Zim Hip Hop Awards Undressed Part 2: The winners, losers and Actual event

So yesterday we gave you the part one of our review of the awards, mostly our concerns before the show and what we feared. None the less, because we love the genre so much and will never give up on it, come awards night, we were clad in our nice rig and off we went to 7 Arts for Hip Hop’s premiere event of the year.

If you were following the live tweets form our handle @PUSHzw, you will notice we didn’t arrive exactly at 19:30 when the gates opened.  We were holding our hearts in our mouths at the fear of the $15 cover charge and the fact that some people made what looked like a deliberate move to get people away from the awards and celebrate Hip Hop across the road, BUT, we did it again. The people stayed true, once we saw, the sexy dresses, done up weaves, suits and ties, really packed parking lot, we knew, ooooh we knew it. The Zim Hip Hop Awards, was “where da party at”

Even from outside, you could tell that it wasn’t just another show, because yes, beautiful people, your heavy weights with their plus ones having snap shots taken on the backdrop and all around. One of the most impressive things was the fact that, there was no disorder in as far as getting in was involved, no crowd squashing or unpleasantly menacing security. One of the not so impressive things was the starting two hours late, again. We heard one rapper say, “how can it have started, Stunner, who is supposed to perform first, only just arrived”. Ah well, that’s one for whoever manages the performing artists for next year.

The performances

Yes, if you didn’t get to see them, well, we saw a whole of tablets held up to record it all. ( you probably know someone who knows someone who did ). We loved Rhythm Family who showed a lot of skill, beat-boxing jams from the National Anthem to “Party Yatanga”. The crowd loved them too. The host of the evening Munya Chodzonga,  who still showed up and MC’d the whole event even though his co-host didn’t come. He held his own and  should also be given a pat on the back,. Alvina, came up on stage with Ishy X and his partner Foster, as they performed “Gogogoi” which had a good number of people in the crowd standing and dancing to. Then came, Kuti Pwee, which surprised us because, it was a whole new version, with Alvina singing on the chorus and a BIG SURPRISE PERFOMANCE verse from femcee Blackbird.

Yes, Sinbad from K-Town also performed, with his spunky hot looking trio of ladies. Two who looked oh so active, dancing in sync and even if the sound let him down a bit. We liked how he did his performance. The freestyle battle, was, well… It had its moments; we didn’t get to see Noble Stylez. Alka Nemo won it but we have to commend the tall rapper from Mutare who we think did us proud. Ice Rockspin, showed up on stage, ten seconds after his song started playing (cringe). Breeze, was one of the memorable performers his song “ Manyepo”. It a  was good performance, he took to the stage alone and killed it.

The group K.L.A.P obviously put a lot of thought into their performance, they were the only ones who had props, coz when the lights went on, we saw a gangsters all seated playing cards, two sexy ladies,.too dope. Mudiwa also perfomed, he had dancers on stage who brought it and nailed it. He was clearly lip syncing and we still don’t know what he was throwing at people.  Marcques was the last one to perform. Got in with his love jam “Break your Heart” then of course got the ladies shaking it with “Zunguza”. He also had two dancers on stage shaking it. We still don’t known if it was part of the get up but Schingy got on stage with his partner and placed an old school radio right in front of Marcques then popped a bottle of Champagne, froth going all over the place. It all made up a good performance though.

The winners…and the losers

Did the back up judges do a good job? We have put the full list of winners at the bottom but some of the highlights include, the best dance crew, which were the Hood Crankers, the best promoter being Magamba (same guys who give you the Shoko festival). It seemed that it was only obvious that Kapital K would be the recipient for Best Diaspora as well as Marcques as the best newcomer. Few Kings as a crew and as individuals took most of the”talked about” awards, going home with the best group and best album. Their producer Take Fizzo took the best producer, Tehn Diamond grabbing the best male, Junior Brown scooping the MVP and Song of the year. The best female hip hop artist was won by Trae Yung with St Ignatius Chishawasha’s Overdose Boys taking the best High School act.  Another tightly contested category was the best collaboration which MMT took home and Best Radio DJ going to Davies Mugadza. Individually, Mudiwa took the most home, grabbing three awards, best gospel, best video and the people’s choice award.

The Biggest Looser?

Well, by now its obvious, anyone who lost hope, who pulled back, who did not positively criticise the awards. Anyone who thought that the awards wouldn’t go on without them, was the biggest loser! The awards were graced by The Deputy Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Supa Mandiwanzira and the Chairperson of the Miss Zimbabwe Trust Mary Mubaiwa Chiwenga. Some of the notables such as MC Cut and Junior Brown, Noble Stylez and Trae Yung weren’t at the awards but we were happy to see the legendary Mau Mau, Comrade Fatso, Out Spoken, Lochnation, Stephanie K, Tatea Da MC all at the awards.

Lots still has to be done, but with small victories we know that the brand will grow even bigger and better. There are some small things which we feel that at this point, the Zim Hip Hop Awards Team really disappointed us on, such as start time, we eventually left pretty much at mid night, some how, they should get things started earlier, whether people want to mix and mingle outside or not. By now, it’s inexcusable to have names spelt wrong, FUEL KINGS, NO WEEDS?  It was also disheartening to see that some of the stage performances weren’t as smooth; we really didn’t like the idea of seeing people walking across the stage mid presentation or performance, even if they were behind the DJ’s. Not so sure about having or not having a podium, or actually familiarising the presenters with what they are supposed to be doing when they get on stage. Some just talked for too long, others forgot to say the nominees, and in some cases there seemed to be a lack of communication between the sound guys, DJ’s and presenters. We feel like it doesn’t take money (which most people want to use as an excuse for underperforming) but just plain old organisation, effective stage management and rehearsal to fix these things.

To close off, we really have to thank Adrian Harris and his team. It’s been three years, running, certain programmes such as F.A.C.E.Z show how much Hip Hop can be an instrument for good in the society. We as bloggers often sound harsh and unforgiving and sometimes against such initiatives but PUSH applauds the Zim Hip Hop Awards. Where else would we see Zi-FM stereo and StarFM dj’s shaking it in short white numbers but besides the awards? Where else will you see the H town King in an white tux but besides the Zim Hip Hop Awards. Where else is Zim Hip Hop most celebrated each year but besides the Zim Hip Hop Awards.

