BY SHARON SIBINDI MULTI-AWARD winning musician-cum-comedian Mothusi Bashimane Ndlovu, aka Madlela Skhobokhobo, believes he is one of the best comiedians in Zimbabwe, but faces a barrier of language to maximise his potentials.
He expressed the sentiments after a tweet by Brendon Ncube (@Mqabubuko_) went viral and stirred debate on Twitter on Wednesday.
The tweet read: “Madlela is easily the best comedian in Zimbabwe, but he’s not from Harare so he won’t get that recognition he deserves” .
Nathan (@nathanmahachi) responded to the tweet saying “Majority of people in Harare do not understand isindebele so they can’t relate with his jokes”
In response to that, Brendon Ncube (@Mqabubuko_) said: “Yet the same majority of people you’re referring to watch South African dramas and series ?”
Mthwakazi Boy..(@majuta145) said “Lapha ungablemi iharare gazilam.. Inkinga ikithi esindebeleni, siyazondana njalo asisapotani…yithi okumele siphushe umdala..”
Thabi (@ntshuni) said “He gets enough recognition from the community he serves. I was in Mat North and Mat South in 2019 and everyone loved him. He knows his audience very well and he gives them the content and he is adored there. Add Berea and Hillbrow in Joburg as well he is a star and performs there”
Mambo Budzirembeu (@RembeuBudzi) said “Do you want Harare to recognise your own when you do not do that? Charity begins at home.
In response to Brendon Ncube (@Mqabubuko_)’s tweet , Madlela said the reason why there is an inbalance it’s the use of language factor.
“Thank you so much for the confidence in my works, we greatly appreciate. I think he has a point, probably the reason why there is inbalance is the use of the language factor. Remember I am from a tribe, which is a minority in Zimbabwe and is believed to be 20% of the population,” he said.
“So most of my support now comes from people, who understand IsiNdebele or IsiZulu because I do my skits in vernacular (IsiNdebele). So people who understand Nguni language are the ones who follow me, whether you are Shona or Ndebele as long as you understand Nguni language.”
He wishes to do collaborations with colleagues from Harare and see where this goes.
“I went through the comments underneath and most were in agreement with his statement and felt i needed to do collaborations with Harare artists for a broader market,” Madhlela said.
“I believe I am also up there, but the problem is the language. If I was born in Harare or did my skits in Shona, it was going to give me more of broader market. My market is a bit limited, we working on that ukuthi singayikhulisa kanjani. I believe I am one of the best when it comes to comic act in Zimbabwe.”
He said they were slowly working towards getting the breakthrough nationally and hopes it comes soon.
“Our wish was if everybody in the country could understand Ndebele and Shona it was going to work to our advantage, but we hope soon we will get there despite the language issue,” said Madlela.
Through some of his skits, Madlela managed to score a lucrative deal in South Africa last year with Cambridge Food—a food retailer powered by Masscash.
He auditioned for one of the adverts where he acted as an uninvited uncle, who just came through for dinner and the advert was aired on SABC channels and ETV.