marble nkomo
Mbulelo Mpofu, [email protected]
IN 2020, Ameen Jaleel Yaseen, popularly known as Poptain, released the hit Fadza Mutengi with Allanah, a Nash Nation production that went on to win the 2021 Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima) gong for Best Collaboration.
The song became a monumental success, resonating with drinkers and non-drinkers alike, cutting across generations and dominating radio airplay. Videos of fans singing along went viral on social media, carrying the song from local neighbourhoods to the diaspora.
Six years later, the dancehall artiste has dramatically distanced himself from the award-winning track, branding it a source of “evil” and “enslavement” in a series of explosive social media posts.
The lyrics, Fadza mutengi wedoro, fadza mutengi wehwahwa, ita kakupusa, kakuvata, kakupenga, iwe uchiziva wafadza mutengi. Kurumidza kuguta usaite kuruta . . ., can be loosely translated as: “Please the beer buyer, act a little foolish and crazy, knowing you’ve pleased them. Enjoy quickly, but don’t overdo it…”
In a lengthy Facebook statement addressed to “Family”, Poptain this week declared he is now detaching himself from the specific message conveyed by the song.
“. . . . I Poptain, am freeing myself by detaching from Fadza Mutengi. I am removing myself from both its creation and benefits, if any, with immediate effect… Family, you probably have no idea how this song has enslaved me, but thanks to my creator, I am finally free by letting go.”
He signed off as “Ameen Jahleel Matanga”, appearing to shed his stage persona.
In a follow-up post, he intensified his remarks.
“Nobody made me do this!! I am claiming back my life and seeking refuge from the evil eye!! This is the song that started half of the sh** I am going through!!!”
He directly tagged businessman Tinashe Mutarisi, who helped record and promote the song through NashTV, writing: “Tell him I have surrendered all rights to this project and he may do whatever he always wanted to do with it!”
The outburst comes months after the closure of Nash TV, Mutarisi’s entertainment platform, which had announced a “strategic shift away from entertainment.” While the two matters are officially unrelated, the timing has fuelled widespread speculation.
Poptain’s distancing did not end there. He also moved to dissociate himself from another collaboration, Kokai with Nutty O, writing: “I am removing myself from Kokai…my voice is not participating in things I do not believe in?”
The public denunciations have exposed simmering tensions within Zimbabwe’s dancehall scene, highlighting the fragile alliances behind chart-topping hits.
Poptain has since said he is returning to “humble beginnings”, focusing on himself and “my people who understand me.”
Mutarisi has not publicly responded to the claims, while Allanah, Winky D and Nutty O have remained silent.
— @MbuleloMpofu
Online Reporter