The Sunday News
Sibongile Ndiweni, Sunday Life Reporter
WITH hopes of elevating the arts industry in the City of Kings and paving the way for the younger generation of artists to showcase their talents, Umahlekisa Entertainment company will on Saturday host a battle royale where young artists in various fields will be given a chance to showcase their talents and compete with their peers.
Dubbed the next generation battle, the extravaganza will be held on 3 June at a venue that is yet to be announced. The battle will be a platform for the young artists in Bulawayo to showcase talents in four genres, namely rap, dance, poetry slam and Deejaying. Prominent figures in each genre will be there present as the judges and also to assist in grooming the upcoming artists for the industry.
In an interview with Sunday Life, Umahlekisa administrator Nokuthaba Chelcy Nyathi said the battle will set the tone for other events targeted at young people.
“We realised that our audience has always been people from an older generation and there were very few youths taking part in the organisation or attending our events. This inspired us to come up with a concept that will also engage the younger generation and up-and-coming artists. Most youths are not interested in comedy, that is why we are bringing the battle with different talent genres as a way to accommodate them,” she said.
For the past 10 years, Umahlekisa entertainment has been a male-dominated organisation, with a few female comedians, but it had no females among the staff members. Nonetheless, 21-year-old Nyathi is now the face of the comedy club as its administrator.