The list of Winners

Best Positive Social Contribution – Jibilika                                                                                       Best Solo Dancer – Adrian Zinasi                                                                                                       Best Cooperate Supporter Supporting Hip Hop – Arizona Spur                                                       Best Album Art- Road to Fame (Crooger, design by Mykol Riley)                                                      Best High School Act - Overdose Boys                                                                                                    Best Dance Crew – Hood Crankers                                                                                                   Best Promoter – Magamba Network                                                                          BestOnlineMedia- African Hip Hop Blog                                                                                          Best Diaspora Act – Kapital K                                                                                                         Best Radio DJ – Davies Mugadza                                                                                                      Best Producer – Take Fizzo                                                                                                                Best club DJ - P-Styles                                                                                                                      Best Collaboration - Zvidhori Remix : MMT featuring Stunner, Alvina, Boi Mac, SimbaTagz and DJ Smylie                                                                                                                                                  Best album – The Feeling Aint Fair : Few Kings                                                                                  Best Video - 10/10 : Mudiwa                                                                                                              Best Newcomer- Marcques                                                                                                          Lifetime Achievement Award – Chiwoniso Maraire                                                                          Best Group -  Few Kings                                                                                                                   Best Female - Trae Yung                                                                                                                  Best Male - Tehn Diamond                                                                                                                Best Gospel Act – Mudiwa                                                                                                                        Best FreeStyle – Alka Nemo                                                                                                            MVP – Junior Brown                                                                                                                    People’s Choice Award – Mudiwa                                                                                                                                          Song of the Year – Madrinks : Junior Brown

@PUSHzw

ZIM HIP HOP AWARDS UNDRESSED PART 1: ORGANISATION AND PRE-EVENT

The hip hop community are at times a little too hard on the Zim Hip Hop Awards organisers. It is a young event, still growing and the organisers seem to have a lot to learn. It is not all their fault, they organise an event with little corporate support despite its great marketing and revenue making potential.

The awards are a symbol. People may run them down all they want but we all know that as long as you are an artist, no matter what you say about them, you WANT TO BE A PART OF THEM. Everyone wants acknowledgement and that’s the exact opportunity that the awards offer. Very few hip hop artists have had the great pleasure of a ZIMA or NAMA nomination, ZHHA is a platform for all the hip hop artists in the country (and we have lots of them). It’s a goal for artists, the measuring stick of their success.

We know it’s a young event and the organisers do not have much experience so why do we blame them so much. The ZIMAs/NAMAs are always just as bad if not worse. Squabbles about nominations, winners, timekeeping, and the overall event itself. They obviously need time so that they can learn the ropes on how to hold these awards in a manner as close to perfect as possible. They need to be given this time. By us.

At the same time, the organisers need to understand one thing. Just because the awards are in December, it doesn’t mean work has to start in October. It can start as early as March; they need to have a proper set up that allows for the recording of information during the year. Artists should not have to send in their work for nominee consideration!! The ZHHA organisers should be on top of their game, they should have records on notable and other moves made in the industry during the course of THEIR WORKING YEAR. If they 

consider work up until 25^th of October, they should already (yes right now) be looking at the music that has come out since then. At the end of the day that is where the nominees for the ZHHA 2014 are going to come from.

A question for people in the industry: Have the Awards been getting better since their inception in 2011 (the great Blackbird beef year)? Have the organisers gained even the tiniest shred of credibility since then? We certainly do not think so. (Oh, was that two questions? Hahaha and another one right there)

At one end the noise begins with the nominees. We should (and I’m sure they) know that there will always be noise when it comes to nominees. We all have artists that we feel should’ve made the cut but didn’t. It happens. Deal with it! As awards organisers, if they give us a set of nominees, no matter the complaints or the noise that fans/artists/critics/haters make, the organisers should stand by their decision. The ZHHA organisers did the opposite. A lot of us thought Schingy deserved a BEST NEWCOMER and maybe BEST VIDEO nomination. People made noise about it on Facebook, on Twitter, in kombis , in studios, on blogs, at home to people who didn’t care! Point is, people made noise. The biggest problem was that the ZHHA organisers gave in to the noise, thereby in our view, diminishing their credibility in as far as the other nominees. Everyone now wondered what it took to get yourself on the nominee list, the noise of your fans? Although if you look at it, it kind of makes sense! If your fans make noise and they put you on the programme maybe your fans will come to the event, meaning revenue for them. They aren’t total idiots. But they lost credibility to us.

Look we got past all that. It happens. Normal nominee banter, happens everywhere right? Let’s move on and have the awards. That’s what we thought right. Then a whole bunch of artists started denouncing the awards. The likes of POY, saying he would not perform for free. We thought that was kind of harsh of him, but hey, a man has his principles and his is that there’s “Nothing for Mahala!”.  A whole bunch of other artists and producers seemed to go on a rant about the whole thing, making it extremely hard for the organisers. How can we host these properly without your support?

And theeeeeeeeeen we had pricing drama! Ooh what drama it turned out to be! First announcements pegged tickets at $15 until 1 December when they would go up, and then obviously cost more at the door; but that’s not how it turned out. When we think of it my eyes get teary! We bought tickets for $15 and then these past two days tickets have been going for $10, with mention of people getting a perfume in the mix. Why? Why did that happen? Were ticket sales that low? Was it looking that bleak for the ZHHA organisers!

The biggest bombshell the Morning of the awards! The panel of judges, in a press release through 3 Men on a Boat, announced that they were removing themselves from the awards citing that material had not been provided for them to do their jobs up until today and the time period no longer aloud for proper winners to be announced. I’m sorry... WHAT?!!? THE JUDGES PANNEL TOLD US THIS MORNING THAT THEY HAD DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN AS FAR AS WINNER CONSIDERATION UP UNTIL THAT DAY!

At the same time this last minute declaration by the judges’ panel really put the organisers in a tight spot. Yes they didn’t give your material, but did you have to pull out on the morning of the awards? And worse of, by making a public spectacle of it they made it harder for the organisers to salvage credibility.

That was some heavy news to take in!! Really heavy!! But it didn’t prepare us for the response from the ZHHA organisers that the show would go on! The show will go on??!! But how?? Your judges’ panel just told us that they did not have the information to decide on winners and henceforth retired! The ZHHA then told us that another panel had been put in place to deliberate the winners.

It seemed to be raining bad news for the awards folk when later in the ay other players in the hip hop industry decided to hold an event, same time with the awards, across the road from the awards! Twitter became abuzz with retweets and mentions, people obviously trying to pool the awards crowd. We think that was unfair! It is non progressive, unethical and a sign that the biggest enemies of Hip Hop are within not without, Yes these awards organisers are messed up, they haven’t managed to correct any of their fault since they started but this would be sabotaging the industry we are trying to build. Well, we’re just glad they ended up coming to the awards.

The ZHHA organisers wanted us to listen to results coming from a backup panel created today about who should take the awards? And the judges had one day to deliberate? Fortunately, there were not too many complaints about award winners, despite the perceived reduced credibility of the judging process. I have to commend the award organisers or the judges’ panel. This is not to say that there is any artist undeserving of their award, but they managed to give awards to all the people capable of making the most noise afterwards. We say this especially given the judges panel fiasco that had happened earlier. Like a pacifier to a baby. We won’t be hearing much from them for a while! It was a sound business decision.

We had tickets. We went. We saw all the pretty faces and that is why you have to wait for the part two coming out tomorrow morning, when we look at the winners, loosers and moments to remember at the event.

