By Patrick Tagarira

THE much publicised dancehall gig dubbed ‘STING’ that was held last Saturday in Harare will forever remain etched in people’s minds for the wrong reasons.
What was supposed to be a celebration of abundant talent in the country ended up degenerating into violence.
The ugly scenes, ignited by the so-called big artistes in dancehall Seh Calaz and Soul Jah Love have become the talk of town.
The gig held at the City Sports Centre under the theme ‘No to Violence and Can Throwing’ ended up characterised by ‘more violence and massive can throwing’ said a disappointed fan, Tafadzwa Mawire.
“It ended up a wrestling tournament and not a music show,” he said.
On the same occasion, the youngsters in the genre had a splendid performance that was laced with humour.
Jiggaz, who went up against Badman, who is in the country from his South African base, brought a miniature coffin to ‘bury’ his ‘opponent’.
However, Badman put up a sterling performance that saw him ‘burying’ Jiggaz in his own little coffin.
But the two youngsters ended their clash professionally.
They shook hands and posed for the cameras together on stage, a gesture that delighted fans who gave them an impressive round of applause.
The display by the young stars ought to shame the so-called ‘big guns’ who should be leading by example.
There is no doubt that dancehall is the genre of the moment attracting both the young and old, thus it is critical that its proponents have to be exemplary.
And while seeking dominance in the music industry is nothing new, there are better ways to assert superiority than engaging in physical fights.
Such behaviour should be nipped in the bud before it has taken root if the players in the genre are to develop in a sustainable manner.
What must be understood by the musicians is that no musician is bigger than the industry or the fans that are the life of the musicians.
Not only were the youngsters impressive, the ladies as well were.
The Chitungwiza-bred female chanter queen of dancehall, Lady Squanda put up a splendid performance outclassing her two ‘opponents’ Bounty Lisa and X-Patriot.
They adhered to the rules of the clash, each respectfully remaining to their allotted part of the demarcated stage.
Even the rising stars Terminator and Quonfused did not disappoint.
Terminator emerged victorious and there was exhibition of bitter feelings.
However, it was the final clash which was supposed to be the icing on the cake that disappointed.
Fans expected a thrilling lyrical confrontation between Conquering family boss Soul Jah Love and his opponent Seh Calaz.
Lack of crowd handling skill, a quality critical for big artistes, saw Seh Calaz failing to positively respond to the booing from the crowd.
The booing continued everytime he attempted to deliver showing that Soul Jah Love was the crowd’s favourite.
Arguably Soul Jah Love failed to display tact as he blazed onto the stage with his song ‘Ndinomudhanda uyo’ that drove the fans into a frenzy.
When Seh Calaz made another attempt with his hit ‘Mabhanditi,’ the crowd was not any warmer.
And Seh Calaz responded like a spoilt child as he physically charged at Soul Jah Love.
Although he was stopped before he got to the popular chanter, the move ignited a wave of violence that engulfed the arena.
It was total chaos.
Fans tracked down expressed displeasure with the behaviour of Seh Calaz.
Tawanda Mundere, who sustained a deep cut on the right arm, lambasted the childish behaviour exhibited by Calaz.
“That young man seems to be the problem at all Zimdance-hall gigs, every gig that ends up in violence he is always at the centre of the confusion,” he said.
Some were of the opinion that Sungura gigs were better as these rarely had incidences of violence.
“It is better to go back to our peaceful Sungura because it has no violence at all,” said Crispen Mutenga.
“Alick Macheso competed with the late Tongai Moyo and there was never violence as they both understood that ultimately what was important was entertaining the fans.
“These guys are not serious at all.
“Havana order vapfana ivava. ”
The show coordinator, Godfather Templeman has since apologised to the nation for the violence that erupted.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Chief Superintendent, Paul Nyathi condemned the violence and warned Zim-dancehall artistes.
He also dismissed claims that some fans had died during the fracas.
“We appeal to our musicians to desist from violence whenever they are performing, especially when they get booed by the crowd, otherwise they risk being arrested in terms of the country’s laws,” he said.
“The correct position is that nine people were injured during the skirmishes,” he said.
“We have no deaths reported from the incident at the moment.”