HARARE – Rising hip-hop artiste Yoz, who is popular for collaborating with star chanter Shinsoman on the club banger Tasangana Zvidhakwa, was brutally attacked by unknown assailants after the Zimdancehall Awards on Friday night.
A visibly injured Yoz, who was born Kennedy Simbanegavi, suspects that his attackers are linked to award-winning Zimdancehall artiste Seh Calaz.
“I jumped onto the stage to congratulate Seh Calaz whose song Hatipisike won the best club song award ahead of Tasangana Zvidhakwa which I did with Shinsoman,” Yoz told the Daily News.
“For some funny reason, I was denied the opportunity to congratulate Seh Calaz. I only wanted to show that I had no hard feelings towards Seh Calaz even though he had beaten us to the award.”
The Highfield-based artiste believes his attempt to congratulate Seh Calaz was wrongly interpreted by the Mbare-based chanters hangers-on.
“After the Zimdancehall Awards, while I was on my way to the car park, three men approached me and physically attacked me. They accused me of attempting to belittle Seh Calaz after he had received the Best Club Song Award.”
Strangely, despite being brutally injured by the unknown assailants, Yoz decided against reporting the matter to the police.
“I did not report the matter to the police because I chose to deal with the issue lyrically,” said the 26-year-old artiste.
“I have already penned a song dissing the behaviour of Seh Calaz and his groupies.”
A miffed Yoz believes such unruly behaviour is putting Zimbabwean music into disrepute.
“Artistes are diverting their focus from music and they are getting involved in violent behaviour. We are very lucky that we were given attention by fans or the society. Instead of capitalising on the attention we have, we are wasting much of the time in creating controversy and physically attacking each other.
Yoz has featured on some popular Zimbabwean hits. He featured on Hameno Zvinoita Rudo alongside Shinsoman and Tawanda Mughodhi, Madhuve Wangu’with Trevor Dongo as well as on Sani Makalima’s Kubhaguja Bhaguja.
The 26-year-old artiste’s best known song is arguably Tasangana Zvidhakwa, his duet with Shinsoman.
Efforts to get a comment from either Seh Calaz or his manager Godfrey Bakasa on the matter were unsuccessful as their phones were continually unreachable.
Though the main Zimdancehall Awards ceremony experienced no incidents of violence, Yoz attack is likely to put pressure on the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (Nacz) to release the report of a probe into the violence rocked the Sting Dancehall Concert organised by Chipaz Promotions at the City Sports Centre on November 8 last year.
Nacz deputy director Nicholas Moyo, who led the probe into the violence, confirmed to the Daily News that his team handed over the probe report to Nacz director Elvas Mari late last year but to date, the findings have not been made public. Daily News
