A NEW breed of dancehall artistes gave revellers a high-energy performance that electrified the Friday night reggae session at the Basement Nightclub.
VIMBAI MARUFU OWN CORRESPONDENT
The trio Munyaradzi “Fivestar” Nyika (29), Nick “The Virus” Melchiorsen (31) and Michael “MikeSlim” Mushambi (25) from Highfield said the much-sought after opportunity to showcase their musical skills will enhance their visibility on the dancehall scene.
They hit the stage at around midnight for a one-hour set and belted out tracks like Set the trend, Rasta got flow and Touch the road which fuelled dancehall frenzy.
Husky-voiced The Virus, who kept revellers on their feet told NewsDay that their music is different from Zim dancehall as they are targeting the international market.
“This is a great experience, an opportunity that will open doors for us. We are targeting the international market and singing dancehall songs in Shona will only guarantee mostly a Shona-speaking audience,” said The Virus.
“We want to move to a whole new international level by singing tunes that everyone can easily sing along to.”
Fivestar, who also ignited the atmosphere with a blend of hip-hop fused with dancehall, said they are also running away from the current trend of Zim-dancehall which has a negative impact on society.
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“We have been there all this while camouflaged in the back, but we have decided to come out and set the record straight on the misconceptions that dancehall is all about negative issues like drugs, violence and sex. We want to portray our society in a positive light,” he said.
Fivestar will be launching his debut album at Liquids Bar in Masvingo on July 19.
The dancehall chanters also got marvellous responses on tracks that they performed riding on MikeSlim’s riddims.
Proprietor of the club Christina Mhokore said she will be supporting all local dancehall chanters by giving them a platform to showcase their skills at the Basement.
Apart from the chanters, Redemption Sounds frontman Elder Garvey rocked the crowd with Jamaican roots reggae on the turn tables.
