BY SHARON SIBINDI
MUSICIAN-cum-comedian Madlela S’khobokhobo says artistes in the Matabeleland region should complement each other for the growth of the arts industry than compete against each other.
Madlela said this after his recent show in Hillbrow Theatre, Johannesburg in South Africa, dubbed Madlela Back to Jozi, after relocating back home to Zimbabwe in 2017.
In an interview with Standard Style, Madlela said he reconnected with other Zimbabwean artistes based in South Africa where they talked about the future of arts in the Matabeleland region traditionally regarded as the hub of arts and culture.
“During my visit to South Africa recently, I met some of our Zimbabwean artistes who are based there. I even got a chance to talk to Bekezela [artiste Bozoo based in SA], I knew him from long back, but we had not met after his breakthrough,” he said.
“He came to my show and we got a chance to discuss a lot and we reconnected. In our dialogue, we spoke on what needs to be done to grow Matabeleland arts. We both emphasised on working together as Matabeleland artistes instead of trying to compete, pulling each other down. This syndrome must come to an end and we are working on ways on how to end it.”
Meanwhile, Madlela said performing in South Africa was so great and he was embraced by both fans and promoters.
“It was emotional to see how our people there had missed the Madlela stable and we had indeed missed them too. We were received well and people were happy to see us,” he said.
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“I was surprised, especially in Diepsloot, to see even local people wanting to take pictures with us. It showed that the brand has made great inroads into the South African market.”
He said he had no regrets about returning home after the performance in South Africa.
