Bulawayo artiste pleads for national recognition

BULAWAYO-BASED actor-cum-musician Madlela Skhobokhobo is praying for people from across the country to accept and appreciate talent from his home town, which he said is dying without enough recognition.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Anti-Sanctions Gala held at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Friday night, Madlela said artistes from Bulawayo were not getting enough recognition outside the province.

Born Bashimane Mothusi Ndlovu, Madlela pleaded with people from other provinces to open their hearts and take aboard artistes from Bulawayo and other places from around the province.

“This is my first time to perform in Harare,” he said. “The guys who gave me a chance to perform at the gala saw me performing in Esigodini and loved my work.

“We are not getting enough recognition as artistes from Bulawayo and the Matabeleland region at large. It is very difficult to penetrate other markets outside the Matabeleland provinces, yet these are places where a lot of people live. It is my prayer that people from these places open their hearts to artistes from Bulawayo and appreciate their talent.

“So much talent is being wasted and yet there is so much untapped talent.”

Madlela, known for his axe-wielding antics in his music videos, urged his fellow artistes from Bulawayo to work towards penetrating other markets.

With two albums under his belt, Madlela said musicians should take a leaf from the late Solomon Skhuza, who made a name across the country.

“I am sure Solomon Skhuza made a name for himself and this is exactly what we must do as well,” he said. “Music knows no boundaries.

“For example, we dance to music from Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya, but their languages are exotic to us. The mere fact that the music was done in Ndebele does not mean that Shona people will not love it. There is need to find ways of penetrating into these markets and showcase our good music.

“I have also realised that musicians from Harare always do well when they visit Bulawayo, which should be the same when musicians from Bulawayo visit Harare.

“Harare is full of big music promoters, whom I feel should reaach out to areas outside the capital and scout for artistes. I am convinced that there is plenty of talent outside Harare.”

The “Ngamnanka” hitmaker believed the Anti-Sanctions Gala was a good platform to market his music. “I think it was a perfect platform for us as musicians, as it gave us an opportunity to market ourselves,” he said.

Madlela wowed people who attended the gala with his theatrics which blended perfectly with his music.