Zim’s high-flying young tycoons give Winky D $70k

By Bridget Mananavire

Zimdancehall “boss” Winky D became a promoter’s dream on Friday night when he launched his Gombwe album, netting a cool $70 000 in first sales at an oversubscribed show at the Harare International Conference Centre.

Forget about the moola racked in ticket sales, in just one night, Winky D bagged $70 000 from two business tycoons — Genius Kadungure and Albert Ndabambi aka Chief Albert Gombwe.

Ginimbi — as Kadungure is affectionately known — first bid $20 000 for the album but Chief Albert outbid him for $30 000. Not to be out done, “my guy” then offered a whopping $40 000 for the 12-track Oskid-produced album.

While Kandungure is well known for his love of the finer things in life and his expensive taste in cars, Chief Albert, who owns a private jet, is not such a popular figure.

The filthy rich Ndabambi, who clearly is endowed with young money, is into business supplies and equipment.

Ginimbi yesterday said on Twitter about blowing $40 000 on the Winky D album: “I bought @winkydonline’s first copy of the album Gombwe, congratulations and happy birthday my guy, zvekuti ratengwa marii hazvina basa mari inotsvagwa imwe…I am trying to help our local superstars, making sure they get same support as other African artists. #Gombwe.”

The rich guys and their hangers-on came out to play as they had even booked tables in the very very important people (VVIP) section, drinking champagne from bottles in the company of Harare’s slay queens.

Most of the ladies in the VVIP enclosure opted for little black dresses that looked modern, comfortable, and economical in the amount of space they inhabited, but they also took some chances. And the strongest trend of the night, surprisingly, was that so many looks were covered from neck to above knees, quite sexy with their lovely lace panels, narrow sleeves, and tapered waistlines.

Ginimbi’s pal Mike Chimbombe was also in attendance.

Apart from the Ginimbi table that featured celebrities such as rap artiste Mudiwa Hood, there was also a Zimbabwe Tourism Authority table and others, where the rich smoked shisha ( a way of smoking tobacco, sometimes mixed with fruit or molasses sugar, through a bowl and hose or tube) and booze flowed freely.

Also in attandence was Arts and Recreation minister Kazembe Kazembe, who is also wealthy in his own regard, he, however, did not bid for the album but wished the 35-year-old Winky D a happy birthday.  Winky D was born on February 1, 1983.

If the challenge was to fill up HICC, Winky D did more than fill it up as people were packed like sardines just to see him perform. The HICC became too small.

Winky D proved to be the “Gafa”, the “Extra-terrestrial” and the “Gombwe” of Zimdancehall as he loves to call himself.

The crowd got ecstatic as he walked on stage looking all mysterious in a black Gothic outfit.

The cheering mob presented a nightmare for security personnel who had a torrid time doing crowd control to keep the VIP crowd safe.

Upstairs, where those who had bought the cheaper tickets had been directed to, it was packed to the rafters, and it was a hustle to move. All one could see were heads of people standing and no space to even walk. Even space at the staircase had been taken up by revellers.

Some of the people ended up standing on chairs, trying to fit in the little space that was available, while others trampled on others as they tried to make their way in and out of the main auditorium.

Winky D looked like an ancestral spirit, dressed in black attire, including a black walking stick and a weird-looking black hat.

The crowd sang “happy birthday” to the 35-year-old as soon as he got on stage, before he dished out his album.

The album features a collabo with gospel group Vabati Vajehova in a smash hit titled Ngirozi that has already become one of the favourites.

In another song, Winky D also sings about  the vanquished Zanu PF faction, with the lyrics “. . .  vatadza kukwidza makata G40…”

Another song mentions the first family “ndipei Simba kunge Bona, ndigamei ndisadonha.”

Among other acts which supported Winky D were Buffalo Souljah, who performed the duet Rugare which earned them  $2 500 after being voted the No 1 song on the Coca-Cola 2017 ZTV Top 50 Videos. Jah Signal was a crowd favourite as revellers responded to him better than other acts. Daily News