The arts need shake-up!

CONT Mhlanga finally caught up with Andrew Langa! It was a crucial moment for the two men who matter most in the arts sector.
Mhlanga went into a “tirade” as he was not impressed with Minister Andrew Langa’s visit.
The bubble was bound to burst at some point, given the frustration among artistes.
It is no secret that for years the arts industry has  been receiving very little from the government. But how best can we address this?

Our political leaders need to be told the truth about what is happening on the ground. We cannot keep complaining, it is a waste of energy.
All is not well. Complaints are the order of the day. When is this going to end? I am not sure we are going to handle the mess in the industry once it reaches its peak.

While artistes battle for recognition and financial support, fans cry out for originality as the administrators watch.
There is one chaotic situation brewing in silence, right before our very eyes.

The rift is not in the public eye, yet other players in the business are blind to that. It manifests in each art genre.
There seems to be a kindergarten approach to the way problems in the showbiz sector are handled.

The media has been either protective or in the dark about the enmity in showbiz.
It all looks good from the outside. On the other side of that fake veneer of celebrity, the artistes sometimes do not enjoy their work.

In conversations with as many art practioners, stakeholders do not speak well of each other. That is why all promising collective projects have failed.
Just because artistes do not believe in each other’s potential, points to a bleak future. It is worse when political leaders do not take time to appreciate the condition of the sector. Thankfully Langa apologised for not visiting Bulawayo’s showbiz centres.

It takes a man of integrity to admit to error. Langa must honour his word, lest the artistes see him in a different light – as the minister who was never there.
His predecessors did not give time to the artistes. That is why Cont told him that he has to do things anew.

Dialogue is the only way to go. I hope all the stakeholders find time to proffer solutions that will help ease the tension between policy makers and arts practitioners.
Where is the Bulawayo Music Association?

Recently, I got wind that the Bulawayo Music Association (BMA) was headed for a collapse. The city’s musicians are not forthcoming to register again.
It pains me as a passionate fan, to read that musicians are snubbing BMA.

Among the ideals of grouping is to offer the city’s musical talents a platform to build relationships. Not just musicians knowing one another, but having tea with record companies and studio executives. How else will gigs come about if musicians and promoters do not know each other?

This is part of an inch of the journey in our discussions to put the whip on the sleeping musical industry.
We, the fans in the urban movement know that you guys – the musicians are giving us a raw deal. You do not practise what you preach.

Backstabbing and failure to appreciate one another has led to the pile up of mess in the city’s entertainment business.
Getting record deals and lunch dates with executives isolates the musicians. By the time you blink, they have relocated to Harare. If the grass is greener, go for it my cow!

Some may deny it but it has to be said. The good part is that others admit that artistes are partly to blame in making the city a music dumpsite. The sudden slump of the city’s musical products lies in the disorder that exists in the industry. I would hate to compare Bulawayo with what happens in Harare.

The two are world apart. What needs to be emulated is the partnership that exists. The ego and jealousy that builds up is what eats up a handful of music stars in the city. We live in these streets – we see them every day and we know their pain. Business is at an all-time low. The city is broke.

Musicians be warned: The “each man for himself” mentality is cancerous.
Khuxman, keep on trying to convince these singers and players of instruments to reconcile.Associations such as the BMA are needed to transform the entertainment business.

The right to choose what your ear listens to cannot be tampered with but, it begs for a mind shift if we are to keep the language heritage in our music. Why should city youths laugh at the Gwanda folk who dance to Ndolwane Super Sounds.

Now that Cont has charted the way and told Minister Langa the truth, it’s time that artistes in the city wash their dirty linen thoroughly.
There is no use in pushing politicians to solve problems while the local showbiz cannot clean up its mess.

Some problems are from the inside. Let us change the way we do things and shake up the industry.

Let’s keep the conversation on twitter @nkosi legend. Follow on this writer on Facebook or WhatsApp 0773481603