Zimpapers Logo

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
What started off as a perfect year with so much hope for the entertainment sector ended up being one of the most difficult one because of the global pandemic, Covid-19.

The year 2020 will therefore go down in the annals of history as one of the worst as Covid-19 affected every facet of people’s lives, artistes included.

In fact, Covid-19 was the main actor, the plot twist, the protagonist, the 2020 hit song, the 2020 blockbuster movie, the 2020 stage play and the 2020 visual art.

This is how the year went: January

The year started off with so much promise as the month was generally a busy one. The month was in fact busier than December 2019. Organisers of the Zimbabwe Music Awards announced that they had secured sponsorship with PPC and this brought hope to the music industry that had long been trying to get corporate endorsements like these.

This was the same month that the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards had been set for summer. Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo also announced their dates (September 20 to 24).

January was also the month that the now late rapper, Cal Vin and Skyz Metro FM had a spat with the musician getting his songs banned from the station.

The Amapiano craze that had gripped Zimbabwe in December had two of its exponents, Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa (Scorpion Kings) making their way to Zimbabwe, keeping people in the festive mood.

February
After the Scorpion Kings show that attracted people, even from across the borders, Bulawayo was touted as the best city for nightlife in Zimbabwe. This was because of the sheer numbers of people who attended the show.

Another show slated for Harare that was supposed to feature Nigerian star Burna Boy was announced with hip-hop star, Asaph being included on the line up. This brought excitement among fun lovers and showed that the arts scene was poised for greatness.

The month also saw the revamped National Arts Merit Awards (Namas) being successfully staged with radio personality Napoleon Nyanhi, the organiser being commended for bringing glitz and glam to Zimbabwe’s premier arts awards.

Sadly, this is the month that Lady Smith Black Mambazo founding member and lead singer, Joseph Shabalala died.

This same month, Skyz Metro FM’s parent company, Fairtalk Communication’s CEO, Dr Qhubani Moyo left the organisation after his five-year mandate came to an end.

Star FM also held their awards that saw the likes of Janet Manyowa, Ishan and TiGonzi, Freeman and Alick Macheso coming out tops.

March
At this time, things were still looking up with South African house DJ Vigro Deep announcing that he was on his way to Bulawayo for a show. The MTV Shuga duo of Dineo and Sol also made their way to Zimbabwe.

It was the same month that Zimbabweans were captivated by the unending soap opera between Olinda Chapel and her ex-husband musician Tytan. Tytan released a video of him pouring out his heart, chronicling how he suffered abuse by Olinda.

Sadly, this is the month when things started going awry in the arts sector as Covid-19 hit Zimbabwe and events started being cancelled with nightspots being closed. Local artistes were greatly affected as most of their international tours were cancelled leading to loss of business.

Other than tours, artistes were negatively impacted as national galleries were closed. The most unfortunate thing happened, they could not sell most of their craft to tourists who could not travel to the country due to the pandemic.

Media personality Zororo Makamba died and became Zimbabwe’s first recorded victim of Covid-19.

President Mnangagwa announced a national lockdown on March 30 for 21 days with people hopeful that after that period, things would normalise. Days after this announcement, shebeens thrived as people resorted to other forms of entertainment, especially in their neighbourhoods. Interestingly, new shebeens sprouted in low density areas.

April
Online shows started sprouting with the Wadiwa Wepa Moyo drama being an instant hit. It kept many Zimbabweans, who could afford data, glued to their smart devices. This is the same time that Ginimbi’s live shows on his Instagram page gained prominence. They were highly entertaining for some with women dancing half naked for money.

The movie Contagion released in 2011 became popular during this time because of how familiar the storyline was to the global pandemic the world found itself in. With people being on lockdown, streaming service, Netflix became the preferred place to watch movies and series.

Bulawayo was, for the first time going to host the Independence main celebrations on April 18 at Barbourfields Stadium and it was an exciting time as artistes had envisaged that they would benefit from the heightened activity of people in the city. Alas, due to the pandemic this was not to be.

April is associated with Easter celebrations which were mostly cancelled this year as people were on lockdown.

However, people were kept entertained by the Nash TV virtual shows that were introduced on Facebook.

Broadcasting from the Nash Paints offices in Harare, the shows that were held on Fridays became a platform for artistes to interact with their fans. As the platform grew, artistes from outside Harare including Iyasa, Chase Skuza and Sandra Ndebele were also given slots to perform, making the event all inclusive.

Not to be outdone was Prophet Passion Java who bankrolled the Gara Kumba Iwe virtual shows that were shown on Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN) Facebook page. These shows were key as they gave people a feel of live shows.

This was also the same time that a Bulawayo Lockdown Party was initiated with its debut show having Babongile Sikhonjwa on the decks.

While artistes were fighting to keep people entertained during this period, they were struggling financially as most of their virtual performances were not paid for. They approached Government through the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) for relief stating how the Covid-19 pandemic had affected their incomes. They were then instructed to submit their names.

May
President Mnangagwa pledged to assist artistes who had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic due to the lockdown and within days, those who had submitted their names to NACZ started receiving $300 monthly.

Due to people spending a lot of time on the Internet, this month saw maskandi musician Clopas Sikhosana becoming an online sensation. This was after a video clip of him singing a song on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic emerged and trended. What was captivating about his story was that he was captured deep in the rural areas of Gwamba, Nkayi in Matabeleland North province.

No data, no smartphone, his video was captured by someone who shared it on social media. This sparked a series of events that saw him record his first album Isomiso, get a makeover and win a Roil Bulawayo Arts Award.

