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Langalakhe Mabena
The second edition of the Bulawayo Arts Festival (Baf) which ended on Saturday has been hailed by most artistes who said it afforded them a rare chance to perform and also gave them hope of the reopening of the arts sector.

This year’s festival was action-packed throughout the four days.

Bulawayo residents and the rest of the world were treated to top-notch performances that were streamed online.

One of the artistes who performed at the festival for the first time, Beitbridge-based Gqom/Amapiano artiste, Bhadilah said the performance rejuvenated him.

The Nkonela hit-maker who performed twice on separate days at the festival said the exposure inspired him to release a new song in order to give his new fans something to listen to.

The single titled Tjukutja available on YouTube features Mzansi’s Jaycee, a former member of Kalawa Jazmee’s Jika Boys.

Below is an interview with the Venda artiste who calls himself the Prince from Venda.

Q: How was your experience at Baf?

A: Baf was a very big platform for me. I’m happy and grateful to have been part of this year’s edition as the festival gave me a chance to network with other artistes in the industry while also exposing me to a wider audience.

Q: How was it performing virtually?

A: All along, I thought performing was only for physical crowds but the virtual performance proved me wrong. It’s actually fun performing in front of just cameras with no audience as you just deliver your act and visualise audiences. Performing virtually is the way to go for now as we’re still fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s all thanks to technology as we can still entertain our fans.

Q: How did you feel performing without a physical audience?

A: There wasn’t much of a difference because I’m a creative person. I created my own imaginary crowd and gave my performances all the energy as if I was performing in front of a crowd.

Q: Your track with Jaycee, how did you two meet?

A: I interacted with Jaycee through a friend who is in South Africa who hooked us up. He told me that Jaycee wanted to do a song in Venda language and needed my input. I liked the idea of a collaboration and we agreed to work together. The rest is history.

Q: How was it working with Jaycee?

A: Working with Jaycee was really a blessing as he’s been through the hands of Kalawa Jazmee with good guidance from the likes of Oskido and Spikiri. He is one guy who has gained a lot of experience in the industry and I learnt a lot from working with him.

Q: Tell us more about your new single.

A: The single is titled Tjukutja, which means dance or shake. It talks of a lady who dances and is
proud to be an African lady.

Q: What can people expect from you this year?

A: More hits and music videos.