A cocktail of brilliance, class, stardom and professionalism oozed the Ikonic Chronicles concert that was held at Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) on Friday night.
With Nigerian star, Patoranking as the main act, Zimdancehall maestro, Winky D making his debut 2019 performance on local ground, most sought local artist, Jah Prayzah, along with Sulumani Chimbetu, Exq among others, the show was bound to be a blast.
Kicking off the night’s performances with the loner, Sulumani “Sulu” Chimbetu who was representing Sungura, no backtracking steps were made.
Sulu came out guns blazing persuading revellers to their feet with Dendera dance moves. He churned hit after hit balancing between his own and late father’s music to make a perfect start into the night. He proved wrong some critics who questioned his inclusion on a night of color and class.
However, as per his trend, Winky D was the spectacle of the night. He got on stage after another scintillating showcase by lanky crooner, Jah Prayzah who had effortlessly delivered, often winning the crowd who sang along to most of his songs which have grown to be street anthems.
Storming the stage with Green Like Me Garden, the Zimdancehall chanter eloquently spat past each rhythm, notes and lyrics complimenting his gold and black themed outfit which could never pass the eye unnoticed. Had it been a red carpet event, the Jecha singer would have walked away with the best-dressed male award.
There was a surprise in store for the crowd with Gemma Griffiths storming the stage to assist Winky D on their hit single MuGarden.
As the crowd went wild, it was evident on Gemma’s face that she could not believe the reception.
She had to spent most of her time on stage with her mouth wide open in disbelief of the love she was getting from thousands of revellers.
She later left the stage after taking MuGarden four to five times over, leaving Winky D to wrap up his act with two more deliveries.
Next in line came Patoranking who endured a very disappointing and slow start to his act. Poor sound marred a would be electric start and by the time sound problems were sorted, the audience’s energy had been sucked out.
Desperate to win back his crowd the cunning Suh Different singer pulled a huge surprise and sang the late music icon, Dr Oliver Mtukudzi’s Tozeza Baba while owning it. Not really certain about the words and making sounds that were in tune with the original song’s lyrics, the 28-year-old singer won back the sinking crowd.
From then on, Patoranking’s train never stopped, the songs that were not really making sense to revellers before Tuku’s rendition were now starting to take meaning. The energy that had been lost was won back.
Thanks to Tuku’s Tozeza Baba rendition, Patoranking may never be forgotten by Zimbabweans. While most foreign artists remember Samanyanga on Neria, the Nigerian singer’s rendition won hearts because he uniquely went an extra mile.
