ZIM TALENT SCOUTS PRAISE JAH MASTER

Trust Khosa

HARD Mashona Arts and Culture co-founder, Lennox Madzamba, says despite laying the foundation for many artists only one of them, Jah Master, has dared to remember the part they played in his career.

The others, he said, simply turned their back on them.

Madzamba, 41, says most of the creatives they groom and nurture forget their roots once they shoot to the top.

He, however, told H-Metro that he would not throw in the towel.

“We are celebrating our 12th anniversary this year as Hard Mashona Arts and Culture, which I co-founded with Andrew Musoni.

“Over the past years, we have groomed creatives ranging from the spoken word, visual artists, theatre to music after registering with the Zimbabwe Youth Council.

“Since music has a huge following and impact, we ended up scouting for talent in this genre and we have been dealing more with Zim dancehall artists.

“The only person we can say has been loyal to us is Jah Master.

“We groomed him when he was still in his early teens and now he is a grown up man.

“Of course, there are some big promoters who use financial muscle to hoodwink these youngsters but we can do anything to help them.”

Madzamba and his partner, who have been using their resources, said they were doing their service out of passion.

“We saw the potential with most of the artists that we have been identifying but the biggest let-down is that they lack grooming and supporting systems.

“Some of the artists were orphaned and they had no resources to finance their careers.

“Some of the artists we assisted from scratch, include Hwindi Prezident, Mega Jani, Sledger Fire, Jah Master, Goda T and Master H.

“It quite unfortunate that most of these artists hardly remember us despite the sterling job we did to assist them,” he said.

Asked why most artists were turning their backs on them, Madzamba said:

“That has always been the nature of artists or footballers if we are to say the truth.

“The guys easily forget their roots but they will come back when they are in trouble.

“We always go out of our way in trying to educate them to be professional but they don’t remember that when they become superstars.”