PUSH

@PUSHzw|#KNY2013| #ZIMHIPHOPAWARDS

KNOW YOUR NOMINEES #7 Dizzy Don HE WHO CARVED THE MAP OF AFRICA

With one award already in hand, and two nominations this year, we just couldn’t ignore the rapper who first got us Baba Shupi, who was the best promoter of hip hop a year back, who has featured with some of the best artists in Zimbabwe from MC Chita to Mariachi. Dizzy Don stands as one of those Zim Artists who will dare to do the seemingly impossible to get the job done, even if it means travelling halfway across the SADC region to make an album, which is exactly what he did with the album of the year nomination “The Maps”. The front cover of the album has caricature image of the rapper himself standing right on top of the map of Africa, microphone in hand with the cable stretching from Cape to Cairo in the proverbial Cecil John Rhodes kind of way. (History Students will understand the significance). Fresh from the release of his new vid “How to spend a milli” featuring Msheznana from Bulawayo (watch it), we caught up with Dizzy Don (DD) and had a one on one.

PUSH: “The Maps”, How did it come to being?

DD: I view myself as a fan of music more than I am a musician in my own right. So you find that with this album, I attempted to get into studio with musicians that I considered great, thus the extensive collaboration list. After realising how far out these peeps were spread not only in musical style but geographically (Zim, Bots, SA, Malawi), I realised that I’d have to travel across the “MAP” to do it. Also, my real name is Donald Maphosa and one of my nick names being Maps, it just went down well as an album title.

PUSH: How many countries did you have to go to go through to get it done and which artists from these countries did you work with?

DD: Including  Zimbabwe, for Botswana, Liefy Jones, for South Africa, Numi and Wiely Jeans ( SoS are a South African Group but I recorded with them when they were up here for the Africa Hip Hop Caravan). I also worked with Dan Lu from Malawi

PUSH: You are not new to award to award nomination. You actually have won before. What do you think stands out so much about your album that makes it deserve to be one of the nominations for album of the year this year?

DD: I will not say it deserves to win because that will be a comparative statement versus everybody in the same category as me. What I feel it does deserves is to be listened to coz hapana bhama rakaita sairo. Hip Hop is self-expression and to compare my expression of self to someone else’s expression of self isn’t fair. But I do still cross fingers that I win only coz I could do with the increased reach that comes with the publicity associated with winners.

PUSH: Awesome, as for ‘Wapamthima’, Talk us through the shooting process and how that happened

DD: My biggest strength in life is my ability to network and knowing that I cannot do anything alone. Once I set my sights on doing music outside Zimbabwe, I consulted one man who is best at it, Elton Bryce. I simply asked him to deliver the best Malawian singer that I could work with.  He made the link and he found me Dan Lu. We talked and planned over the phone basically planning the move and the concepts in the separate countries. Demos were made and by the time Bryce and I left the country for Blantyre, I knew I was going to record. So over the next 5 days we recorded and put in our finishing touches, got joined by the video maker Chipiliro Konje, drove down to lake Malawi performed the song on Dan Lu’s slot at the Sun Lake Festival sharing the stage with Malawi’s Lucious Banda and SA’s Proffessor. We then shot the next day, Beautiful place, beautiful people, I learnt a lot and made valuable connections. I think the song/video speaks for itself in terms of quality.

PUSH: So going on to next year, whats going on for Dizzy Don?

DD: Ok, I have many a plan. There is a project coming soon probably before February called “The Experiment”, It’s my interpretation of alternative Hip Hop and all I can promise is its going to be crazy! I also have begun diversifying my business so expect some releases from my Man Made Music Label from other artists. I also will put in a lot of work in bringing unknown talent to the fore front as I have always done.

PUSH: Just to wrap up, where can people get your music, vids and projects?

DD: Google play, ITunes, Tavoom, to name a few online stores that carry my material. Physically come through to Rhymez I Wrote shop at 70 Selous, Harare where I sell my music together with other peoples music. My website will have links to all this plus my free mixtape material DizzyDon.co.zw.  ( the site will be online next week, its currently being revamped) Follow me on twitter @Dizzyzw and on Facebook, Dizzy Don Maphosa

PUSH: Thanks Dizzy and good luck at the awards.

PUSH.

Know Your nominees # 6: Schingy

When the categories for the Hip Hop awards were released, there were a lot of mixed feelings regarding some of the nominations and the categories themselves. One aspect that stood out was the reaction from Schingy’s fans who made so much noise that some critics have suggested that a category was made just for this young man (but this is just speculation). Meet Schingy.

PUSH: Finish this sentence, Schingy is

SCHINGY: Is also known as MWR or TRF, is a  Zim Hip Hop 2013 nominee signed under Team Rehab. He is a rapper, lyricist as well as a fashion designer . He is 20 years old and was born in Chitungwiza. He is doing a Business Management Degree by Midlands State University. MWR started music at the tender age of 5 but professionally has had to wait till 2011 where he co-founded Hot Boys 5 Star Rec with fellow partners and recorded his first EP entitled TAKAJAMUKA which made headlines on the internet and social media and also recognition from college students who liked the track. Currently he has released two videos and three singles from the forth coming Murimi WeRap album to be released in his birthday on the 06/06/2014 .These include his hit song Hustle On featuring Christhood which topped gospel charts and also received international airplay on online radio stations in America.  Its video was a major success to his career as it received air play on Channel O for almost 2 weeks and is currently being played on Nigerian Satellite Stations like Fresh Wave more than 8 times a day. The other song is Ndakuudza featuring Snurbei which received quite a good platform locally and regionally. The third song is Murimi WeRap featuring Team Rehab which is currently doing well in SOHH and in the streets.

PUSH: You have been nominated for MVP this year along side a couple of really talented artists, what were your thoughts when you saw the late announcement?

SCHINGY: It was a surprise to me after what had happened earlier but lately I feel honoured. It meant a lot to me especially that people really appreciated all the efforts I had put into my work.

PUSH: You have accumulated a really large following on social media, How did that happen?

SCHINGY:  I think to a certain extent, the air play I got from FreshWave  and  Channel O helped in building the fan base for me. Also some media appearance that I have done throughout the year, I can tell you, I have been in the press 52 times in less than 12 months. But to a greater extent, my followers are from MSU (fellow students) judging from the 13000 students who enrol there.

PUSH: They must love you. You arguably have had one of the nicest videos to come from Hip Hop this year and must have good management team. Who are these guys who work with you?

SCHINGY: My mangers are Tafadzwa Zimoyo, who is my personal manager, Liberty Dandire who does all the IT and stuff with Vanessa Chiyangwa helping in sponsoring and funding of projects.

PUSH: Second Last question before we let you go, if you were on the awards judges’ panel, why would they make you the MVP this year?

SCHINGY:  Hahaha okay, I’ve done better than all of them on the international scene. I have two international videos, this year, that’s more than my fellow nominees. I have more than one joint on chart shows at the same damn time, that’s more than my fellow nominees. I’ve been changing circles of Hip Hop from not being a Hararian, but being an artist whose music is sung in the outskirts unlike most of the other artists. I have done more shows than most of them, considering that I am on my own unlike some of the other artists who are a part of a clique. The achievements they have done are part of synergies not their own. If they are going to judge according to media and fans reach like they said on the day they created the category, then it’s obvious, I’ve been all over the media. I have many fans from the streets to the social sites that are behind me, some real niggas who are ready to die for their realest nigga.

