The seventh edition of the annual urban culture fiesta Shoko Festival is this year designed to give a utopian feel amidst the nation’s grim realities, the event’s director Samm “Cde Fatso” Monro has said.
By Kennedy Nyavaya
Themed YOUtopia, the three-day fète will start this Friday through to Sunday at Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences grounds and Chitungwiza on the last day.
In an interview with The Standard Style, Cde Fatso explained the theme as portraying the organisers’ aim to create a free space of engagement and freedom for the audience.
“It is very much about wanting our audience to come through and find their joy and happy space within the festival amidst the craziness that is everyday life in the country,” he said.
“We wanted to create that beautiful, vibrant engaging space for people to come and be free to be who they want to be, as well as to embrace their diversity.”
Shoko is arguably the biggest youthful festival at a time many are folding due to socio-economic problems prompted by a shrinking economy which has rendered enjoying the arts a luxury.
Growing in leaps and bounds, the festival is coming up with new thrilling ideas to entertain and empower its largely youthful audiences as each year passes.
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“We like to involve and grow new ideas each year and in this edition, we have more new interesting things,” said Cde Fatso, making reference to additions on the programme like the Hip Hop Summit, which will see international veterans in the genre flying in to impart knowledge to upcoming hip-hop artists.
The opening night will see South African hip-hop powerhouse Emtee headline a local line up consisting of Cal_Vin, Guluva 7, Tulkmunny and Reverb 7 among other supporting acts.
On Saturday afternoon the Headliners Concert will bring a new music feel to the midday session while the night programme will proceed with an explosive Comedy Night where SA’s Mpho Popps will crack ribs among local jesters.
Zimdancehall prodigy Soul Jah Love will fold the music side of things on the night in a first for the locally famed genre.
Aside from the main stage and Peace in the Hood gig set for Chitungwiza on the last day, the Hub Unconference has been taken a notch up as well with prize money for awards on technological innovations and new media quadrupling from the past edition.
Cde Fatso added that the Shoko Festival was an idea not only to embrace urban culture but also the importance of positive activism by creating “a space for celebrating being you with new ideas”.
“For us, Shoko is about celebrating the positive youth culture that is trending and relevant in the cities so far from hip-hop, dancehall to spoken word and comedy as well as graffiti and cutting edge ideas on how to use new media and technology,” he added.
