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Crazy Black and DJ Ras Obido

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
APART from thousands who were kept on their feet by star Jah Prayzah, there was a duo that rocked the stage two weeks ago way before Musoja jumped on and they go by the name Champion Sounds.

The two, who are resident DJs at Hartsfield Tshisanyama, held it down as they kept the large crowd on their feet with their selection of dancehall and reggae music.

They showed a great deal of artistry, innovation and were relentless during the show as the crowd was not bored one bit, up until the main act Jah Prayzah got on stage.

A duo of Crazy Black, who acts as the chanter-cum DJ and DJ Ras Obido, who is the founder of Champion Sounds, said when they are on stage, the crowd should experience a party. During the show, there was a time that they played a whole selection of Winky D tracks. It was as if the Gafa was on the stage and each hit they played was met with howls of approval from the crowd. Ras Obido said this was part of their ploy to complement Jah Prayzah and fulfill every fan’s dream of having Winky D on stage.

“We went for Winky D mostly to complete every person’s dream show of having Winky D perform alongside JP and it worked. When we got on stage, the one thing we knew was that the crowd had come to party and we wanted to give them that.

“We know that Jah Prayzah’s songs are all up tempo and we followed suit to keep the energy levels high. So we went for festival party anthems all the way, be it international dancehall or our own Zimdancehall,” said Ras Obido.

The duo has for the past two years been carving a name for themselves. During weekends, they give a dancehall and reggae touch to Hartsfield Tshisanyama to add to the already groovy atmosphere.

But the story of their meeting was not all rosy as Ras Obido said he was almost kicked out when he took to the decks at Hartsfield Tshisanyama in 2016.

“I knew Eddie Toriro (founding member of Hartsfield Tshisanyama) from the old Tshisanyama and he gave me a chance to play one day. Crazy Black was the resident DJ.

“So he gave me a slot to play reggae and I remember that day I played some deep conscious reggae that did not sit well with Mduduzi Mdlongwa (founding member of Hartsfield Tshisanyama) and the crowd that Hartsfield attracted,” said Ras Obido.

He said it was Crazy Black who convinced the proprietors of Hartsfield Tshisanyama to give him a second chance.

“Crazy convinced them to give me another chance because he felt I had the heart for reggae but had not grasped the type of reggae the crowd at Hartsfield could relate to. I got the second chance and I smashed it which resulted in me joining the team. Crazy complemented what I do and then I roped him into Champion Sounds later.”

DJ Flevah from Judgement Yard who was Ras Obido’s senior at Nhowe mission primary school inspires him. Their hope is to one day have a Judgement Yard vs Champion Sounds show as Champion Sounds prepares to expand its wings.

@bonganinkunzi