It was an extremely superb, breathtaking crowd thriller occasion where we saw the two iconic poetry whiz giants all the way from Zimbabwe pulling and exhilarating a crowd, not in their home soil but in South Africa. Dr Gasolo and Obert Dube were honoured with a gigantic recognition to be the Masters of Ceremony at the second annual edition of the Amaqhawanentaba Music Awards, an amazingly colourful event that took place at Victory Theatre in Johannesburg on 10 September 2022.
We had the priviledge to talk to Dr Gasolo who could not hide his excitement as this is one of the rare opportunities that he will forever treasure as an artist whose works are visible not only locally but internationally as well. This also comes as a huge challenge to both emerging and renowned creatives who are encouraged to ensure that whatever they work on they have to deliver high quality so that they too can be exposed to possible opportunities for brand visibility, growth and development in their various areas of expertise.
“It was my first time to MC such a big and glamorous event, that on its own was a great experience for me. I always hear people say a prophet has no honour in his own town or amongst his own kinsmen, this is really true. The love and support I got from the people in Johannesburg was overwhelming. I had a chance to rub shoulders with the likes of Thokozani Langa who is one of the biggest Maskandi brands. Above all I met Xolani Mkhize (Sxhubho Samantombazane) who is one of the great performers who is also someone who worked closely with my all-time favourite Bhekumuzi Luthuli. Meeting Sxhubho and Nomalizo Ndlovu who is a radio presenter at Alex FM and also doing wonders in preserving Bhekumuzi Luthuli’s legacy was the greatest opportunity for me. The audience and the artistes present knew me and my works so it was great. For a second I felt like a celebrity”, says Dr Gasolo who could not hide his excitement on this massive invite where everything was well executed.
Dr Gasolo, the outspoken and humble creative who does not believe in blowing his own trumpet believes that he was selected as the best candidate for the task because there is something that they saw in him as an ideal and capable person who can be trusted with such an epic assignment.
“It is something that words can’t even express. You know as an artiste I believe that I am here on earth to fulfill a certain assignment so these opportunities are a bonus”, explains Gasolo on what this recognition means to him. He believes that the Dr Gasolo brand is growing and that he never thought it will reach to this point so quick.
When asked about his overall experience of the whole event, Dr Gasolo proudly explains, “The reception was amazing I wouldn’t want to lie. For a second I felt like a celebrity with artistes and their fans coming for pictures and so on. This was new to me. I had an opportunity to interact with some of the people I respect so much and they told me that anything is possible in the arts industry. People like Thokozani Langa showed me that no matter how big your brand becomes you just have to keep calm and push it further and always remain true to yourself and loyal to those who lifted you up”.
He explains how the audience cheered him up, beautiful gestures that lit up his presentation style, so perfect that the event was of par excellence, ‘It feels good always to be in front of people and its normal that you become nervous before you go up on stage no matter the experience you have in stage business. So to me at first I was very nervous and a bit scared not knowing how the audience was going to receive me but their response was amazing. The response I got gave me strength to handle the program flawlessly”.
Dr Gasolo gave us a comparative analysis of his arts industry experience in South Africa and that in Zimbabwe where he also brought out what he thinks can be done to improve the arts industry where he feels artists are not fully recognized, “South Africa is far ahead of us when it comes to the arts. In South Africa the industry is alive and they value artistes so much. I think for us back home to be recognized and be appreciated it has to start from the top, the government ministries and organizations in charge of the arts sector have to be the first ones to value artistes so as to show the nation that art is also a profession that needs to be treated with due respect”.
In conclusion Dr Gasolo had to give us an overall comment on the way the awards ceremony was conducted, this is where he shed light on what he thinks are the strategies and tactics, the take home tips that he learnt in South Africa, that we can also adopt and implement in Zimbabwe, “The awards were very organized. There were prizes for every participant which I believe is very key in encouraging the artistes to push harder and it also shows that their work is valued despite the number of votes they got. The other thing I loved most about these awards is that they had no sponsor but they managed to team up as the online radio station management and sourced resources on their own. If we, back home can manage to do our own things without worrying about sponsors I think our industry can go somewhere, sponsors will find us along the way. I also loved that they did everything as they pleased without anyone influencing or imposing his/her agenda since no one had financed the event. Many a times good and powerful arts programs end up losing direction and the vision due to people who finance the projects, so I learnt that it is possible to do your thing on your own and that way you keep the vision”.
