Miss Nust was crowned over the weekend and as usual there was a solid line-up of acts billed to perform at the event. NUST SRC where the main organizers of the event and some of the acts that were expected to grace the stage and do their thing include Takura, Boom Beto, Vinnie King, Senko, Antivirus (Boys who gave you the Pokello dance) yeah they are back together again after a short stint in SA and they are doing their thing in the musical circles minus Vinnie King aka Ricco has left the group to try and establish himself as a solo artist. Upperklass, the foursome with gave us the hit track Shagga Mandela which seems to be doing relatively well on the radio and is on heavy rotation were also billed to perform. Megatronz, Rags To Swag, II Duce, Burning Bush, Last Tribe and few other notable artists we also tipped to bless the mic. Unfortunately this was not the case.
Even though there were many challenges on the night it was not all doom and gloom. There were definitely some positive things that took place on the night. For instance the show was very well organized on the modelling end, models were well dressed and presented. The turnout was very good. People definitely came out to support the ladies and artists. The stage and set up was very nicely done. There was no in-crowd fighting and bickering. Judges had a hard time choosing who was the best model on the night but in the end they managed to pull it off and balance their votes.
It seems politics once again reared its ugly head with regards to performance slots and stage time. Most of the local acts (by local I mean Byo and surrounding area) did not get a chance to showcase their skills and appease their fans. Only the main or should I say big acts like Takura, Boom Beto and NUST students (who happen to be artists) got an opportunity to perform. I can understand Takura performing since he had travelled all the way from H-town and since was being considered to be the main or headlining act and the NUST Students since they are part of the establishment but performance slots and time should be based upon merit. Local Artists need such platforms to help build their fan base and garner support. If they are going to be side-lined every time then we need to seriously look into addressing this problem. I know for certain Takura and Boom Beto got paid for their performance but the local artist where either given transport money and told they are getting exposure and that they should not complain and that they must be happy to be there. This old line is slowly but surely getting played out and our local artists are really getting a raw deal.
How do we expect the music scene and industry to grow this side of the country when our “local heroes” never get a chance to shine. This incident at NUST is just a drop in the ocean and this happens on a regular basis. I long for the day when more of the local and upcoming artists headline events in, around and outside of the country and we stop importing talent but instead promote local talent. Name calling and pointing fingers will not solve the problems but engaging one another and coming up with realistic and practical solutions is the only way we will all win. Until next time Sithi Salute and God Bless!
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