By Tonderai Zvimba
Zimdancehall chanter, Winky D, who refers to himself as Messi weReggae, says he is not threatened by up-and-coming Zimdancehall artistes who are dropping tunes which instantly become hits, rocking airwaves and scooping key awards.
One cannot doubt the impact the emerging Zimdancehall chanters have had on the local music scene. The likes of Enzo Ishall and Jah Signal have been dropping songs like 50 Magate, Kanjiva, Smart Rinotangira Kutsoka, Sweetie and Stonyeni which have become instant hits.
To show how much their music has been embraced, Enzo scooped the Outstanding Song of the Year award at this year’s Namas while Jah Signal won Song of the Year at the Star FM Music Awards.
In the past, Winky D was the only artiste in his genre who could win the Song of the Year Award at these prestigious award ceremonies. But clearly, things are changing with the coming of these emerging young artistes.
But, Winky D is unfazed as he does not see these youngsters as threats.
His manager, Jonathan Banda said: “Winky is never threatened but is strengthened by the up-and-coming artistes. There’s no way he’ll ever feel threatened. The more the merrier.”
Banda said Winky D instead, supports the youngsters as he wants the Zimdancehall movement to grow.
“Winky always supports the up-and-coming artistes who’re pushing the movement forward. The vision is to see the Zimdancehall genre becoming the biggest genre in Zimbabwe so it’s not a matter of having a competition.
“The movement can’t be pushed by one man. When Enzo wins song of the year, it’s a win for the whole Zimdancehall genre,” said Banda.
Looking back, one cannot deny the role Winky D played in putting the Zimdancehall genre on the map and these youngsters are eating off his hard work.
Asked if Winky D will be dropping an album this year, Banda said: “I can’t disclose anything at the moment in terms of when we’ll be releasing an album. We’re definitely working on more new material so fans should expect great music from Winky.
“We’re also making efforts to collaborate with more international artistes.”
Winky D is currently riding high with the success of his new single MuGarden which features Gemma Griffiths.
Quizzed if they thought this song, which has over two million views on YouTube, would be a resounding success, Banda said: “When doing a song, we just focus on investing the best of energy. So whatever happens after doesn’t really matter as we just put our best efforts.
“We’re, however, always ready for the best and worst. We really didn’t know how people were going to react to MuGarden but we knew we had given it our best.” The Chronicle