PUSH: Interesting, Last question, what’s the future for Schingy? Can we expect anything for 2014? And where can fans get your music

SCHINGY: 2014, I am dropping my 1^st LP and prepare for a milestone in Hip Hop # DVD for my 7 top class videos to come out. I am also working on my short film project to come out next year. My music can be checked on my website although right now its currently under reconstruction www.schingy.com. Or the www.reverbnation.com/Schingy. Just Google Schingy they will definitely give you different links coz my name search now can lead to 9 pages with contents linking only to Schingy chete!

PUSH: Thanks a lot Schingy, good luck in the Hip Hop awards

PUSH

Know your Nominees #5 : Kasi Lunatics

Hailing from the City of Kings, this squad has been making noise this past year and last year. They have found their way onto charts, onto concerts, the press and now they have a nomination in ZHHA 2013. We caught up with them online; meet Kasi Lunatics (KL)

PUSH: First of all congrats on the nomination, So, some people don’t know Kasi Lunatics, In one sentence, Kasi Lunatics is?

KL:The best rap crew in Zimbabwe

PUSH: hahaha, when was it formed, how did it get together and what are the names of the members of the super click?

KL: The group was formed 3 rappers from Mzilikazi Suburbs, R.A.Peezy, B-Miles and Krusty “Freshman Fresh” Initially the group was called M.Z.E.T’s finest but later changed to Kasi Lunatics. Rappers, Subzero and Thieyz joined a year later.

PUSH: The Hip Hop awards, recognise moves made by artists throughout the year, what would you say you have done this year that makes you worthy of the nomination?

KL: Kasi Lunatics is a very perculiar group, Our music is very different from the “ordinary Hip Hop”. We fuse kasi-lingo, slang, culture so that people from Bulawayo can relate with our music. In Kasi – rap, In Zimbabwe, we lead. Besides our music, we have managed to perform with Proffessor (SA), endorsed by Coca- Cola during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair and we have been invited to Urban Music Festival in Harare. We also managed to release our debut album “Life on Mars” which was produced by Di Face and First Class who are the best producers in Bulawayo. We are the only Hip Hop group who have ever been approved to launch their album at Horizon Restaurant and Club, so eish, so I think some of these things set us aside to be one of the best groups in Bulawayo and Zimbabwe.

PUSH: This year, the nomination for best group has K.L.A.P, MMT, Few Kings and Monkey Nutz, what were your thoughts when you saw the fellow contenders?

KL: These guys have worked hard and yo man, we are honoured to be nominated in the same category, we were actually shocked coz these guys are at the top of their game.

PUSH:  So going into the future, what can we expect from Kasi Lunatics? Anything for 2014?

KL: We are releasing a DVD for all our music for all our music from the time we started to early 2014. We are doing collaborations with well-known South African Rappers, we will not mention names but surely, Zimbabweans will be shocked and will really be proud of Zim Hip Hop. We are also doing Solo projects.

PUSH: Yep Yep, So where can fans get your music and your projects?

KL: https://soundcloud.com/kasi-lunatics10/kasi-lunatics-we-dont-waste-pr

www.reverbnation.com/kasilunatics

we also have a fan page “Life on Mars” and “Kasi Lunatics”

PUSH: Thanks a lot Kasi Lunatics and good luck at the awards.

PUSH

  

Know Your Nominees #4 : Teri Joc – Best High School Act

One thing is for sure, the young kids these days definitely have it easier in as far as options to follow music as a career. In our day, you would’ve gotten a good caning for wanting to o anything other than school while your parents paid fees.

As an artist it always takes time for you discover yourself and what works perfectly for you. The high school act award will ensure competition and good music starts at an early age. The quality of Zim Hip Hop is bound to get better exponentially!!

This young man started getting involved with hip hop in 2009 when he was a student at Kutama College. Teri Joc and some friends had a clique of rappers where they involved the whole stream but were the leaders as they were deemed the cream of the crop. This was all for fun though, those who have been to boarders know you need to keep yourself sane.

It was only after he transferred to Churchill that a lot of people pressured him to take hip hop up seriously since they strongly believe he would make it. It was the pressure and encouragement that drove him to work harder and he went on a grind in search for studios to work at. His first recording was at a home studio (sound familiar?) owned by Almera, the dancehall artist who he worked with on the song.

The great support system at home helped him make the next big steps. He was told to contact his cousin Tatea who seemed to be getting it right in the industry. He linked up with him, one thing led to another and Tatea took him to Freestyle Fridays with the rest of MMT. Really impressed by this Teri’s work, later took him to Rehab Entertainment studios where he was introduced to and immediately hit it off with YoungNash.  That led to the making and subsequently the release of his first track. Teri told the PUSH Team of the pleasant surprise of hearing himself on radio some time afterwards.

Teri then had to deal with a fame burst as everyone at school suddenly wanted to be his friend and his friends increased. He told us how hay he was as he had made his family proud; his mother, his grandmother, everyone really

He recently release a single titled “Hapana” which features Boi Mac and triple award nominee Crooger. We had the opportunity to hear it and we loved it! He believes people love it and it has been a part of the puzzle that earned him his nomination for Best High School Act in his first year in the industry! He says that after awards he starts work on his first Album but gave no release date or period.

The PUSH Team also asked him a couple of questions and these were his responses:

How seriously do you take the music? A lot of artists slacken when they get older. Do you see yourself joining that wagon?

“Noo I love music... I see myself s a grandad still making music. Well, at JayZ's age I definitely will still be making music

Who inspires you locally?

“Tatea, Yachi (Mariachi) & Jnr Brown”

Who would you want to work within the industry? Producers and artists

“Simba Tagz, Few Kings, Kapital K, Take 5, YoungNash (as an artist this time), Marcques “

So, as the PUSH Team, we want to thank everyone believed in this young artist and the many others like him.

PUSH

@PUSHzw|#KYN2013|

KNOW YOUR NOMINEES #3 : Sinbad

“it’s a big thing to be nominated and it shows that people know that you are there and they like your work so most definitely, I’m happy about the nomination”

Say hello to Sinbad90. {hiiiiiiiiiiiiiie Sinbad}.

This Best Newcomer nominee was born and raised in the city of Kadoma and that is where he started working towards mastering his art from an early as the age of 10. His first recording was on a Kadoma Mixtape that did not fair to well but that did not deter him, he has kept pushing and this is where it has gotten him. Last year he released a mixtape “the Raptheory” and that’s when he start getting serious airplay, from ZiFM Stereo and Starfm.

Anyone following this talented act will have noticed the evident relationship with urban legend producer Take Fizzo and the Zion/Chamhembe stable. He told PUSH that this is  a relationship that started in 2011 when he was in Harare and needed work done. He says that Take Fizzo was the only producer who did not give him attitude but instead made him feel at home.

