Capleton, T-Pain, Eve lined up for Xmas gigs
There is a high likelihood that dancehall king Capleton will spend his Christmas holidays in Zimbabwe, whilst waiting to perform on New Year’s eve. It was revealed last week that King Shango will perform in Senegal on December 17, 18 and 19, whereupon he will head for Harare.
Red Rose Entertainment, who are bringing the dancehall king to the country, said they are currently in negotiations with South African promoters who want to engage Capleton either before or after his Zimbabwean date.
Meanwhile, the ghetto sound clashes that are preceding Capleton’s visit have taken a gear up with the fierce rivalry that characterises such contests being the norm at every meeting. On Friday it was Mufakose’s turn to select the sound clash that will curtain raise for Capleton on December 31. Next Friday, the sound clashes will be in Mabvuku/Tafara, with Highfield the next stop on November 26.
On the other hand, the organisers of the ground-breaking Akon-Sean Paul gig are back, but this time they are going indoors. R&B multi-award winner T-Pain and rapper Eve are headed for Harare, with their first stop being a November 26 show that is set to take place at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).
The duo is set to arrive in Harare on November 24, a Wednesday, for their Friday performance before they make a stop in Gaborone the following day. From Botswana they will then fly to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for a Sunday performance which will complete their pre-Christmas tour of Africa.
Both artistes will be visiting Zimbabwe for the first time but are expected to set the capital on fire as they cut across generations with Eve appealing to the old school while T-Pain has been one of the wonders of the 21st century.
Zimswag CEO Tendai Mupfurutsa, better known as Prince Tendai, confirmed that his company is behind the project and that they are better prepared than the last time.
“The Akon-Sean Paul gig was a learning process for us but now we know and I can guarantee you that this show is going to be memorable and better organised than our last attempt,” said Prince Tendai.
He also said the two American artistes had already signed separate contracts with his company and that the wheel is already in motion for what is expected to be one of the best gigs before year-end.
“There are some few items that still need to be cleared this side so I can’t give you too much information, but I can confirm that a contract has indeed been signed between us and the two artistes.
“All that is left now is clearance from the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) for us to certify this show a Christmas present to the people of Zimbabwe. This is no longer an experiment but the real thing. We are going indoor so that means no rain fears,” he said.
Dubbed the “Take Your Shirt off Concert”, Prince Tendai said tickets will be available around the country at places to be announced soon.
“The beauty of the HICC is that we will not have any headaches as far as demarcation of the venue is concerned, the architects of the building did that for us. So VIP will be VIP and the rest will be the rest.
“However, the good thing is that everyone is going to be very close to the artistes because we are talking just a few thousands here,” said Prince Tendai.
