adminMunyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent
ZIM dancehall big guns Freeman and Winky D proved why they are ranked among the country’s top performers when they brought the house down with five star performances at Midlands Hotel at the much hyped Midlands summer splash.Not to be out done was Gweru’s own chanter, Legion, of the Mafridge PaKadoma fame whose energetic performance made sure the show lived up to its billing.
The Midlands summer splash, the first of a kind in the Midlands capital, also saw a flurry of up-and-coming dancehall artistes warming up the stage for the big guns.
Tatman, Pin 50, Young Hype, Judah B, Creator Fyah, Mr Flirt and Jah Blessed were some of the young artistes who also gave a good account of themselves and if their performances were to be rated, stage warming would not be an apt description.
They set the stage alight.
By the time Freeman got on stage, it was not only warm, but red hot as Gweru dancehall lovers had already been put into the mood.
It was an easy task for him to keep the fans engaged. Freeman got on stage clad in a pair of white trousers and a matching jacket with a baseball cap.
He put up a superb performance and had the whole house screaming for his song Godo which proved to be the fans’ favourate.
If Freeman brought the house down, then Winky D would have brought it to rubbles with his perfomance.
He came on stage, backed a live band and put the dancehall mood two notches up.
Big Man as Winky is fondly called, had the fans eating from his palm and took them down memory lane with his yesteryear hits.
The ninja president performed until the wee hours of Sunday and put up a scintillating performance which according to Gweru Music lovers could be one of his best acts in the city of progress.
Gweru’s dancehall ambassador Legion put his home advantage to proper use and wowed the fans with his popular song Mafridge PaKadoma and Mudhara Wemangoma among others.
Show promoter, Chipaz, who is on a crusade to spread dancehall music to all corners of the country, expressed satisfaction at the performances showcased by up-and-coming artistes.
He said the young artistes justified his countrywide tour as it had unearthed a lot of untapped talent in Gweru.
derick.khumalo