Brick & Lace head for Zimbabwe show

By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka

Harare will this month host Jamaican duo of Brick & Lace for a one-off show as part of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s Perception Management programme.

This means that music lovers will be treated to international acts twice within a space of one week as R&B star Akon and Sean Paul are billed to rock the capital on September 4 at the National Sports Stadium. Add to this, the Harare Agricultural Show would have taken its toll on those seeking out a night of fun.

The two sisters famed for the smash hit — Love is Wicked — represent the dual diversity of every day woman : “Brick” representing the edgy, hard and roots side while “Lace” represents the soft, understanding and melodious side of the “woman”.

Nyanda is said to be the “Brick” due to her style of singing and Jamaican rapping and Nailah is said to be the “Lace” due to her style of harmonious, R&B slant. Show organisers, Zimbabwe Youth in Tourism Network, Yedu Nesu (Pvt) Ltd, have been cleared by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.

“The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe supports the application by Yedu Nesu, a registered arts promoter, to host Jamaican artistes Brick & Lace in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.

“The artistes will arrive on August 23 through the Harare international Airport and depart on August 30 through the same port.  The artistes will perform in Harare on August 28 2010 and make an appearance in Mutare at a local club on August 27 2010,” a letter from Nicholas Moyo, the deputy director of NACZ read.

The entourage will include Khaled Belkacem, their road manager, Gomis Andy, the DJ and Sammy Elmam, the bodyguard. Local supporting acts are Mic Inity as well as club DJs T-Bass and P-Stylez.

Brick & Lace are a Jamaican R&B reggae fusion musical duo consisting of sisters Nyanda and Nailah Thorbourne. Originally Brick & Lace consisted of three sisters Nyanda, Nailah, and Tasha Thorbourne.

Tasha has since left the group, but continues to work behind the scenes and co-write songs for her sisters. According to information on their website, Brick & Lace were signed by hip-hop singer-songwriter Akon to his record label, Kon Live Distribution.  The duo has toured internationally, including South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania.

Their debut album, Love is Wicked, had a limited release in various countries on September 4, 2007. The album spawned four singles, “Get That Clear (Hold Up)”, “Never, Never”, “Love is Wicked” and “Take Me Back”.

Love Is Wicked was listed for 48 weeks in six different charts, including the Sweden Singles Top 60 and the France Singles Top 100. It reached number six on the Finland Singles Top 20 for a single week.

Its highest entry was number nine in the France Singles Top 100. Never, Never was listed for a single week on the Finland Singles Top 20, it also performed well in Kenya at position 14 on week 16/2008.

In 2008, the after-effects of their first album hit and the sisters went on many tours for the year, most notably in Europe and Africa by popular demand, and also produced a few new songs such as “Cry On Me” and “Bad to di Bone”, which became a well-known track in European and African countries.

This new single was intentionally pinned out to appear on a new upcoming album, but instead was re-based on “Love is Wicked”, which was re-released for a second shot at fame and success.

In July 2009, the duo penned another hit track called “Room Service” for summer and was released on the new “Love is Wicked” album. Starting off the year 2010 with releasing four new songs in March, the Brick and Lace Summer 2010 European Tour was soon announced straight after.

A new second single and music video to promote their sophomore album was to be released in December 2009.