The Sunday News
Lance Chigodo, Sunday Leisure Reporter
THERE is no love without peace but this is not so for talented dancehall chanter Souljah Love, born Soul Musaka, whose stable seems to have mastered the art of fighting even those who would have paid to watch him on stage, the latest incident being at Masvingo’s Mucheke Stadium last weekend at the Zimdancehall Summer Festival.
Yes, they need the money but they don’t need the peace with fans who support Souljah Love’s music, it would appear. While in business they believe the customer is king, Souljah Love or Chibaba as he is popularly known and his crew believe fans are just nothing more than punch bags. His group, the Conquering Shumba turned out to be disloyal Masvingo fans.
The youthful chanter is always presented as a bad boy and has been tagged for threatening journalists, snubbing shows or getting to scheduled concerts late. He has also come under fire for performing for short periods before disappearing. Ditching shows and showing up late is disappointing and embarrassing enough but manhandling and physically attacking fans is something that he could not easily be forgiven for.
In an interview with Sunday Leisure a Masvingo-based producer who was part of the organising team Gabriel Ndale also known as Ceeklear confirmed that violence broke out at Mucheke Stadium saying although the situation was quickly brought under control, it was not called for.
“Yes, there were incidents of violence but they were quickly thwarted by the police. They were not called for though. My message to the dancehall fans and artistes as Ceeklear representing Ceeklear music is that peace and harmony is the key and there is no need for violence, ngatifarei kwete kufarisa and keep supporting Zim dancehall,” he said.
Souljah Love’s boys sparked violence a couple of times at the show where they were manhandling fans who tried to get close to Souljah Love. Reports say Souljah Love also ran riot in Mutare attacking fans with a golf stick and fighting fellow enchanters. Maybe his violent behaviour has become contagious.
However, Ndale confirmed that the show was great and it attracted a number of new promoters to Masvingo who were impressed by the response that the show got.
“The show was fine. People were impressed by the performances of the great local dancehall chanters such as Ras Caleb, Seh Calaz and Souljah Love himself. Our music company was also recognised by local promoters such as Godwin Mhika Chidume also known as GMC of Live Large Music Company,” said Ndale.
