Mega Banton, Turbulence billed for Byo Easter gig
JAMAICAN dancehall legend Mega Banton, contemporary hit machine Turbulence and Ghana’s Epixode will next week headline the One Unity One Reggae Tour.
The party kicks off in Harare at Red Foxx on April 12 before heading to Kwekwe at the Golden Mile Hotel on April 14. The Bulawayo leg has been scheduled for April 15 at BAC Leisure before the artistes return to Harare on April 17 for an Independence Day Eve performance at the Glamis Arena.
In Bulawayo, the international artistes will be joined on stage by Centre Party, Freeman, Boom Beto, Blot, Manex and the Zim Reggaestra and Empress Mimmz. DJs Liz, Noma that Girl, Lady Vicious, Abra, Rexx, Slam, King Inity and RedFoxx Family International will be on rotation.
Organiser of the show, Robert Zhuwao, said the gig, an Easter special, will see tickets being sold for $10.
Born Garth Williams in Kingston, Jamaica in 1974, Mega Banton is likely to pull hundreds of bonafide dancehall fans to the show. He burst onto the scene during the “golden era” of dancehall in the 90s and held his own against the likes of the inimitable Buju Banton, the evergreen Beenie Man and a host of other living legends of the genre. He has literally dozens of “gun lyric” hits that include the internationally acclaimed Graveyard Shift , the Shadow and the dancehall smash hit Sound Boy Killing.
The contemporary Turbulence is a dyed in the wool Rastafarian with a more philosophical, but hard-hitting approach to his music. Younger reggae fans and more spiritual older ones will find him a massive draw card. He has been churning out the hits since his international debut around 1999.
Known as Sheldon Campbell at birth in 1980, Turbulence has released albums that include I Believe, United, Notorious - The Album, Songs of Solomon, Triumphantly, Join Us and Hail The King.
With the bar raised so high, local artistes on the card have a chance to make a name for themselves by standing toe to toe with the legends.
A majority of local acts are highly acclaimed polished performers. The show has all the ingredients of an epoch marking thriller that will be used to reference time for many years to come.