Zim hip-hop awards head to Bulawayo

Bruce Ndlovu
The emergence of a new breed of Bulawayo artistes as a force in the local hip-hop scene has inspired the organisers of the annual Zim Hip-hop Awards to bring this yearaï¿½ï¿½s ceremony to the City of Kings.

2015 was a landmark year for Bulawayoaï¿½ï¿½s wordsmiths, with Cal_vin rising from a virtual unknown to become the face of the genre, while the likes of Guluva 7 also scooped gongs to illustrate their rising stature on the scene.

In an interview, the founder of the awards, Adrian aï¿½?Beefyaï¿½? Harrison said that after five years of the ceremony being held in the capital, he felt it was time to move them to the countryaï¿½ï¿½s second largest city.

aï¿½?We have held the awards for five years in Harare but we thought itaï¿½ï¿½s about time that we move to Bulawayo. The growth of hip-hop in the southern regions of the country has been encouraging and I think itaï¿½ï¿½s only right that the ceremony follows this wave and take the countryaï¿½ï¿½s premier hip-hop awards ceremony to the City of Kings,aï¿½? he said.

Beefy added that they would not be leaving preparations for the 11th hour, as they already had set down plans for this yearaï¿½ï¿½s ceremony to avoid any logistical problems.

aï¿½?We have already started preparing. We already have a proposed venue and date pencilled down and we will be hosting a launch party soon,aï¿½? he said.

Beefy said that he was not worried that tensions between Bulawayo and Harare artistes might boil over when the ceremony finally came to Bulawayo as he thought most of the conflicts were publicity stunts.

aï¿½?Feuds are part of hip-hop and they are mostly due to the competitive nature of rappers,aï¿½? he said. .