He says his style does not focus much on punch lines but mostly on delivery and always rhyming with the beat. His work shows that he has really been putting an effort into his self discovery as an artist. Hell, he doesn’t sound like anyone, and that’s a good thing!

Sinbad90 currently has two tracks on rotation, “do what you do” that features the talent of the Hook king with the deep voice, Junior Brown (we should really stop making up titles for Junior Brown) and “Nakurira” that features Charmarah-Baller-Tulk Money, both produced by Take Fizzo.

He says that he does not believe in recording with one producer all the time but instead thinks it is better to follow producers who can give you the sound that you require. In addition to Fizzo, in Harare he also works with Greg Loyal and Scary Potter while in Kadoma he works with Taffy D of Trombill Studios. He has also worked with Isaac Pro, a Zambian Producer and one song we heard produced by him was the upbeat song “Dollarsign Party.”

“...my video is being played in Zambia for Ghetto Life on their national television and Africa Unite Tv.” If that is not grinding hard, then what is?

Sinbad has told us that despite it being award season, he hasn’t stopped working and he is actually working on a new project. He has promised us that the first single will drop sometime this month. We can’t wait. We also cannot wait to see his performance at the awards!!

PUSH 

Know Your Nominees #2: Best Song of the Year

Ok this is one of the categories where we all get to vote and be heard! And we believed this has been the hardest vote yet, at least since the first ZHHA. This year’s line-up features tracks that shook radio, shook our chill spots and even some people’s mama sang along to. The worst part is: this year there were many other Hip Hop tracks doing similar damage. This year’s songs compete for popularity pound for pound with sungura which normally have a hold on get-drunk-songs  

Ok ok, in or best presenter voice, “and the nominees are...”

Madrinks – Junior Brown

Let’s face it; this guy has been MVP at the awards since their inception. This guy has been at the centre of the best awards. Props to this guy! He’s a really talented artist. Breezy! Madrinks is a track that definitely had people jumping for the greater part of this year. Everybody who’d be trying to be ‘balling’ knew that for that, this song would have to playing in your car (or your friend’s if you do not own one) and the girls would have to have drinks flowing all night because, “pihwai madrinks vaskana..zvekudhen’ tozozviona mangwana”

Happy – Tehn Diamond feat. Junior Brown

Tehn is another artist who has made his name synonymous with the peak of Zim Hip hop and the ZHHA. Mostly through his efforts and incredible work rate which really makes you wish all Zim hip hop acts had a management team even half as good as Tsungi & Mjonono! Of course we’re not sure exactly when Happy was “formally released” but we remember it being premiered at the first ZHHA in 2011. We believe Happy helped change the way the Zim market looks at Zim hip hop and was one of the songs to start proper appreciation for local hip hop. And they made a slogan while at it! Did we forget to mention that Junior Brown was a part of it? But then again, who would miss that voice?

And that video! Great work by Enqore on the video. Sad to hear that it was banned fom ZBCtv for the girls in the bikinis, who are kind of the reason why we watch it.

Chibhodhoro – Stunner feat Shinso

Just when everyone was making a turn up song and you thought that Tazoita Cash Records boss Stunner was out somewhere sulking about Pokello and throwing darts at a photo of Elikem!! Just when you were having all those weird thoughts! You! Not us! Stunner hit us with this song, partnering with ShinsoMan, Dancehall Father! What more could you expect from two artists who known to hold their own in the Zim music industry? Instant Hit! And an awesome video to follow up!

Zunguza – Marcques

Another talented rapper out of the controversial Rehab Entertainment stable and also Best Newcomer nominee, Marcques made his mark with only his second track to hit radio. Having offered Ndini Wacho first, when Zunguza came out every girl wanted to do it and every guy wanted to watch! Awesome and witty punchlines, and a deep voice (what? Is this deep voice year or something?)are what make this song a hit! This song has featured everywhere you have been. Everyone has heard this from the girls in salons to the ladies working in labs...and we have proof! Great going for the newbie to make himself contender for this award! It can’t get any better for you in your first year. We just hope his following has voting power to make a difference for him.

Zvidhori – MMT

Contrversial group, also nominated in the Best Group category, this was one of their biggest tracks of the year. This song got remixed by some of the country’s finest artists and the remix earned itself a nomination for Best collaboration. We have got to give it to them, these guys created a reference term with this song. Now a lot of people be referring to some ladies as Zvidhori and its a term that would make it into the Zim slang dictionary. Radio, clubs, cars in parking lots nekuhuku; this is another of this year’s hip hop tracks that had us in frenzy.

The PUSH Team wishes to congratulate all the Nominees in this category for the nominations. Your efforts have been noted by the industry. Now let us put our airtime to good use and vote! You can vote via text or via the Zim Hip Hop Awards website.

Know your nominees #1: Crooger, The Big Voice behind the Choruses

The question is, how can you not know him? Every thing about this rapper is distinctly unique. When we first heard him it was on a track called Mabroke Niggas. Really!!! Who does that? The song was all the way cocky, it was really direct, Broke guys, we hate you!! The song featured fellow nominee Tatea Da MC, the song went to be remixed and he got the whole MMT squad to feature. The particular song went on to perform impressively on radio charts.

Crooger’s most striking feature is his overwhelmingly powerful vocal presence whenever he is on choruses. The big voice that varies from deep gravel  like melodies to high pitched notes all at once. His biggest strength must be his ability to make simplicity sound fun and consistent use of Shona Bars on heavy sounding beats is impressive.

One other thing that Crooger was able to do on his Album “Road to fame” was get a variety features on his album, from Ndebele sitting  Duke Box, to Mr Nobody and punchline specialists like Ishy X. We also have knowledge that he worked with a couple of different producers, on his album you will hear beats made by  Young Nash, Mr Nobody, Dr Clarence, Lazzie T and Benny B just to mention a few. The different sounds captured by the songs are testimony of this because you move from loud sounding heavy bass songs to dancehall sounding love jams or just purely R n B like songs.

Of the songs that made noise from Crooger on this album are Mabroke Niggas and Jah Guide. You will hear awesome collaborative efforts on this album with Schingy, Marcques, Preach and MIK. Outside his own album are some tracks such as ALN’s featuring Mykol’s ,  Anotamba Sele  where without his unmistakable voice, the song wouldn’t have been the same.

If you didn’t see him in the newspaper, in a magazine or on a poster somewhere, here at PUSH we are saying, you better! He has been nominated three times in this years edition of the Zim Hip Hop awards for  Best newcomer, Best album artwork (Courtesy of I cover ART ) and Album of the year.  You can get his music on

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crooger/371982152887271?ref=hl 

PUSH

NOBLE STYLEZ: KING OF WORDPLAY?

