Zimpapers Logo

UK dancehall DJ plans national tour of Zim

Chris Goldfinger

Melissa Mpofu Showbiz Editor
THE United Kingdom’s top reggae/dancehall DJ, Chris Goldfinger, will be making his way to Zimbabwe next month for a series of performances over the Easter holiday.

The former BBC Radio 1 DJ, who is no stranger to reggae lovers, is expected to perform at Bulawayo’s prime nightspot, Club Eden on April 3 before staging another show in Mutare at Glow Night Club on April 4. His main performance will be in Harare for the “Special Mad Sunday” at Red Fox International where they will celebrate the nightspot’s fifth anniversary.

He will share the Bulawayo decks with UK-based Zimbabwean DJ Kivo Santana, Jamie Cee D, MC Smalls, Red Fox Family DJs as well as Eden resident DJs, Kananjo, Keezy and Slamma.

The UK-based Jamaican DJ, famous for top quality entertainment, is expected in Zimbabwe on March 31 where he will meet local up-and-coming dancehall artistes and DJs. But before travelling to Bulawayo, Goldfinger will take to the ZiFM decks on April 2 from 9PM to midnight where he will play together with reggae sound house – Judgement Yard.

Tour promoter, Kivo Santana said the DJ, who now hosts UK’s Number One Dancehall show on OnTopFM every Friday between 8PM-10PM, had always wanted to perform in other parts of Zimbabwe other than Harare where he has staged more than three shows.

“Zimbabwe is now home to Goldfinger as this will be his fourth time to perform there. It’s always been his wish to perform in the ghetto and other cities aside from Harare but we’ve been unable to do so because of the taxes required by Zimra.

“But now, we’ve decided to take him to other cities so that he meets artistes there and impart his knowledge,” Santana said.

“Through his dancehall shows which are broadcast online and streamed by many Zimbabweans, Goldfinger has made a lot of fans so this tour is for him to meet them and take dancehall to the people, also exposing Zimbabweans to the reggae/dancehall genre.”

Goldfinger, who is spoken of very highly in Jamaica for bringing music to the masses, plans to conduct workshops with fellow DJs and broadcasters in Zimbabwe to assist them package their material in a way which matches international standards.

“The former BBC Radio 1 disc jockey, who presented the station’s Reggae Dancehall show from 1996 to 2009, is passionate about reggae/dancehall and wants to help Zimbabwean broadcasters to improve their programming to make it more interesting and match international standards.

“We want Zimdancehall to be recognised internationally and make sure it’s protected by government policy and that they’re not used by the system,” Santana said.

Besides Zimbabwe, Goldfinger has a series of shows lined up in Ethiopia and Zambia.