Television personality Oscar Pambuka’s last major event as
the patron of the Zimdancehall awards turned out to be a disaster as this
year’s ceremony was snubbed by the genre’s big names.
The Zimdancehall awards, the brainchild of Phineas Mushayi,
were held in Harare on Thursday night after the organisers failed to put up the
event in the first quarter of 2017.
Pambuka was forced to step in through his company, Oscar
Pambuka Productions (OPP), but his intervention failed to save the situation
after the genre’s cream stayed away.
The ZTV presenter told The Standard Style that Soul Jah
Love and Seh Calaz, who were billed as the drawcards for the event, had other
engagements.
“They were committed at other shows where they are
performing tonight [Thursday] and Soul Jah Love communicated that he would not
be around today, but would attend the after party, which is also the case with
Seh Calaz,” Pambuka said.
Other big names in Zimdancehall who did not show up were
Kinnah, Hwindi President, Freeman and Guspy Warrior. There was no explanation
for their absence.
Veteran Zimdancehall producer Arnold Kamudyariwa said it had
become a trend that most big names snubbed the awards.
“What big artistes have done today is what they used to do
before,” he said.
“I think the previous promoter used to be scolded too, with
some saying the awards did not add financial value, among other things; but
when they do not attend like this, it is a disadvantage to us.”
Kamudyariwa, popularly known as Fantan, said the lack of
support from the big artists was not good for the genre.
“We are now worried about whether or not the promoter will host
the awards next time,” he said. “So we do not encourage what the big artistes
have done but to those who have come to support, we give thanks.”
The non-appearance of the big names, which some guests
suggested was a show of no confidence by the artists in the awards, was not the
only sore point on Thursday night.
The set up at the ceremony was below standard and there was
controversy when at least two people were given the same award in some
categories.
However, Pambuka defended the awards system, saying the
judges had seen it fit to award more than one artist.
“According to the judges who came up with the list, the two
would have been equally good. I was not judging but merely hosting the awards,”
he said. “The perception about the
awards [being chaotic] needs to be corrected [because] it has been marred with
controversy.”
Apart from the absence of the standard glitz and glamour
associated with awards globally, artistes merely got certificates for their
efforts.
Pambuka, who is also a dancehall chanter, believes all the
mistakes he failed to correct in his five-year term as patron of the awards,
can be solved by his successor.
“It is paramount for new ideas to come through maybe
strategies differ [but] going forward, a new person should take over as patron
of the Zimdancehall awards,” he said.
“A board needs to be created and the artistes should also
form alliances because only unity can take them forward.”
Meanwhile, this year’s edition saw Soul Jah Love and Kadja
being crowned King and Queen of Zimdancehall, with rising chanters Jah Signal,
Silent Killer and Blot adding to the list of regular winners. Standard
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