MUKANYA, STOP CROUCHING AND DANCE SOME

If you were not at El Mocambo, Toronto on Friday night, I know you want to me to tell you what Mukanya was up to and I will tell you, of course.

For more than 2 hours, Thomas Mapfumo, the Lion of Zimbabwean music, did what he knows best. He took his sizeable (I mean really sizeable) audience back to the good old days with such yesteryear hits as “Chipatapata”, “Chiruzevha Chapera”, “Corruption” and many more until he fittingly closed with “Bhutsu Mutandarika”.

When I got to the El Mocambo Club -seeing the small crowd- I was fearful that Mukanya might do what those who claim to know him better accuse him of doing, that is, play just a few minutes and take off complaining that he was such a big name who only performs to big crowds.

Well, none of that happened, in fact Mukanya performed as if he was in front of 60 000 fans in The National Sports Stadium back in Harare.

I am not about to give excuses for Mukanya, but the small crowd could have been that he performed to a large non-paying crowd on Monday and the thrifty among us took advantage. After all most of us are still on social assistance!!

I have some advice though for Thomas Mapfumo: Mukanya, people do not like it or enjoy it when you crouch down, right to the floor to sing. Are you in agony, they want to know.

Also, audiences want to see you dance all the time, not shuffle a little and then stand up there and watch them with what most construe as a bemused or disapproving stare while Loveness, your backing singer and dancer, is literally killing herself with fancy footwork.

Just thought I should say this and hope that when you come next time there will be a more upright Mukanya to listen to, watch and dance with.

TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/