Whether, you hate him or like him, you cant ignore this

Regai ndivaite party asi kwete ye politics/ Vachagara vari panzara vakafanana ne Cutex

Practizayi musimbe kunge surname ya Maskiri/ Munenge hanzvadzi dzamudhara wangu muri vatete kwandiri

Off his first major offering “Masofa Panze”, Noble Stylez is one of those Non Harare (thankfully) rappers who made enough noise this year that we are frankly surprised that he isn’t on the nominee list this year for the Zim Hip Hop Awards.

His claim to fame…

The Masvingo MC has apparently been around for quite some time and quite honestly,we did not know him because of his music first. What caught our attention was the fact that he always used to be that one person always criticising and incessantly picking on Tatea Da MC, MMT and their outfit Rehab ENT. The streets say that, the reason he did this was his mentioned adversaries were the reason why underground rappers were not a getting a chance to shine.  Whether most of his followers thought that his adversaries controlled the flow of music on radio or what not we dont know, but it all resulted in a huge internet following for the rapper who has fans (he does not like them calling them that, he prefers using family) that will bite your head off if you try and test the King of Wordplay. Listening to his music, you can tell that it was bound to get to our ears sometime sooner than later. That is why, PUSH will salute his decided strategy to attack MMT and Rehab ENT as his way to be heard and seen. The results have been phenominal. We’re not saying every-would be rapper should attack Rehab, Few Kings, Showtime or Zion but they should at least show that they have the time to push their music.

Masofa Panze…

This album for those who have listened to it is above par, no doubt. You will be kept entertained by the out of this world themes, the beats are reminiscent of early Zim rap in the years two thousand and somethings, but most of all, the guys wordplay is just by leaps and bounds one of the best in Zimbabwe. We have gotten so used to loud hip hop, escapist ideas and things centred around the capital city so much that it is refreshing to know that there Hip Hop lives outside the bounds of the capital city. Noble Stylez, not only can come up with the wittiest punchlines, but he is also a good story teller. The narrations of some of his tails on the album on songs like Mpho’s Story, Chamunorwa are colourful and easy to follow. His other songs are your normal rap-like, braggadocio songs like Madhorifiaya, Dhuku rechembere where he flexes and shows you why he really is a force to be reckoned with. The other tracks on the album are eye brow raising and controversial, touching on conspiracy theories such as modern day World domination and other thought provoking issues such as life after death, spiritual visitations and relationships with God.

But then again

Despite all the good Noble Stylez has, he might be called the next Maskiri. Sometimes it feels like you are listening to a remake of Maskiri. Mostly because their styles are almost similar, the way the songs are presented also remind us of Maskiris past albums such as Blue Movie and Muviri wese, the themes are also kinda similar. But in the game of Hip Hop this is bound to happen some time or the other and its not about who did it first its about who did it better.

The future for Noble Stylez

We would really love to hear this MC getting a whole lot more airplay. We can almost see the beginning of a legend in this rapper. He has gone against the grain, taking on a big team, released an album without a major radio hit and as he is already a respected free style artist, with an internet following that competes with some of the heavy weights in the industry, his progression in the game is really dependent on what he does as an individual ALL HAIL NOBLE STYLEZ…RISING KING OF WORDPLAY.

GET HIS ALBUM AT THIS LINK YOU WONT REGRET IT

www.mediafire.com%2F%3F4u4c23ubixall&h=ZAQFE7PSI

PUSH

Why Zimbabwean fans won't buy your CD or come to your show

“Zimbabwean fans suck! They never come to our shows! They want to pay $15 for Sean Kingston but won’t pay $5 for local shows”

Every artiste’s favourite line. Have you guys ever tried thinking WHY the local fans are like that? It is actually quite simple. YOU are not worth even their five dollars. This is when the average Zimbabwean artist will want to bring to our attention the fact that Sean Kingston got slayed by Winky D and a couple of local acts at his concerts and Zimbos still won’t pay $5 to go watch them.

A good number of Zimbabwean artistes do not understand one thing. YOU are a brand! You need to market your brand. Your brand needs to be worth my $5 for the show or $3 for the CD. It’s simple, sometimes the music you make as Zimbabwean artistes will be more entertaining for me as a fan than the international act but you packaging is crappier than kiddies underwear bought at Powersales.

Why I won’t come to your show

As a fan I’ll be honest. I don’t give a two damn rat rectums  how much I love your song, how many chart topping songs you’ve made, if the flier/poster to your show looks like it was designed and printed kuna Mbuya Nehanda or Chinhoyi Street you’re guaranteed not to see my money. Zimbabwean artistes need to know that from the moment they get into the public eye the marketing game starts. Of course when you start off there are some not so awesome  gigs like Agric Show slot performances or a show at a high School at their variety show. The thing is, you never know who is watching or who is there! If you can barely stay upright and are staggering all over the stage because of your intoxication at a sponsored event, do you think I will be there when you do your own thing?

This is why I will spend my money on Mi Casa/Bryan Adams/*insert international act here. I will spend that money there and NOT on you because I’m guaranteed of organisation. Even if the sound check goes on forever at the international act’s show, I’m still almost guaranteed of a good show, good to excellent sound system and a well planned event in general. I go to a local show that is a collection of local artists and I get a sound system that sounds like  two dollar earphones, a longer than a Harry Potter movie sound check (where there’s no band), and guys passing two microphones among the six of them! THAT is why you are not worth my money!

Music is a product just like any other. Artists need to learn what exactly it is that fans pay for. Sometimes fans pay for exclusitivity, sometimes ambience of a place, and some fans place a lot of value on time. Artists need to know exactly why local fans are keeping their money in their pockets.

Why I won’t buy your CD

Another Nehanda/Chinhoyi St artwork job! I am not going to touch this. Or if it’s a princo CD, title written in marker ink, in your Hwindi handwriting, sooo NOT going to buy this. Your album art is a picture of you paDurawall next door with text editing that looks like it was done on a phone, yup you guessed it, NOT buying it!! Maybe won’t even listen to it. And if I was a radio DJ, the only air time your music would have is between the distance from my hand and the refuse in a  bin! Guys printing CDs doesn’t cost much. The costs are honestly negligible. Please do just that.

The fans also won’t buy your CD if you cannot invest in yourself (which I feel is a big problem with Zim artists). Just because I said invest in yourself doesn’t mean we’re saying print t – shirts.  We mean the simple things; there are a lot of marketing gimmicks that you can do for free to make your music known to us. Look at Noble Stylez; he took on one of the most happening stables in the country and made noise on Facebook until he was heard. Now people know him. Now people know that there’s something called “Masofa panze”.  Or look what Few Kings did at the Big Chill; having guys in crowns sell the CDs, a website. It’s the little things like that, that can make a scrooge buy your CD.  At the same time sometimes artistes must be willing to spend money.

…Because gosh you videos are appalling..

We cannot be the only Zimbabweans tired of videos without concepts or themes that come from Zimbabwean artists. How hilarious is the church concept on the King Shaddy “Machira Chete” video? Or who remembers the wonderful simplicity of the Simba Tagz video for “Stronger”? If you suck at conceptualizing, get someone who can help you. We are tired of videos that look like you were only given a day to come up with a concept.

