#KOFFIOlomideShow: WINKY D loses touch
Taurai Mangudhla
HARARE – In the streets they call it “ka-that”, collapsing a phrase, sentence and at times even a paragraph into a single word.
And those familiar with the lingo know exactly what that just means.
In most cases it refers to that which gives one a competitive edge, that which distinguishes one from the rest, but in the case of Zimbabwe’s Dancehall King Winky D, it appears he is losing his ability to always leave fans clamoring for more with each performance.
It seems he is losing his ability to control the gig, like a pilot, and always having fans on their feet, holding their breath as he is one of the very few local artistes who, based on the experience of fans, always managed to give an adrenalin rush and almost always wins the hearts of newbies.
But the Gafa seems to be losing touch, his r
ecent appearances at big events bearing testimony, the latest being his performance at Koffi Olomide’s HICC gig early this morning.
A few seconds after going on stage, to wild cheers as always, his microphone went dead, eventually giving some nasty feedback. This went on at intervals through the act, at some point forcing the talented singer to warn the engineer.
“Engineer, I am not violent, but don’t push me,” he said.
He kept churning out his hits to a positive response from fans, but his act was by far below his own standard. His vocals could not quite blend with the instruments.
The sound was just awful, compared to Zora king and Mugove hit maker Leo1rnard Zhakata’s performance earlier.
This was perhaps just one of those bad days in office, but he had an almost similar experience at the Thomas Mapfumo Big Bira of April.
Being among the greats-Sulumani Chimbetu and Oliver Mtukudzi- opening for Chimurenga Music legend at Glamis arena in April, one expected nothing short of class from all acts and on the day Chimbetu rose to the challenge.
The same could not be said about Winky D, who gave a lukewarm performance, humiliating anyone who had promised the elderly crowd, especially, at the Mapfumo gig a spending Winky D experience.
Known for winning the hearts of all, breaching lines of genre, race, language and age groups, Winky D has fast become a force to reckon with.
But this time around, the story is different, Winky D was not all that exquisite and he seems to be losing touch based on the two big appearances referred to above.
Olomide himself, sadly, did not quite live up to expectation.
He had managed to pull a decent crowd, given the recent developments of political violence, but he simply disappointed revelers.
His sound was bad, at least compared to Fallly Ipupa’s.
His choreography was no match for Fally Ipupa’s and his stage was just too crowded-at one point with 24 members based on my count. It just looked congested.
He did give a decent shot, opening with his 90’s hit Loi and later churned out tunes like Selfie, but he failed to meet expectation.
The same could be said for Sungura Ace Alick Macheso, who unfortunately opened to a near empty auditorium.
It was just a night of disappointment with the only good news coming from Zhakata’s act and MC Merciless Zimbabwe, unfortunately.
