherton and Godfatha Templeman are accused on manipulating the contest to promote their own personal interests.
Their involvement in every stage or level of the Zimdancehall genre makes them interested parties in any contest, especially where awards are being issued.
As we report elsewhere, the above mentioned can easily act like a cartel and manipulate processes to suit own agendas.
DJ Fantan is accused of abusing his studio ownership while the other two are big at their respective radio stations.
Having them in everything concerning Zimdancehall can easily make them monsters in the industry.
That is why the call for different presenters and judges at the Harare Cup Clash has been received by some within the genre’s stakeholders.
It is therefore very encouraging that the event organiser, Chipaz Promotions have already accepted that there are flaws and they are willing to change.
Listening to criticism can only make the next editions better and that will also guarantee peaceful contests.
Outside of the contentious issues on crowing a clash winner, the promoter and emcees deserve credit for the sold out show.
It is now time to plan ahead for even better contests while keeping the genre alive.
Online Reporter