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Kumbirayi Shoniwa Entertainment Reporter
The Zimbabwe music scene has for a long time been criticised for poor videos, which has spurred some producers to put more effort in making motion pictures for songs. The poor quality of videos has often been blamed of slim budgets for productions but some producers have managed to come up with good videos from limited resources.
The Herald Entertainment takes a look at some of the recently-produced videos to measure their quality and potential.
“Singles Collection” – MaffCat
Slimaz Productions
Maffcat is not new on the dancehall scene and his maturity is evident in his songs as well as in this collection of four singles and a live performance.
“Zvatanga” is a summer song and was shot at the popular Lake Chivero pleasure spot.
The video is of excellent quality with good picture angles augmenting the high quality of the photography. The track features a host of young people having a good time with a cameo appearance by top dancehall chanter Shinsoman adding glamour to the video.
“Ghetto Lifestyle” was shot in the bustling streets of Mbare and depicts various activities and scenes including vending, young boys playing street soccer and women and girls washing clothes in an open area.
The picture and sound quality is top grade with a colourful backdrop provided by the graffiti painted artistically on buildings and walls.
The glamour factor is provided by shots of Chill Spot Records producer Fantan hanging out with the Mbare crew.
“Vamwe Vanhu” also has a colourful setting provided by the professionally painted graffiti on the buildings in the Mbare neighbourhood.
Maffcat features artists designing flashy clothing as well as high quality photography depicting the everyday lives of people in the suburb.
The theme of the song is about people who are envious of the success of others, and the video cleverly depicts this scenario with a setup situation involving a cheating girlfriend hiring thugs to rob her man.
The last video is a scene from the 2013 Harare Agricultural Show where Maffcat took to the stage in front of hundreds of appreciative fans
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“Singles” – Ruggar Massive
Innovative Media Tech Productions
Rugare “Ruggar Massive” Mangombe is a young chanter from Norton who has previously been mistaken for a Mbare boy probably because of his ghetto stories which touch upon issues faced by the ordinary guy on the street.
“Bomma” is a song which highlights the plight of ghetto youths as they try to make ends meet in an environment characterised by poverty, ignorance and crime. The video depicts a group of youths loitering in the streets and abusing drugs like dagga and Bronclear.
They are suddenly pounced upon by the police and get arrested. The theme of the song is a plea from the youths to the powers that be that they fall into drug abuse because they have nothing productive to occupy themselves with.
The sound is good but the picture quality needed improvements.
“Tsamba” was produced by Minstrels Productions and is an innovative video in terms of video graphics and background settings.
The track is a love song which talks about the agony of separation of lovers who then resort to other types of communication like letters and phones in order to keep the love alive.
The scenes in the video are quite convincing as the different actors portray how people behave when they miss their loved ones. Special mention goes to the producers for good editing of the video.
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“Ngainaye” – Barbara V. Solo
Lifetime Media
“Ngainaye” is the first song on the former Studio 263 actress’ album called “Spirit, Emotions and Tears” and the video is a masterpiece in its own right.
It is outstanding in its excellent picture and sound quality which makes it stand out as one of the best videos of 2014 so far.
The theme of the track is a celebration of the coming of the rains, and the singer does justice with her powerful voice and prowess on the mbira which gives the song a distinct African touch.
The song depicts natural scenery showing the wonderful vegetation in an African jungle setting, with rainfall and greenery providing an appropriate backdrop to the video.
Ripe fruits and joyful people create a sense of abundance and joy due to the coming of the rain season.
Barbara has shown that she can transform herself from an actress to a musician effortlessly.
Online Reporter