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Jabulani Tsambo

Jonathan Mbiriyamveka Entertainment Reporter
South Africa’s hip-hop pantsula star Jabulani Tsambo aka HHP delighted his fans with a great performance over the weekend when he headlined Shoko Festival held at Alex Sports Club. The bulky HHP defied his stature when he wiggled on stage during his first show in Harare, spiced up by his motswako style, a mixture of this and that. HHP or is it Jaba, tweeted three weeks ago that he wanted to visit Zimbabwe and his dream came true when Shoko Festival organisers invited him at the eleventh hour.
“Just three weeks ago I tweeted that somebody should take me to Zimbabwe.

“I feel honoured to be in Harare which means ‘Habalali’ in Setswana.
“I love you Zimbabwe and it’s been a pleasure to be here,” he said, to wild cheers from the crowd.
Although Nneka — who was supposed to be the headline act — failed to come, HHP fitted well and he did his thing and the crowd loved it.
Energy was high on and off the stage with fans singing along to all the songs.

But HHP being the artiste that he is, blended well with the crowd — sampling songs from other renowned kwaito and house artistes from Oskido to Big Nuz to Mashamplan and Arthur Mafokate.

He also had good crowd control, especially where he taught fans a word or two in his language.
There were loud cheers when Zimbabwean bassist Josh Meck, now based in South Africa, joined him on stage.

There was also jubilation when he introduced his drummer, only identified as Tino, another Zimbabwean who was part of his band.
Taking after another splendid performance by Ammara Brown, HHP also acknowledged the impact of Zimdancehall when he tried to emulate Killer T’s Po Po Po chant before he performed a track he collaborated on with Lutan Fyah.

Ammara proved her worth when she dazzled fans with a high energy performance that featured two fire brands Jah Prayzah and Guspy Warrior.
Other great performances were from Tehn Diamond and BaShupi.

Shoko Festival which is popular with spoken word, also showcased amazing talents by several poets.
Shoko Festival is Zimbabwe’s fastest growing international arts festival produced by Magamba Network.

The festival features a number of genres including the very best in urban culture, music, comedy, poetry, DJ parties, talks, new media discussion workshops and awards with local, regional and international acts.

This year’s edition is supported by Shoko’s main festival partner, the Embassy of Sweden, as well as Premium partners, the Culture Fund and Hivos, in partnership with the Royal Norwegian Embassy.