Online Reporter
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
AFRO-jazz musician Willis Wataffi has flatly dismissed growing speculation about an Afrika Revenge reunion, declaring that no amount of money could ever convince him to work with former partner Mehluli “Taz” Moyo again.
Revered for inimitable chemistry on stage and in the studio, Wataffi and Taz were once an inseparable duo, a pair of trailblazing young musicians that somehow ensnared both young and old with their vibrant blend of jazz and traditional African sounds.
Qaya Rootz Music, they called this intoxicating mix.
In their pomp, the song Wanga was made and it turned out to be arguably one of the greatest songs in the country’s rich musical history. However, suddenly it all ended.
For reasons neither of them has ever spoken of, the pair split and the Afrika Revenge star fell as fast as it had risen. A decade ago, the pair tried to rekindle their old magic, but the spark was gone and a few years after its resurrection, Afrika Revenge went into an even deeper slumber.
Last month, as he launched his 50 dates at the Theatre initiative, legendary producer, administrator and entrepreneur Saimon Mambazo Phiri told a packed audience that a reunion of the duo was possibly on the cards, making it the highlight of a ground-breaking initiative that has already captured hearts and minds in Bulawayo.
However, that announcement prompted Wataffi to double down on his assertion that Afrika Revenge was no more.
“Afrika Revenge, as you know, is not coming back together, unless there is something else that is being planned. We have not spoken about that and that is not a subject I am open to discussing. That is something that I will never do.
“There is no amount of money that you can give me that can ever make me bring back that thing (Afrika Revenge). You can put this on record. No amount of money can ever make me bring it back, especially if it means I have to work with that guy (Taz). No amount of money can convince me to do it,” Wataffi declared.
The musician, who is still flying the Qaya Rootz flag high despite the demise of the group that gave him fame, said while he was willing to come back and perform as Wataffi, he could not do so under the banner of Afrika Revenge.
“When I heard about it (reunion gig), I thought people were joking. A few people approached me and said they were now waiting for the reunion of Afrika Revenge. I will always support Mambazo’s work now and in the future, but I felt it necessary to set the record straight, as this was mentioned in front of a public audience.
“I think I can do something as Willis Wataffi because this is my big brother and I will always work on his projects. We are brothers from way back, but I think he knows that Afrika Revenge is not something I would ever touch and do again. I need to put that on record,” he emphasised.
Wataffi said he wanted to quash any hopes of another reunion as he was the one who always ended with egg on his face whenever plans did not materialise.
While he is still active in the music industry, Taz only makes sporadic appearances.
Wataffi also said the Afrika Revenge brand had become a millstone, with fans expecting him to revive a corpse that had long turned to dust.
“I am now wary of giving people false hope that a reunion will occur. Once people have that hope, I later appear to be the guy who is full of nonsense because it seems I have discussed something with promoters and later renege on that promise.
“Unfortunately, what the people desire will never happen and I have stated this before. This has all been tried before by promoters and it has failed. No amount of money will convince me to bring back Afrika Revenge, especially the way people know and remember it.
“The Afrika Revenge brand is now detrimental to my career, to my hopes and to my aspirations. That is why I will never do that (a reunion). That is why I take a bit of offence from people mentioning any hopes of this being the case again. I can come and perform as Willis Wataffi because that is my brother, but unfortunately, I am not even available until next year,” he said.
Wataffi, who has been on a campaign to drum up support for the celebration of 25 years of Qaya Rootz Music, expressed his disappointment with what he termed “culture vultures” who were milking nostalgia for Afrika Revenge for views on their social media pages and websites.
“I have been going on about the 25 years of Qaya Rootz Music celebrations on Facebook, and the videos have been going viral. As I look back, some of these bloggers have taken the opportunity to bring the topic back up again, creating surveys asking fans which group’s breakup hurt fans the most. They obviously know I am on a campaign that is focused on Qaya Rootz. I do not know why people have to be so evil,” he said.
With videos posted by Wataffi of Afrika Revenge in action, accumulating thousands of views on YouTube in recent weeks, the singer said what was meant to be a celebration of a silver jubilee had turned toxic, as more people expressed anger at the fact that the group was not contemplating a reunion.
“Some of these bloggers are culture vultures. They go after stuff that is viral and if they are not benefiting from it, they want to destroy it. Why would you want to anger people by asking them what group split hurt them the most?
Then you are running a survey about that for two days. Then you steal content from my YouTube page and you do not tell people where you got it from? What kind of nonsense is that?
“You can do a survey, but why can’t you say, these guys angered you when they broke up, but did you know that Willis Wataffi is now doing this and that with his career and life?
“There is a project in South Africa that won a SAMA in December and this is a project that I provided music for. So, I am a SAMA award-winning artiste as we speak, but why is this never mentioned? What is the takeaway? You just leave people angry and then you go quiet,” he fumed.
