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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
THEY promised the Best of Both Worlds and Ninja President, Winky D and South African rapper KO delivered as they shutdown the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair weekend.

The show was held at the Bulawayo Amphitheatre which was turned into one huge party as scores of people gathered at the venue.

It was a chilly night and people had come well prepared as they were heavily clothed with sweaters, jackets and hoodies. However, as the night wore on, those clothes ended up being a hindrance as they had to take them off because of the frenzied dancing.

Those who love dancehall music got their fair share of the genre in the form of Gary B and Godfather Templeman who set the place ablaze with their high energy set, as they warmed up for Winky D.

Being an elder statesman that Templeman is did not hold him back from performing like a young dancehall artist at the peak of his career.

Their energy on stage was lapped up by the crowd who were in a frenzy as they went through hits from reggae and Zimdancehall artistes.

When the atmosphere was at fever pitch, Templeman left the stage to the applause of fans who immediately started shouting, Winky D! Winky D! Winky D! as they wanted to see the Gafa on stage.

After some minutes of the Vigilance band setting up their equipment, the party was about to start as people knew the Ninja President would deliver.

Winky D seems to set the bar high whenever he is called upon to perform at any show, and this one was no different.

The Messi weReggae as he calls himself is best described as the Barcelona Football Club talisman, who no matter how good you are will be better than you.

Winky D is in a world of his own when it comes to performance and stage presence. He knows how to work the stage and interact with the crowd as they sing along to every song that he chants on his mic. There is never a dull moment during a Winky D performance with some people foregoing the toilet and buying of booze.

What Winky D has at his disposal is a whole pool of hits that he goes through, throughout his set.

On Saturday, even after an hour of pure Winky D magic, the crowd did not want him to leave. But he had to as it was time for KO.

It was Mr Cashtime’s debut performance in Bulawayo, a city that follows religiously the goings on in the South African showbiz industry and disappoint he did not.

In hip hop language, KO “turned up” with his show being described as “lit” by fans who braved the cold temperatures.

K.O’s grand entry was greeted by loud cheers and he belted out hit songs like Son of a Gun, Skhanda Love, the block buster Cara cara and Ding Dong, all from his debut album Skhanda Republic.

K.O then took people down memory lane to the group that shot him to fame, Teargas, when he sang the all time hit song Mhlobo wami.

The SA rapper was overwhelmed by the response he was getting and thanked fans for the love.

After 45 minutes, the show was over at 3.15AM and fans started trickling out of the venue.