By Sindiso Dube
The self-proclaimed best rapper in the country Cal_Vin says artistes from Bulawayo and the southern region of the country are poor and can’t live the expected celebrity status, hence no one aspires to be like them.
Cal_Vin on Tuesday released a controversial song titled Maybe If I Was where he resonates with Lovemore Majaivana’s experience and bemoans how artistes from the southern region play second fiddle to their counterparts from other parts of the country, especially Harare.
In the songs the rapper says maybe if he was Shona his story would have been different, insinuating that there is an invisible hand derailing other tribes from progress.
“It was hard for me to do this song because I knew people would judge me, but it had to be done so as to create a conversation around the whole issue,” Cal_Vin told Standard Style.
“It was influenced by Lovemore Majaivana’s experience which I learnt from a documentary last week. We think it was easy for him to just quit, but he was forced out of music and it was sad.
“I also thought about quitting music a lot of times and felt let down by the same people I stand for and also how the system is not built for people like us, the Ndebele people.
“We work hard every day and we do shows, the biggest stages in the country, but still walk home and catch taxis.
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“We even have prestigious awards like Bulawayo Arts Awards and Skyz Metro FM Awards, dress up, win and do a massive speech and then go catch a kombi carrying an award in the middle of the night.”
The Banjalo Abantu hit maker said artistes’ impoverishment cannot be solely blamed on the crumbling economy, but lack of systems to sustain the industry.
“Although I understand it’s the economy, but it’s not entirely on certain people or events, but what’s sad is the expectations of the people that see us receiving these awards and see us walking home,” Cal_Vin said.
“It’s sad and that’s why we are not inspirational. We are just famous and broke, nobody wants to be like us. We don’t have houses, cars and wear the same clothes.
“They might say that we are not marketing enough, but I shouldn’t be doing all that, there should be a system in place.
“We can’t afford to set up a team that will help you push your music, hence you are expected to do everything by yourself and that’s stunting our growth, this is not just my story, but it’s everybody’s story in Bulawayo.
“We should make it in Bulawayo, we love our city and culture, we can’t be moving from here. We don’t need to run away, why are we not blossoming here? Is our culture and things we love being blocked by a certain system that is preventing us to be inspirational?”
Cal_Vin has been in the music industry for more than a decade and he has amassed a number of awards nationally and regionally.
He is famed as one of the best rappers in Bulawayo and played a major role in putting the Bulawayo rap scene on the national and regional map.
He has graced high-profile stages nationally and globally, but the biggest highlight of his career was when he featured on South African rap star Cassper Nyovest’s runaway hit song Z’khuphani.
