By Bruce Ndlovu
During his recent performance at the City Hall Car Park in Bulawayo, Cassper Nyovest presented a side of himself that fans may not be familiar with.
A scuffle had broken out between fans in the small crowd that had come to see him put up another spellbinding performance, and as fists flew, the rapper barked a warning from the stage.
“Stop doing what you’re doing,” he shouted from stage as he cut the music. “We are here to have a good time and you’re spoiling things,” he said.
It was not much what the rapper said as much as how he said it. The force of his command was immediately acknowledged by the brawlers who put an end to their party spoiling hostilities.
For many fans, it was a rare sight to see Nyovest angry. Since he emerged on the scene, the rapper has sold himself as the poster child of African humility and humbleness, something that has earned him the adoration of fans that see him as a peace loving wordsmith who is vastly different from his foe, AKA. The latter has been known to throw fans off the stage should they come too close for comfort.
Last year AKA threw a fan’s phone off the balcony after they had tried to take a selfie with his celebrity girlfriend Bonang Matheba. On her recent trip to Bulawayo, Kalawa Jazzmee diva Busiswa also found herself in the crosshairs after refusing to take a picture with physically challenged Bulawayo socialite Michelle Madau.
Nyovest however, revealed that he was also not immune to the frustrations that come with a life lived in the spotlight.
“Sometimes I do say no because I’m not in the mood and I do forgive myself. I give as much of myself as I can. I take as many pictures as I can and I talk to as many people as I can. I give as much advice as I can and that’s the least that I can do,” the rapper revealed in an interview.
The rapper, who burst onto the scene with his hit song Gusheshe in 2013, revealed that he now shied away from confrontations as people seemed to find offence whenever he fired back.
“It is not easy to get used to (fame) but I’m used to it now. Whenever I get uncomfortable with something I don’t react. Sometimes when I respond some people get offended so I just choose to keep quiet so that I don’t offend anyone. It’s impossible to be loved by everyone but I just don’t want to offend people,” he said.
As he approached the stage at the City Hall Car Park, Nyovest was mobbed by fans who seemed overwhelmed by the fact that the man that they usually idolise from the TV screen was now a fingertip’s touch away.
Although he appeared overwhelmed by the reception, Nyovest said he had learnt to take the good with the bad when it came to all the adoration that he got showered with on a regular basis.
“You have to look at it from both ways. If it wasn’t for the people and the love (that they give) and the crazy things that they would do for you like, (for example) spend their money on you.
“It’s crazy because who spends their money on someone else? The least that you can do is appreciate that by giving your time. Every time that you can take a picture you do so that those times that you can’t you don’t feel bad,” he said. Sunday News
