Timbaland in Zimbabwe

The battle of Harare is on this weekend as the cream of world entertainment in hip-hop invade the capital in a first of their series of shows between Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Timbaland, Ciara, Lil Kim, Fat Joe and DJ Scratch will have to sweat it out this weekend against a formidable combination of mega superstar Oliver Mtukudzi, evergreen Suluman Chimbetu and the duo of Dino Mudondo and Willom Tight.

The conflict takes place over two days with Mtukudzi and company taking control of the capital on Friday while the visitors attempt to do the same the following day.

It is not clear yet why Zar Entertainment, which had previously announced that their show would be taking place on Friday, the same day as the Mid Year gig (Tuku and company) decided to "reschedule".

The Zimbabwean representatives of the South African company, T-Bass and P Styles, say it was not rescheduling as such but that there had been "miscommunication".

The duo say they did not bow down to the local show but that there was a mix-up of dates during interviews and adverts resulting in the unfortunate incident.

"We did not bow down," said T-Bass, real name Tavona Gukuta.
He continued: "It was a mix-up really. There was miscommunication and things just got mixed up in the process. Our gig has always been slated for the 28th, a Saturday."

Josh Hozheri, the organiser of the Friday gig, says he is confident that his show will prevail because he knows his clientele (Harare) and "they like going out on Fridays not Saturdays".

"We are completely different, these guys charge ridiculous amounts and we just stay true to our people, making sure that they can afford our product.

"On the other hand we are in the city centre, plenty of parking space, not much driving required and affordable beer while our promoters for the visiting crew represent the opposite," he said.

The question remains, where will you be this weekend - Borrowdale Racecourse or City Sports Centre?

Said P Styles (real name Paradzai Matare): "For most people it will be a first to attend a gig such as this one. To have Timberland, Ciara, Lil Kim, Fat Joe and DJ Scratch on one stage in Africa, Zimbabwe for that matter, is no easy thing.

"This may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of the people and if they cannot be there then where else?"

However, news from the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe does not seem to favour the visitors.

Spokesperson for the arts body Tafadzwa Chidoori, where all promoters register and clear their shows, was by Thursday last week still sceptical of the "American invasion".

"They have come to us to register themselves as promoters, which is a very rigorous exercise by the way. They managed to do that but they are still to prove to us that these people are really coming so that they can be cleared to hold their show," said Chidoori.

T-Bass and partner P Styles confirmed also that there were a few things that were yet to be done but said much of the ground had already been covered with just a few items left.

"Timberland and company are definitely coming to Southern Africa. They have three shows in South Africa. They will perform in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, but only after they have fulfilled the Harare show.

"There is no way they will fail to come because they have expressly requested to spend time in Zimbabwe visiting our tourist resort areas before they travel to South Africa for their shows," said T-Bass.

Timberland and company, whose gig is dubbed "Africa's biggest hip-hop night", will arrive in the country on the eve of their Saturday gig to a reception at a yet-to-be-announced club in the capital.

The Americans will be arriving with an entourage of 46 people plus an unknown number of South African-based Zar people on a chartered plane from across the Limpopo.

Organisers say everything is in place including accommodation, although they will not be divulging some details to avoid the "chaos such as was seen at the Akon Sean Paul concert".

Just like the historic Akon/Sean Paul gig, the organisers of the show say there will be a general admission area, golden circle and a VIP section for invited guests.

"We saw the mess at the Akon/Sean Paul concert and actually organised the Brick & Lace show, so this time everything will be up to scratch," said T-Bass as a parting shot.

Battle lines have been drawn; money is about to exchange hands, records and probably hearts broken, but the question remains who will be the victor this weekend?

Or maybe it is just a matter of which class of society one belongs to?