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Cal_vin

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
Rapper Cal_Vin is a man on a mission. The artiste has had no rest in the past two weeks as he is busy selling his new album — Uthando  — on the streets of Bulawayo.

That Luveve boy as Cal_Vin is affectionately known, has started a movement, #iBoughtUthando, where he vigorously markets and sells his CD on the streets and takes pictures with those who will have bought the album. Using the #iBoughtUthando hash tag, the pictures are then posted on social media networking sites as a way of enticing others to also buy copies.

The album is being sold for $2.

Other than selling the album on the streets, Cal_Vin has been marketing the album on his social media pages where he provides a number for people to call so that he delivers the album to them.

The passionate artiste has been spotted moving around town with a satchel full of CDs and he has set a target of selling at least 1 000 copies by the end of this month.

“So far, I’ve managed to sell over 500 CDs. I’m not sure how many I’ve sold online as I’m still to sit down and calculate how much I’ve sold in total,” said Cal_Vin.

“Every day I’m selling over 20 CDs and it’s very possible that I’ll reach my 1 000 target.”

Cal_Vin said he hoped that by selling his album this way, it would motivate other musicians to do the same.

“I hope this will inspire others to sell their CDs. Even though we don’t live in a CD era, I’ve realised that people are willing to buy the CDs and keep them at home. The reason people don’t want to buy our music is because it’s not availed to them,” he said.

“There’s a market for anything, one just has to present themselves to people and sell their idea of their art.”

Cal_Vin said personally selling his music had actually connected him to his followers.

“Uthando has been the most interesting project for me as it has introduced me to a new market especially the elderly. It has given me a new meaning of music and the word hustle.

“There’s a beauty behind having a one on one conversation with fans and followers, especially when we take pictures. I get to explain the album to them so that they won’t have a hard time figuring it out.”