And fellow fans, I’m sure we’re all tired of projects that obviously had no time invested in them. You listen to it and it just sounds like this guy was rushed through production. The content is stupid, the quality just as bad. Like seriously, on average, how much time do our local artists spend on their albums/mixtapes? And to make it worse, when it’s done, this guy just gets up on a random Tuesday morning and posts that his album is out! What? I mean, WHAT? Your album is out? What album? You’ve been working on an album? Not even a countdown?!? Is that really hard? “Guys, my Mixtape drops in X days”. Just push a little, do some makeshift marketing. ANYTHING really!

Guys look. I work a shitty 8-5 job. I have a shitty boss, who’s on my case every breathing moment. This right here...(*waves a wad f $1 notes)...is hard earned cash. You need to show me that you are worth it. Some albums sound like they were competed in a matter of weeks, like someone rushed you to release your album. The result: shoddy workmanship! I’m not about to take my wallet out and pay for that music. People cry that there’s no corporate partnership with the music industry. Corporate will not partner with you solely on the basis of you having three or four records that are on born-free-crew-level rotation on radio and in the clubs. They will also look at the package that is you the artiste and that is where the decision to partner comes. Stunner seriously reinvented himself(or his lady at the time did so) and he got a lot of corporate buy-in, Winky D created the Ninja brand and it resulted in a lot of corporate buy-in. If it was about how many of your songs were hits, Roki would have corporate buy in as well, but we all know that is a good product with flawed packaging!

So our view, make yourself a brand, invest in the little things, invest in some of the big things, take time on your projects and give us the best of you. You’ll be surprised how many people may actually pay for your work.

PUSH

WHO SHALL BE THE LAST WOMAN STANDING?

Yes, the nominees are out and we are wondering what the outcome is going to be. We shall start our watch with those individuals that make the world go round. So we have a wrestling ring with , Alvina in one corner, DJ Naida in another, Trae Young in the third corner and PUSH watching it all in the last one (in a ring with three lovely ladies…NICE!). Help us here, who shall be the best femcee.

Videos

We have seen Naida in one really crazily dope video which was a feature. Trae Yung, like Naida on a vid with other MC’s had a really nice vid also. Alvina? We are still waiting for it, cause all we got were behind the scenes shots to a video that hasn’t came out.

Radio

DJ Naida pretty much owned it at one particular time. We mean that literaly, she ran a show on one of the local radio stations(and we heard a lot of Naida on that show). Trae Yung broke onto radio before Alvina, and whenever she gets a song on radio, it’s another hit. Alvina, probably gets the most requests on radio, whether she is just featuring or it’s actually her own song. That’s how dope she is

Looks

Hehehehe…while we’re on this we watched a couple of videos. Naida looked wonderful in that video with the Trinidad and Tobago goons, though her music is what tugs at us most, you cant ignore the hot curves; Trae Yung is hot, I think we can stop there. She’s HOT, it’s her music. Alvina, er, we saw her on that Zvidhori video..and to tell the truth, she almost saved the video!

Lyricism

Naida, well, doesn’t go all conscious a lot, she is the BEST ENTERTAINER in this ring, mostly turn uppy music. Trae Yung, is the one who actually has the most depth amongst the three. Alvina undoubtedly has the best punchlines in the ring right now.

Public Eye

Naida, well, we hate to say, is always in something, sometimes it’s not because of her, sometimes well it is. Controversial tweets and Facebook rants, victim of rapper punchlines blah blah blah. Trae Yung, is very very humble, never braggy or boasty, we aint got dirt on her at all, she’s about her music. Alvina, besides being in Team Rehab which is always in some issue or the other also isn’t in any ones bad books so far, but then again, when she’s not on radio she’s not in anyone’s books – almost nonexistent and will that be her downfall?

Progress

Naida has contributed the most in the ring. She is for FEMCEE power, she is always busy on one project or the next and they always work out really well. Trae Yung, seems focused, also looks like she has got her own grind on lock, album launches, sales, videos, etc. Alvina? Some of the nicest features, Mau Mau, MMT but we feel like we need more songs and actual projects.

Uniqueness

Naida, stands out because, she  works hard, she is in our faces, she is approachable and has a wide array of musical associations. Your all rounder. Trae Yung, she stands  out for us because she is what you would say “does her own thing”. To us it looks like she isn’t dependent on the big names in the game to have a great album which is also in the running for album of the year. Alvina unlike both these rappers, is very different. Shona raps, punchlines that are scary, and she always sounds angry. She has her own style

Verdict?

That’s up to you, all of them has very great pluses and maybe not so cool attributes…we shall see…come 11 December. See you at the awards

PUSH

MMT LP : ALBUM REVIEW

We waited and it came out, we whipped our $3.00 and bought the album. After having pretty much all the singles they released go on number one on one or more charts on local radio, here is what we think about their whole album The MMT-LP

1.       Wake Up!

You read the track list and you’re like...”oh,  Wake Up? ok, I know that one, then you here the unmistakeable voice of Dj Munya introducing the song, good intro guys!

“homwe dzakazvimba se face yekwa Tin Tin”,

 “Ima need a Big B&%$ ,like DJ Naida”,

Just some of the lines from the first track we heard from the group when they first hit the market. The controversial song they used to propel themselves into our lives, phones, and computers and onto radio. The same song, nothing changed and we still like it...and are still too scared to recite it public.

2.       Handei

Tatea went it alone on this one, with the rest of the team on the hook. Tatea da Mc isn’t the best rap lyricist out there but we have got to put him up there when it comes to delivery and his delivery as he tells this story of a decision to take the music industry by the horns is a good listen, charismatic and well done. We do have an issue with the mastering on this one, some parts of the song have the beat overshadowing the H town King. The beat, was shockingly really head bopping. Its that type of instrumental you want to nod your head to with half a mean mug. The poem at the beginning, Nice! The content is clear and the song we will recommend to anyone. “kwete zva Themba comes to town ne 8 gig re dzungu”

3.       Zvidhori

Erm..we know this song, you know this song; we love it you love it...what more do you want? These guys gave us a term to use on babes without being impolite. The instrumental again, another reason why YoungNash  is one of the best producers this year. The single is naughty, entertaining deserving of praise and plays. The similes and metaphors are relentlessly funny and witty, the delivery by the trio was on point and its one of those that we have witnessed rumps shaking too….alot!

