Winky D overshadows Mr Eazi

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The much-hyped Ammartia Ignite concert, which finally took place on Friday night proved to be a difficult assignment for Nigerian singer Mr Eazi who put up a subdued performance that disappointed many of his Zimbabwean fans at the packed Glamis Arena in Harare.

The much-hyped Ammartia Ignite concert, which finally took place on Friday night proved to be a difficult assignment for Nigerian singer Mr Eazi who put up a subdued performance that disappointed many of his Zimbabwean fans at the packed Glamis Arena in Harare.

BY WINSTONE ANTONIO

Winky D on stage at Glamis Arena.

Mr Eazi’s poor showing gave dancehall kingpin Winky D yet another opportunity to shine with a flawless performance.

The Naija singer — born Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade — was the headline act at the concert that also featured songbird Ammara Brown, Nutty O, Chengeto Brown, ExQ, Takura, songbird Tammy Moyo and wheel-spinners DJ Iroq as well as Judgment Yard.

After flying all the way from Nigeria, Mr Eazi found it hard to sustain the partying tempo that was set in motion by Winky D.

The dancehall “president” and other local acts set the stage alight with their live bands.

 Instead of singing for the crowd, Mr Eazi — who performed with backtracks — found it hard to charm the youthful audience that was mainly composed of college and university students.

Most of the songs on his play list did not resonate with the merrymakers and he had a hard time trying to teach the crowd some of the lyrics.

Mr Eazi tried hard, but still could not connect well with the audience.

He was, however, lucky that his miserable performance did not invite missiles onto the stage as the crowd was disciplined.

At some point Ammara Brown joined him on stage for their duet Svoto but still failed to create rapport with the crowd.

Ammara Brown (in black dress) performs with her dancing queens on Friday night. Pictures: Shepherd Tozvireva

By the time Mr Eazi reached the end of his performance, the majority of the show-goers had deserted the venue. 

His poor performance led to renewed calls for local promoters to stop wasting money by bringing foreign acts at the expense of Zimbabwean stars.

Meanwhile, Mr Eazi’s nightmare was a boon for Winky D, who put up a sterling performance backed by his Vigilance band.  

The Ninja president’s play list had both yesteryear and latest songs such as the trending Kasong Kejecha that has been met with mixed reviews with some associating it with politics.

After his top-notch performance, Winky D left the microphone for hip-hop artiste Takura before Ammara took to the stage and performed some of her collaborations with her sister Chengeto, John Cole and Nutty O.

But it was the appearance on stage of Njabulo Nkomo, better known as Tytan, for their Mukoko duet that delighted many fans who could be seen pushing and shoving to get closer to the stage.

The duo took the fans down memory lane with captivating and well-choreographed dance routines.