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Bruce Ndlovu, Showbiz Reporter 

When Novuyo Seagirl was booed off stage during the ZITF Shutdown gig in April, she displayed defiance and resilience, two traits one would not usually associate with a young artiste.

After being given the harshest treatment by Bulawayo’s infamous boo boys, Seagirl stood her ground.

The whistles, insults and chants did not dent her self confidence but instead she managed to give the hundreds gathered at Queens Sports Club that night, a piece of her mind. 

“Bulawayo you’re hating your own Bulawayo girl. You have no shame and no pride in your own. I know I may be nothing today, but I’ll be something tomorrow.

“At least I’ve got money in my f%$n purse,” she said.

It was not a diplomatic speech. Here was a fiery performer speaking her mind and pouring out her heart. Unlike the act that she had tried to share with the crowd a few moments earlier, this was totally unrehearsed and unrefined. In the next few days it would go viral and Seagirl attracted as much praise as she did criticism.

After weeks, fires of that discussion were extinguished, inevitably, by time. The name Seagirl was forgotten again. That was, until two weeks ago. For the second time in as many months, Seagirl was again at the mercy of a crowd baying for her blood during Econet Wireless’ Ziyawa KuEcocash monthly draw at the City Hall car park in Bulawayo.

Since this was a free gig, the crowd at the car park must have decided that diminutive performer was wasting their time and not their money this time. Again she was defiant, vowing to continue despite the increasing number of high profile setbacks. 

“It’s very unfortunate that this is always happening to me, I won’t give up and will keep doing what I love doing. One day, the fans will accept me and also accept our music in Bulawayo. 

“For now, I’ll stay hopeful and determined. One day, we’ll strike the right chord,” she told the media after yet another incident-filled set.

For the initiated, Bulawayo’s stages are a grinder where young artistes come to get their confidence pounded to a pulp. No one will forget the sight of Oskido’s son, an aspiring rapper, running for cover during the 2015 edition of the Kalawa Homecoming as bottles and other missiles were thrown at him. Revellers who attended the previous Homecoming shows will not forget how courteous Oskido was when he introduced Berita Khumalo to her hometown crowd. The Kalawa supremo had to sound like a modest man because he was aware of the unforgiving nature of the crowd that was about to welcome the songbird who had never been shy to speak of her roots in the city. 

Seagirl is not the first rising Bulawayo star to be given the harsh treatment. 

However, Jah Prayzah and Winky have never been subjected to such treatment. In the run-up to their performances at the EcoCash Ziyawa promotion, there was the usual noise that accompanies the names Jah Prayzah and Winky D whenever a promotional poster with their names and faces is rolled out in the City of Kings. Why were Bulawayo artistes being sidelined? Pressure groups and activists asked. The city, they said, had artistes raised and nurtured in the dust of Bulawayo who could answer the call and pull a crowd if given an opportunity.

Seagirl had to be called upon at the 11th hour and those that had threatened to rise against Strive Masiyiwa’s telecommunications juggernaut were appeased. When the boos started and the missiles starting raining on stage, there seemed to be few that cared that Seagirl was a Bulawayo artiste and the two men who got the loudest cheers on the day were not. There seems to be a world of difference between the Bulawayo that makes virtual noise on social media and the Bulawayo that makes real noise when the drums and guitars are pounding on stage. 

The question has been asked before and perhaps needs to be asked again: are Bulawayo artistes good enough? Are they destined to be perennial curtain raisers for the likes of Winky D and Jah Prayzah? 

Some music fans have bemoaned what they have described as poor quality music from Bulawayo musicians but the same music has been described as top notch by others. What is beyond argument however is that Jah Prayzah and Winky D are popular musicians even outside Bulawayo. 

These are two men with an irresistible magnetic pull and any artiste that sets foot on stage before or after them needs to be at their best if they are to captivate the crowd. It is a hard, but not impossible feat. Three years ago, Djembe Monks had a tough to please crowd asking for an encore at the Golden Pilsener Afro Fusion Music Concert line-up despite the fact that they were the last act to perform before Winky D closed the show. They performed through the initial whistles of discontent and when they were done, the crowd was asking for more.

The shouts and whistles at the end of their set were altogether more joyous. 

Bulawayo artistes might not have their resources or star power but Djembe Monks proved that popular musicians can be matched pound for pound.

What should, however, be stressed is that local fans are not helping the situation by frustrating their own, such as Seagirl. This is probably why great musicians like Lovemore Majaivana have refused to show their faces again in a city where they are fondly missed.