4.       Slow Down Feat Anonzi Xndr

They feature the Rehab ENT boss on this song. Whenever Xndr sings,, you might either like it a lot or like it not. We had a split decision amongst the PUSH team on what we thought of the feature. The instrumental not too aggressive but enjoyable, the raps on the song were nice (as usual) MC Cut did it the most for us. “ndakushupa kunge inlaw”. But we cant forget this line “even if the coin is tails, still getting head”

5.       All the Way feat Tinashe Makura

We are not going to say anything about the subject matter! We know everyone loves this subject matter. Who doesn’t love a nice “close the door and hopes she takes it all off song” We can already see how their minds work. Tinashe Makura is obviously talented in his own right but we thought the pre-chorus after the first verse could’ve done with a little more sprucing up, but we like the rest. Another thing, now we ain’t tryna be meeting the boys from MMT while we with our girls! “I’m the CEO in my company now she wants ,me all up in her business”

6.       Ngirozi feat Tinashe Makura

Our eyebrows got raised a bit when on the tracklist we saw one artist featured twice on songs that come after each other. Then we heard the song, GOSH! There is something about the simplicity of the acoustic feel of instrumental coupled with Tinashe’s  vocals that make this one of the best Hip Hop love songs we have heard this year. It’s a nice calm song to listen to. There seemed to be a consensus here with the PUSH team though that Ngirozi is a better song than the previous one (you see why they shouldn’t have been one after another? We’re comparing now).

7.       Vanozviziva feat Marcques

“...kunge mufundisi paXimex, Havana dhiri ava”

This song was a MC Cut solo with deep voiced stable-mate award nominee,  Marcques. We are not going to lie, this song has the most different feel from most of the songs on the LP but it will definitely be a favourite for many. The partnership of these two artistes makes for a really good track, we bumping to it and we do wanna know! The beat is what many call sick and MC Cut murdered it. “she just went Zii kunge station yeku Newlands”

8.       Party Yatanga feat Darkfface

Another of the four hits that MMT released prior to the LP release.  MMT have proved to us that when its “turn up” songs, that is their area of expertise. That being said...”call it musanganoooooo, kunge party!”  Some people love criticising digital beats, its such people who would be put to shame when they’d listen to such a song.  Its not too loud, they aren’t shouting but still you cant not like it. Could be one of the best on the album

9.       Clear feat Kapital K, Alkamai, Munetsi

Its like watching, the Jamaican 100 metre relay team at the Olympics! It had been long since we heard a cypher-like line up going hard on a beat. This is what you get when you mix, a freestyle legend, a punchline expert an three of the illest rappers in Zimbabwe. No wonder why the abbreviation MMT could mean “..the Murder Murder Team..”

10.   Chakaipa feat Dhadza D

“Hatibatike, nzvee kunge ZESA/ Ane bhora ndiye anomarkwa Iniesta”

A song that transcends two genres, has one of the kings of Zim Dancehall, produced by one of the dopest  Zim Reggae producers, recently took lead on a local radio chart, was the anthem at exclusively Dancehall  get up…you want more?  A word of advice; only listen to it on a good sound system otherwise you may miss out on the little big things!

11.   Harvest (we just tryna eat) feat O-25

Mariachi features the talents of Showtime artiste O-25 to tell a story of the pain of an artiste and speaks on losing love and opportunities. Harvest sounds like a heartfelt song where he also makes reference to recent history. Saddish, full of emotion song, it takes us back to the Mariachi of “The Mariachi Code”. When that comes up, another issue is brought to light, the fact that “Mzukuru” sounds like this other American rapper who is married to Beyonce. O-25 did a good job on the song, his vocals impressive as he carried the emotion of the song. Thanks guy.

12.   FUNERAL

      This has got to be one of the realest songs done by MMT. Looks at our fears of death and what legacies we’ll leave behind. This is a song that everyone should be able to relate to.  Taken from the view of a person being at their own funeral, all the regrets, bad choices and such...nemimba dzakasiiwa naMariachi!  After all was said an done, that ending with the mamutora nhai baba..gosh!! The take on death that each MC took makes it so easy to understand. Poetry in motion. It will be a number one  for most hardcore hip hop heads.

13.   Zvidhori (remix) feat DJ Smylie, Simba-Tagz, Alvina, Stunner, Boi Mac

One thing is for sure: this is one of the best remixes of any song to ever come out of Zimbabwe! An all Star line up that only made an already hot track even hotter. Everyone on this song did well. Sadly their video for the song left a lot of people disappointed.

14.   Thank you feat Fungai Nengare

MMT closes off the LP with a message. To the haters…again. We believe that Fungai Nengare holds his own when it comes to male vocalists in Zimbabwe but we were not 100% impressed on the song. MMT on the other hand did what they do best. There is an obvious anger from two of them, it is well expressed.  You have got to appreciate the word play these boys display on the song though.  

MMT have all too often been accused of being shallow in their content; singing only about the party scene and turn up and getting drunk and girls. The album shows their other side, it is ultimately a very HIP HOP album, mostly talking to the industry and it has a handful of deep tracks that the normal person can relate to. These are the likes of Handei, Harvest, Funeral and Thank you. They even did songs for the ladies, which some may not be sure if thats their stronghold.

Album accessibility,no downloads, if you have listened to this album, then you probably bought it. So we are guessing a good number of people out of Harare might not have got it yet.  What did we not like about this album? Not too many things. We have to highlight that, on one of the songs, we think the mastering could’ve been better. The R n B artists  on some of the songs could’ve had their vocals a little more balanced. There is a lot of emphasis on the subject of them being “hated on”. They could be critiscised for dwelling a bit too  much. In their defence though, we could then say they have every reason to talk about it. Are they not the crew which has been receiving the most flack from other artists, bloggers, rival fans etc… well they are. Sometimes however, the way they reference or address the hate may be seen as picking fights by onlookers and potential fans.We don’t know how much that may make or break their careers.

The songs and themes captured on this album are entertaining, witty, not monotonous and  creative. They chose a good number of features (and good ones for that, Kapital K, Alvina, Marcques, Incredible Mu, Dadza D) thus one song will never sound like the previous one. Even though it has 14 tracks, it easy to finish in one go, how can you not when four of the songs are chart toppers. The fact they also exclusively let each MC have their own song worked in their favour.

One other thing about the trio is that, unlike most MC’s in Zimbabwe, their lyricism relates to Zimbabwe. They use punch lines, metaphors and similes all related to Zimbabwean things and common scenarios that we all can easily relate to. We are thankfull (finaly) that they have got Mariachi rapping in vernacular now and when he does, the usual comment that people have that he has a tendency of sounding like Jay Z also goes away.

The perhaps best aspect of this album is that it really it is close to home.  The songs which we hadn’t heard are heartfelt, real, emotional, poetic and who thought that the boys who we only knew for singing naughty controversial songs could pull that off? That is what Hip Hop is and that is what a Hip Hop fans want (but could be an issue for a person who is a casual listener… just saying)

All in all listening to the album you cannot help but watch the growth of three artistes as a group and as individual artistes. Cause hey...lets agree on this, they were above average individually but as a group they do prove  to be special. One producer recently called it word play, but we say it like this; vakomana veHip Hop vanodenha. Twitter recently showed that Amara brown made reference to one of the lines from Handei where Tatea mentions people who he says are riding n their father’s fame. This is what we’ve come to expect from MMT. They are the industry’s social commentators, some of their opnions are shared by a lot of people who may never have the chance to actually say it. MMT, however seem not to care about dwelling on touchy issues. They picked their role in the industry and they do it well.

What do we give it, 3.7/5