Jah Prayzah’s MTM doomed from the start?
AWARD- WINNING musician Jah Prayzah pulled the plug on his project, Military Touch Movement ( MTM), after a three- year “musical experiment.”
The musician dropped the bombshell in a statement posted on his social media handles.
“It has been three years since we began the journey and I can say it has been fruitful. Today we celebrate superstars who have been housed in MTM and that was part of the mission, for us all to grow together and celebrate our achievements together,” he said.
Well, MTM which came to life in January 2017, originally consisted of Andy Muridzo, ExQ, Tahle Wedzinza, Nutty O and producers DJ Tamuka and Daniel Chiweda.
Later on they added The New Guy to the family, though the fresh face or new rather new voice, brought nothing valuable.
The project soon hit turbulent waters, when just over a year later, one of their most promising prospects, Andy Muridzo, jumped ship.
Then the only female artists in the camp, Tahle We Dzinza, followed suit — dumping MTM in July 2019. From then on it was dog eat dog. For some like ExQ, the MTM stint paid off as the guy had been teetering on the brink of insignificance before Jah Prayzah threw him a new lease of life.
Now that MTM has been dismantled and all contracts effectively terminated, many are wondering what is next for Jah Prayzah and for the artistes who called the stable their home.
Some have said the sudden termination of contracts by Jah Prayzah was wrong, while others think he should have given them sufficient notice to terminate the contracts.
One of the victims of Jah Prayzah’s sudden change of heart, Nutty O, spoke to The Herald Arts yesterday, saying MTM had become crippled, with everyone focusing on their personal agendas.
“I was surprised because this is not what we talked about going forward with my brothers. Issues like this should not be settled on impulse,” said the “Vroom” hitmaker.
“It sad, we wanted the movement to succeed. However, it will remain business as usual. My vision, my mission is still fixed on ( giving) good music to the world.”
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the MTM project, ExQ, yesterday posted on his Twitter account; “It’s sad, brother because I know how much you really wanted this movement to work out but, haa, you tried wena, vavengi mahwina”.
Well with such post it seems like he did not care as it was Jah Prayzah’s burden alone.
However, it is crystal clear that he came out as one of the winners.
When he joined MTM, he buttressed what he had started at Kenako Music and developed into a kingpin who owned 2018. Boom!
The “Musalala” hit- maker was scooping awards, particularly with his runaway success, “Tseu- Tseu”.
Some had said that Zimdancehall had kicked urban grooves out of the picture and the likes of ExQ remained relevant.
And with that, Jah Prayzah deserves some credit for helping to push of ExQ by giving them golden opportunity to resurrect their careers.
There is no doubt that without him, Tahle Wedzinza would have taken longer to blossom while Nutty O benefited immensely from his association with MTM.
Though talented Andy Muridzo, — who some said mimics Jah Prayzah — is still struggling since leaving MTM alongside the forgotten Gonyeti. For Muridzo, there is nothing much to talk about after MTM because all his productions were below average.
Meanwhile, prominent music promoter Partson Chimbodza affectionately known Chipaz, said Jah Prayzah should not listen to many people as too many cooks will spoil the broth.
“It is sad in our industry but that was his decision. However, Jah Prayzah was doing it out of passion and he should not stop. For now he can release the members , but the recruit other babies.
“This how our industry grows, because in a normal set- up, we need someone like Jah Prayzah who nurtures and promotes talent. This was his mission and vision and he should not listen to critics, but rather stay focused,” said Chipaz.
MTM gave so much hope to young artistes and the music industry in general. Its collapse is a big blow to the arts sector.
Such projects as MTM are prevalent throughout the world and even in Africa, with countries such as South Africa, Tanzania and Nigeria having some of the biggest stables on the continent.
It was hoped that Jah Prayzah’s vision would lead to something bigger — although some critics believe that it was doomed for the start.
The biggest complaint about the stable was that it seemed to promote only one artiste, Jah Prayzah himself, at the expense of his underlings.
But again, who would fault him, he is the “boss”.