Another virtual show, the FMG Lockdown party was introduced on Facebook. It became a regular and saw artistes, Ngoma Ingoma, Kyla Blac and Nate gaining exposure. Following the success of this show that was held on Mondays, another edition, a gospel show was introduced on Sundays.

May was a month of virtual shows as Credisi that had been running monthly, but at physical venues, made a return online. Such shows really kept people going during the lockdown as a lot of artistes from Bulawayo were exposed.

Zimbabwean film, Cook Off scored a first after it got a spot on Netflix. This was a welcome development for the film sector with locals thronging the streaming service to watch their homegrown production.

June
In June, the Bulawayo Live Sessions were introduced, powered by Ingwebu. After realising that artistes could not perform as usual, the show was held to promote the city’s talent by exposing the artistes’ music to new audiences in the virtual space. The debut show had performances from DJs Skaiva, Mdu Sevan and Renovation Boys. It was broadcast live on Bulawayo Unlocked, Fokus Magazine, Umahlekisa Comedy Club and Ingwebu Breweries Zimbabwe Facebook pages.

With more and more people embracing virtual shows, the Bulawayo Arts Festival was held, but virtually with performances from Bulawayo artistes. This is where the world was headed.

This is the same month that Jah Prayzah disbanded Military Touch Movement (MTM) and let go of ExQ, Nutty O and producers DJ Tamuka and Chiweddar, bringing to a close, three years of a dream.

At the end of this month, Amapiano queen, Zimbabwean Shasha bagged a BET Award in the Viewer’s Choice: Best International Act category.

July
Disco music queen and a darling of Zimbabweans, Patricia Majalisa died at the age of 53 on July 9.

It was also a month for online sensations as this was when I’m a Goat hit-maker, Ghanaian Ayo Poyoo teamed up with Zimbabwe’s Van Choga for a collabo. Both artistes went viral.

Sandra Ndebele made a comeback with some saucy and racy pictures that broke the Internet. The seemingly un-ageing artiste floored many with her pictures which spent the better part of the month trending on the internet.

Germany-based rapper Awa Khiwe also announced her comeback to claim the rap throne with a video of her spitting killer punchlines going viral, amassing more than 100 000 views on Twitter in 15 hours.

August
As the country was grappling with lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, there were some unscrupulous people holding house parties, while some nightspots were illegally operating. A party that was held in Burnside, Bulawayo that featured top socialites hogged the limelight as it was said some attendees contracted coronavirus there with some succumbing to it.

Away from the party, Cape to Cairo, the home of Jazz and live music in Bulawayo for years was turned into the Master of High Court Offices. This again robbed the country’s artistes of part of the little space that was left.

Black Panther star Chadwick Bosman died of colon cancer at the age of 40.

Veteran modelling instructor Sipho Mazibuko opened up about her mental health issues and shared her comeback plans into the world of modelling.

September
This month belonged to socialite, Ginimbi as he rolled into Bulawayo with his toys, among them a sleek Ferrari.

Accompanied by his rich friends, they painted the city red, literary partying up a storm at Nesbitt Castle, Smokehouse and BAC Leisure. Almost everyone wanted to see him and his toys as the city was gripped with Ginimbi fever.

Winky D’s drummer Scara died this month, a sad development for the arts sector. RoilBAA nominated dancer, Lavona Staal also died in the month.

The Zim Hip-Hop awards announced that they bagged sponsorship for their 10th anniversary through Irish Whiskey Pogues giving the genre’s artistes hope.

Sandra Ndebele launched her album, Up the Ladder that showed her maturity and growth in the music industry. Rhumba musician Madlela Skhobokhobo also launched his album, Ntikoloshi after months of postponements.

October
The city was plunged into mourning following the death of Cal Vin after a hit and run accident. Three days before Cal Vin was buried, the arts fraternity was shaken again as Iyasa founding member, Sibonisiwe Bonnie Sithole died. She was buried a day before Cal Vin’s burial.

November
November was another month of deaths with Ginimbi’s death being big news, not only in Zimbabwe, but in the Sadc region. The businessman and socialite died after his Rolls Royce Wraith collided head on with a Honda Fit in Harare.

He was in the company of video vixen and fitness model Moana Amuli and two others who were burnt to death.

Stories of Ginimbi using juju emerged with people coming up with various conspiracy theories. Moana’s family also made the news almost every day through their wrangles over her body among other issues.

Another death that rocked the city was that of local bouncer Believe “Bobo” Nyakambau who died after being stabbed during a tiff with unknown people. Police launched a murder investigation.

During the month Blessing Chitapa won the Voice UK competition. Born of Zimbabwean heritage, Chitapa brought cheer to many Zimbabweans as she bagged the top prize.

December
Nkwali and Thandy Dhlana opened the month with album launches that were staged during Ibumba Festival and Intwasa festival. Online shows that were free for the better part of the year were now being charged through Gateway Stream’s Pay Per View (PPV). Gospel music sensation Janet Manyowa got the ball rolling with one and people paid US$2 to watch.

Another show that was meant to change the game on PPV was a clash of music giants, Winky D and Jah Prayzah who were billed to perform at the HICC at a show that was meant to be streamed on PPV. Unfortunately, this show was cancelled at the 11th hour due to unclear circumstances. It has since been rescheduled.

Another blow was the annual Victoria Falls Carnival which could not be staged this year due to the pandemic.

Former Cabinet Minister Fortune Chasi and online jester Ray Vines however, kept people entertained on Boxing Day through their comedy fight where Chasi knocked out Ray Vines.