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Caged Ricky Fire

Kumbirayi Shoniwa Entertainment Reporter
DANCEHALL musicians had to perform behind a fence that was erected on stage at the Zim Dancehall shut-down gig at Harare Gardens on Friday night as show organisers guarded against violence that has characterised some dancehall shows in the capital this year.
Dancehall fans are in a habit of throwing objects on stage and Chipaz Promotions, which organised the gig, had to erect the fence as a precautionary measure.

Patson Chimbodza of Chipaz promotions said they had to put musicians in a cage to prevent objects getting on stage in case some rowdy fans threw anything on stage.

“It was a precautionary measure. We had to put that fence to protect musicians because of previous ugly scenes at shows,” said Chimbodza.
The event, which officially closed a prosperous Zimdancehall year in 2013, defied all expectations and drew thousands of fans despite the heavy rains which fell last Friday night.

A mixture of upcoming and veteran artistes took to the stage and rocked the crowd which was in a good and responsive mood all through the night.

Arguably one of the best performances on the night was from Winky D who kept fans singing along to his popular tunes including “Musarove Bigman”, “Munhu Wenyama”, “Ninja Summer” and “Mafira Kureva”, and topped it off with a tribute to fans who were respectful towards all artists despite their background or status.

After a low patch when he was bombarded with beer cans at a show in Gwanzura stadium earlier this year, Freeman was on fire as he had the support of the crowd which gave deafening applause after every song he performed, making him the better of all upcoming artists on the day.

Established artists who gave sterling acts included Dhadza D as well as Sniper Storm who wowed the fans with a well-polished act with his live band to close the show in style.

On the other hand, the newly rising cream of Zimdancehall had a great night as well, with the likes of Ricky Fire, wielding a multi-coloured walking cane, and Killa Tee, Guspy Warrior and ladies Angel P and Lady Squanda proving why they could share the stage with established chanters.

The turntables were aptly handled by a variety of DJ’s including Godfather Templeman, Garry B and DJ Simmz, with Smiley handling the mike  with class as usual.

Meanwhile, Godfather Templeman has called on the corporate world to start recognising Zimdancehall for the rising giant that it is.
“Big companies should now understand that Zimdancehall, including the artists, producers and the fans, have reached a level where it is now impossible to ignore anymore.

“The genre is a powerful social commentary which the corporate world can use to convey important issues affecting our youths including HIV/AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse and sexual abuses by supporting the industry,” he said.