Mzekezeke takes his bow, the cult grows

Mzekezeke takes his bow, the cult grows

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By Shapiro

THE period October-December is when there is most activity in the music industry, with almost every artist releasing an album in the race for that coveted Christmas Number 1.

Those with less conviction about the quality of their CDs have often delayed the release of their albums until January, fearing competition and being savaged by music critics -- every artist's nightmare believe me.

So that season is upon us. The old and new players in the industry have flooded record bars with all kinds of music -- all seeking your attention. With this column, we will take the burden of sampling every CD from our readers and tell you exactly who deserves your hard earned cash.

ARTIST: MZEKEZEKE
ALBUM TITLE: AMA B.E.E
PRODUCED BY TS RECORDS
MARKETED BY TS RECORDS AND DISTRIBUTED BY EMI

SINCE 2001, no Southern African artist has infuriated so many, and given laughs to many other people like kwaito genius, Mzekezeke.

It gives me great pleasure, and sadness, to announce that just as we told you last year, Mzekezeke has dropped his fourth and very last album -- Ama B.E.E.

Mzekezeke, who grabbed attention throughout Africa and beyond with his distinctive mask is a fascinating and hugely successful creation of YFM's DJ Sbu and his pal, TS Records joint owner, TK.

It has been a mind-blowing four years -- the journey of a mysterious half educated township clown attempting to prove, and managing, that you don't need to be handsome, or even known, to make millions of rands in four years!

His first album, Sguqa Ngamadolo shifted 100 000 copies, followed by Istorotoro which did almost double that. The third was the equally successful Izinyoka.

To dismiss the Mzekezeke story as "hyped up nonsense", as one record boss said recently, is the height of deception.

All kwaito lovers attest to the fact that Mzekezeke has been the genre's saviour in the face of a surge by house music and his stable, TS Records, has fought a respectable war to keep kwaito alive.

The more and more I listen to Mzekezeke's new one, AMA B.E.E, the more I get to appreciate the sheer genius of pulling the stunt -- how this guy has walked the stage for four years without blowing his cover.

From the very moment Sguqa Ngamadolo dropped in the record shops, the media has been at pains to try and convince readers that Mzekezeke is none other than DJ Sbu. It's possible. DJ Sbu is a joint owner of TS Records and apparently, wherever Mzekezeke is, DJ Sbu usually surfaces.

But the trouble for the media is that they have not been able to prove this theory beyond just words. Photographing Mzekezeke and placing a picture of DJ Sbu next to his solves nothing, as the media has realised. So the mystery has grown, the fan club has extended, and as I suspect, the people really no longer care who Mzekezeke is.

On his last album, Mzekezeke is not too keen to let his mask fall easily, and it appears he will leave audiences guessing for a lifetime. Even more trouble for Mzekezeke spotters is that Track 6 is an interview between him and DJ Sbu!

I hear someone shout technology? Granted, but if Mzekezeke is indeed DJ Sbu as they say, and he managed to interview himself -- and in stages talk as both men at the same time -- then this is truly the work of genius.

Track 4 is Ubani uMzekezeke and the "masked one" pokes fun at the Mzekezeke spotters, and throws around some of the names which have been linked to the Mzekezeke mystery -- even Bin Laden is Mzekezeke, he sings!

The title track, featuring Mzekezeke's young brother, Manando, is what for me Mzekezeke has been always about -- exporting stories about the suffering of the people in townships, eKasie as he calls it, to bigger audiences.

For all the hysteria and mystery around the Mzekezeke brand, there is a very serious and mature streak which is unleashed in the slow moving title track. In AMA B.E.E, Mzekezeke takes a dig at the South African government over its much-critisised Black Economic Empowerment (B.E.E) project.

The new project, designed to catapult blacks onto the same business pedestal as their white counterparts, has been criticised as benefitting an already rich black clique, not the ordinary people in the townships. Mzekezeke, the township crusader, demands fairness and tenders for his people eKasi.

There is also the usual prayer on the last track, and the usual dig at industry enemies, or 'abathakathi' as Mzekezeke calls them, who get their annual dose of 'mhlathi yenu' treatment.

It gets more bizarre, he accuses unnamed industry foes of trying to kill him, and the CD cover has Mzekezeke in crutches. He refers to a "fall" and an attempt to "ukumphula inyawo" -- but that's all about the assassination plot.

On Uyadelela, Mzekezeke delivers an emotional "Dankie ngiyabonga, Thanks to you" to his fans. This December, Mzekezeke's fans who have been part of a history making four years with a mystery character will be saying the same: "Thanks to you Mzeke."

While this could really be Mzekezeke's last album, I would not bet against him surfacing next year in one of the albums of his stable mates -- Izinyoka, Brown Dash, Robbie Malinga or Sashman.

Just a thought: If this is Mzeke's last, how will he return a favour for Zola, who appears displeased, to put it mildly, with him on his new album, Ibutho (read review next week)?

I have a sneaky feeling this beef has just started. Let's just call it The Battle for Kasie.

NEW ZIMBABWE.COM VERDICT: 8/10 - Unlike a movie where a character's name is revealed at the end, there are no such disclosures on Mzekezeke's last album. If you are a Mzeke fan, it's a 'must have', and if you ain't one, then it's not too late to join the bandwagon

ARTIST: DJ CLEO
ALBUM TITLE: ESKHALENI EXT 2
PRODUCED BY WILL OF STEEL PRODUCTIONS
DISTRIBUTED BY IMD
MARKETED BY WILL OF STEEL PRODUCTIONS

THE Mzekezeke cult would have been nothing without the genius of master producer, DJ Cleo. The two men, despite an acrimonious split, quietly rate each other highly.

Their double act on Sguqa Ngamadolo and Istorotoro brought two consecutive SAMA awards for Song of the Year for Mzekezeke. No coincidence then that when DJ Cleo parted ways with TS Records, Mzekezeke's albums have lacked an obvious Song of the Year contender.

So then DJ Cleo, after the success of his first solo house project, Eskhaleni, returns with Eskhaleni Ext 2. It's brilliant, it's classic, it's Cleo!

It's a mark of this album's brilliance that it was nominated for Dance Album of the Year for the Metro FM awards -- just days after release.

The admiration is evident among DJ Cleo's peers. When he took the reigns on the turntables in Birmingham, England last Saturday, top South African DJ and record producer, Oscar 'Oskido' Mdlongwa introduced Track 1, Goodbye, as "one of the biggest songs in South Africa at the moment".

What cuts DJ Cleo's house productions apart from the rest is the heavy influence of kwaito. DJ Cleo has been careful not to abandon his kwaito fan base in a flash, that's why he manages to masterly up the pace on a remix of Bricks' Sweet Ma Babe to produce a fast moving house tune, and carry both his house and kwaito audiences.

NEW ZIMBABWE.COM VERDICT: 8/10 - Just Cleo

NEXT WEEK: See a review of new albums from Zola, Brickz, Bongo Muffin, Brown Dash, Ntando
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shapiro@newzimbabwe.com