Sniper speaks on stage fall

nipPeter Tanyanyiwa Arts correspondent
Zimdancehall superstar sniper storm, real name Donald Chirisa, is reported to have sent music supporters into panic when he fell off stage last weekend whilst performing at the Zimbabwe national youth games bash held at Harare Gardens.

This happened when he was thrilling the crowd with his latest offering and people have always criticised the setting up of fence in front of the stage to protect the performers, either from cans being thrown from the crowd or rare cases like this one when a musician steps off stage.

The veteran chanter, whose name has always been tagged with that of self-proclaimed Zimdancehall king Winky D as the pioneers of the genre, has been overshadowed by young and fast rising artistes like Killer T, Seh Calaz and Soul Jah Love.

This has made the genre followers to question if Sniper was still fit to perform or should he give his music carrier a rest.

Speaking on the fall to the Herald Entertainment Sniper Storm said he did not see that he was stepping off stage.

“I was trying to get closer to the crowd and did not see the curve, as I was destructed by flood lights which were too bright, I did even see I was stepping off stage. It is very unfortunate that this happened whilst I was in the middle of my performance and I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to my fans and also assure them that I am in good health,” he said.

The singer has been for years one of the few consistent musicians in the country considering that Zim ancehall received wide criticism when the genre first started.

However, it is because of consistent musicians like Sniper Storm the genre is where it is now. If you listen to the radio today three out of five songs are Zimdancehall songs, which is a development that should be applauded.

Some of the musicians at the Zimbabwe national youth games bash last weekend were Winky D, Dadza D and Killer T.