adminSimbarashe Mutizwa Showbiz Reporter
BULAWAYO-based hip hop group, Kasi Lami Art Platform (Klap), are over the moon after their second album — Hip Hop Mosaic — was nominated for the Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima) last week.The group which comprises PoZee, 2Dope, Thorne, Lady Thug, Alaina, P2daoh, Fresh T, Kasi’s Finest, Lil G, and Elbreezy are vying for the Best Hip Hop Music award against Harare-based hip hop gurus Tehn Diamond, Stunner, MMT and Trey XL.
The music awards which returned this year after a seven-year absence will be held in Harare at the Harare International Conference Centre next month.
Dalvin Makhalisa (2Dope) said they were overwhelmed to be competing against the country’s talented hip hop artistes.
“It feels good to be nominated for a major award like this one. It shows that we are being recognised for what we are doing. We have been nominated for different major awards in the country and the results were not favourable,” Makhalisa said.
He said they were confident they would bag the prestigious award.
“I respect all the artistes in this category. I think they have worked hard for this, in the same way that we have done, but judging from our experiences as a group, I believe the award is coming to Bulawayo,” said Makhalisa.
He, however, said hip hop was not growing in the city because artistes could not walk into radio stations to submit their music for airplay compared to their Harare counterparts.
“Being in the commercial side of the music industry requires one to get airplay as this is a vital tool for marketing. Our crisis in Bulawayo is that we do not have nearby access to these facilities.
“If we had these radio stations just in our backyards then I’m sure we were going to be on the same level as the guys from Harare who have been enjoying major airplay than any other artiste in the country,” he said.
He acknowledged the role stations such as Star Fm and ZiFm were playing saying they were incorporating music from Bulawayo in their programmes and chart shows.
He challenged radio stations to have more programmes dedicated to playing hip hop music.
“We are grateful that private radio stations like Star Fm and ZiFm are working very hard to give equal opportunities to Bulawayo and Harare artistes, but the slots for shows targeting hip hop listeners are a few as they are not broadcast every day.
“It would be good to have more shows where hip hop is played,” he said.
Makhalisa said he was also impressed with the way people in the city had changed their approach to hip hop.
“Bulawayo fans used to ignore our shows when we began performing, they seemed not interested in it. Today we have our bigger than Hip Hop movement that has seen drastic changes in the audience size,” he said.
The group has been nominated for various awards including Zimbabwe Hip Hop Awards and National Arts Merit Awards, but never won.
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