The second edition of the Zim Hip Hop Summit which was held in Harare at Shoko Festival last Saturday proved that there is a lot that needs to be done in the the Hip Hop fraternity for it to be influential and get recognition that it deserves.
Attendees were treated with mind-boggling knowledge that was full of substance by the panelists as they shared information that artists, promoters, managers, media and regulatory/authoritative bodies can use to proactively improve the state of the industry.
Television and Radio personality Samantha Musa who is popularly known as MisRed called for unity among stakeholders in the Hip Hop community for the growth of the genre and Hip Hop culture.
“There is lack of unity in the Hip Hop industry, especially among artistes themselves, if you focus on one goal, that is the betterment of the genre, I believe it can go far than it it is right now,” said MisRed.
“The whole Hip Hop community should be united, from artists, promoters, managers and media. You should refrain from going up in arms amongst yourselves, it doesn’t take the genre anywhere.”
Speaking to The ZimTainment on the sidelines of the summit, South Africa-based Zimbabwean artiste Don Dada who was also part of the panel criticised the divisions that are in the industry and said said they are hindering the genre which has a potential to go far.
“Zim Hip Hop can go far, it can even reach the level that has been reached by South African Hip Hop but I have noticed that there are divisions in Zim Hip Hop,” said Don Dada.
“Everyone should be united and fight to push for the same cause, unity among the Zim Hip Hop community is probably one of the problems why the genre is still in its infancy though it was here way before Zimdancehall,” he said.
One of the panelists, Clive Mono Mukundu, a music producer and a guitarist, called for Hip Hop artistes to be honest and also release music that is relevant to the Zimbabwean society.
“Hip Hop artistes should shy away from lying, you always lie, in your interviews or the music that you release. Please say things as they are, decipher the Zimbabwean narrative as it is, just like what is being done by Zimdancehall artistes,” he said.
While Zim Hip Hop Summit is of great importance, it seems as if people are trapped in the ‘talk-syndrome’, knowledge and ideas were shared and have been shared way before, but people do not want to walk their talk.
This has led to some prominent industry players to snub such summits or indabas because they think nothing comes out of these discussions except information or knowledge that they already know.
Organisers of the summit thanked everyone for the support especially the panelists who shared insightful knowledge and testimonies with the attendees.
Thanks to the organisers, this year’s summit was a success, and we hope to see changes in the Hip Hop fraternity by this time around next year.
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