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Courage Musariri Entertainment Reporter
LOCAL promoters have been encouraged to give first preference and leading roles to Bulawayo musicians at shows held in the City of Kings. The call was made by fans who attended the Lion Lager Campus Night gig held over the weekend and expressed their displeasure at the non inclusion of Bulawayo artistes on the line up.
In interviews with Chronicle during the show, many fans cited the fact that the show had many breaks which organisers could have used to give Bulawayo musicians a chance to showcase their talents in between Jah Prayzah and Winky D’s performances.
“They have a good line up and we are really happy, but it is not representing Bulawayo, as the hosting city. It is like we are in Harare since we have Jah Prayzah, Winky and only Djembe Monks representing Bulawayo.
We have guys like Mcheznana, POY and Khuxman, who are capable of giving top notch performances and could have been interesting for everyone if they had been given a chance,” said Moses Banda.
He said the musicians were to blame also because they lacked confidence and a desire to succeed and ended up taking a back seat in their own city while allowing visitors to dominate them.
“Musicians from elsewhere should know that coming to Bulawayo is not easy if sharing the stage with a local act. They should approach organisers of shows whenever there is a show to be staged here and negotiate for inclusion,” said Banda.
Mcheznana said it was a painful scenario because information was not given to Bulawayo musicians on time and they did not know who to approach for slots at such concerts.
“In Harare if a Jamaican artiste is coming, they bring up to 10 local artistes to curtain raise. That is promoting local talent and it’s how guys such as Winky D started. Lion Lager Campus night is a big event and is held across the country. It is heartbreaking to see Jah Prayzah and Winky D coming to perform here after probably performing in Harare.
It’s like we are in a foreign land and we cannot be considered for such gigs,” he said.
At the show, a fan ended up trying to negotiate with Winky D trying to convince him to allow Mcheznana to come to the stage and do a joint free style song, but the “Ninja President” could not allow his performance to be interfered with.
Djembe Monks did not give a good account of themselves, as they failed to live up to expectations.
“I do not understand why these guys are part of this show. Are there no better artistes in Bulawayo? They should have brought Sandy for us because we are here to dance,” said another fan who identified himself as Ian.
Tafadzwa Miles questioned the organisers’ decision not to include rising dancehall musicians from Bulawayo such as General Python, Silent Assassin, Wyth and Black Nigga.
“Local dancehall musicians could learn a lot from Winky D. It is sad that promoters do not think along those lines. Whenever they bring an established artiste they should allow for local rising artistes to share the stage with them because it is at such concerts where they can exchange notes,” he said.
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