By Bongani Ndlovu
Yet again, Winky D has reportedly upstaged another international artiste at a show!
Winky D
This time his latest victim is said to be Nigeria’s Mr Eazi during the Ammara Ignite Show held at the Glamis Stadium in Harare last week.
A local daily reported: “After flying all the way from Nigeria, Mr Eazi found it hard to sustain the partying tempo that was set in motion by Winky D. It’s a norm whenever Winky D is involved in these shows, he will outshine the international act, no matter who it is.”
This latest feat only but confirms that Winky D has outgrown the Zimbabwean market and it’s time for him to conquer Africa and the world.
His eyes for the next five years should be fixed on Africa and he should be rubbing shoulders with big hitters from the continent just like Jah Prayzah is doing.
This is because Winky D has been consistent, be it on stage or in the studio over the past 10 years he has been in the industry. Anywhere he goes in the country, he leaves fans spellbound with his performances and whenever he drops music, it’s gobbled up by the market fast.
When one sees Winky D on a show poster, they expect nothing but high octane performances and singing themselves hoarse and dancing to a standstill.
There are no five-minute breaks as it’s an exciting, fast-paced musical journey that ends when Winky D leaves the stage.
But for how long will Winky D be the king of Zimbabwean music and just stay confined in the country? In medieval times when one becomes a king, they stretch their empire outside the confines of their borders and Winky D should be doing the same.
He has done it all and has stood toe-to-toe with the very best in the game who have performed in Zimbabwe. The first time this reporter watched Winky D live was in 2012 when he was a supporting act for South African songstress Zahara at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. It was during the time that she was at the pinnacle of her career because of her song Loliwe.
At that time, he had just dumped performing backtracks and was using his Vigilance Band. Performing before Zahara, it was a high energy set as Winky D had the crowd gobbling out of his hand. It was magical the stuff of legends. When Zahara got on stage, it was hard for her to keep the crowd’s attention.
She ended up singing renditions of Brenda Fassie to hype the crowd that had stayed behind as most had walked out after Winky D’s performance.
Another artiste who has had a brush with Winky D was Cassper Nyovest during his debut show in Bulawayo in 2014 where the Ninja president again was the supporting act. Dressed like a pharaoh, the Gafa hitmaker set the bar so high for Cassper and did not relent. He showed the Doc Shebeleza exponent a thing or two. It was as if Winky D was marking his territory, declaring to Cassper that he was better than him on stage.
Even when South African rapper KO performed at the Bulawayo Amphitheatre it was the same, Winky D set the bar high and made it difficult for him to excite the crowd.
Likewise, Jamaican artistes such as Beenie Man, Capleton and Sizzla know in Zimbabwe, there is one man called Winky D who will outshine you if you do not bring your A game.
Cassper once said he loved Winky D’s energy on stage with KO also expressing the same sentiments. To show that Winky D has been ready for a long time for the international market, who can forget his performance at the Big Brother Africa house in 2011? He made a mark for himself.
Going into 2019, Winky D has been afforded another chance to break into the continent’s market as he will feature in the second season of Coke Studio Africa 2019. He becomes the second Zimbabwean musician to feature on Coke Studio Africa in the upcoming new season dubbed “Coke Studio Africa 2019” which promises to be a melting pot of Africa’s musical talents.
Impressing is not Winky D’s challenge as he does not have a problem with that, but its conquering Africa. Fans would like to see his music being played across Africa, not in pockets where Zimbabweans live in the diaspora. He should be a permanent feature in continental music awards with his music and on stage, we all know that Winky D can deliver.
He should not be fighting for space in Zimbabwe with the likes of Jah Signal and Enzo Ishall. He is way past that. Although Jah Signal is popular, he cannot hold a stadium at ransom like Winky D.
Winky D should thus be the Ambassador for Zimdancehall on the continent! The Chronicle .
