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Celeste Ntuli will head up an entertaining line up of comedians at the Shoko Comedy Night set for REPS Theatre on 28th September. Celeste Ntuli, popularly known for her acting role as ‘Siphokazi’ in Isibaya, is currently riding high on a wave of popularity as one of South Africa’s top comedians. Celeste picked up two awards at the just ended Comics Choice Awards 2019 (South Africa), winning the ‘Flying Solo Award’ and the ‘Comedy G Award’. Celeste is the first ever South African black female comedian to record a one woman show called “Seriously Celeste”. Her work has earned her the DStv Viewers' Choice Award: Favourite Comedian in 2018 and in 2017 she was awarded the Comics' Choice Comic of the Year. Born in Empangeni and the sixth of eight children, Celeste was always known as the joker in her community. Her success comes from her no-holds-barred approach to her comedy sets which touch on relationships, social issues and stereotypes.
Born Carrington Simbarashe Chiwadzwa, Nutty O is a dancehall artist from Zimbabwe. Nutty O started to record professionally at Cashlibs Studio when he was 21, that is when his career in music was established and It wasn’t long before radio stations and the general public started showing some love for Nutty O’s musical creations. He delivers his vocals in a mixture of Shona and Patois
Nutty was the first Zimbabwean artist to be featured on Dj. Edu’s Afrodancehall show on BBC 1xtra with his track “Kwandabva Kure”. The track also made it to the top of the DNA chart and climbed to the number three spot. This was a great motivation for Nutty O. He also featured in a song with Etana, a Jamaican international artiste whose album was Number 1 on the Billboard Reggae Hot 100 for several weeks and it was nominated at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
Nutty O has performed alongside Jamaican dancehall sensation, Charly Black and has shared the stage with the likes of Mafikizolo,ExQ, Jah Prayzah, Romain Virgo, Teddy Riley, The Wailers to name a few.
In 2016 nominated as the most promising Zimdancehall artist. It was the first time an artist singing in English and Patois got such a recognition on that platform.
In April 2019 he released the song “Vroom” which has become a hit in Zimbabwe and has stayed at the top of the charts to date.
In August 2019 he managed to release another track “Mbakumba” which he features Jah Prayzah and Dat New Guy.
Popular ZimDancehall chanter Bazooker is set to light up the stage with his songs “Bho Here”, “Ndozvida” and “Rega Ndishaure
Simba was born “Nelson Angelo Sitoi” in Maputo. He grew up with Portuguese as a first language but his desire to share his music with people beyond the country’s borders meant rapping in English. Making history with his first album ‘Run and Tell your Mother ‘as the only hip-hop album 100% English in Mozambique. Initially, this put him at a disadvantage in Mozambique, but by creating bridges between Hip Hop, Jazz, Afrobeat, and Funk, he’s been able to overcome any reservations. He is still the only hip hop artist to have performed at the Mozambique Jazz Festival, Mozambique’s largest music festival.Collaborations
His music entered the South African scene via his single Lovely Day featuring Lizha James, this song was nominated for two categories on Channel O Awards, he also collaborated with acclaimed Mozambican Saxophonist Moreira Chonguica.
Simba has also performed with Chris Dave, and was an opening act at Mos Def’s show in Jo’burg, South Africa. Was also an opening act at Vusi Mahlasela, Habib Koite, Dobet Gnahore’s show in Maputo CCFM.
Back home, Simba created the first hip hop live band in Mozambique, called Simba and the Rocats (The Rocats are a dub band). He now performs with a band called The Brown Band, and has started his own label Brown Records.
Now he is working with a Madagascan pianist Mota, in an interesting project that blends hip-hop and classic music.
Not bad for a young man in a country where hip hop and English are not really part of the everyday life.
In the pipelines
Simba is collaborating with DJ Kenzhero on a project called Jozambique mix tape. “Party People” is the first single from this project. On the remix he collaborated with the late “HHP” – Hip-hop Pantsula – South African hip hop artist.
Rapper, poet, and self-proclaimed philosopher. Jonathan Tafila, who goes by the name Wicked Jono, is a talented hip hop wordsmith who hails from Botswana.
Born and raised in the city of Gaborone, Jonathan’s creative pedigree was fuelled by the hip hop music that dominated the airwaves in the late 90’s and early 2000’s; most notably the works of American artists like Eminem and Dr. Dre. Tafila also attributes much of his creativity to what he witnessed on television whilst in his adolescence, claiming to have been raised, to a large extent, by cartoons and pro wrestling. This appreciation of what he saw on the screen as well as the influx of hip hop music he was exposed to at the time form the basis of Jonathan’s artistry. His perspective and awareness of music also grew once he heard a diverse range of 70s and 80s artists his father would play in the car on road trips.
Having already grown fond of creative writing exercises and drawing whilst at primary school, Jonathan began drawing his own characters and writing his own stories; creating elaborate comic books in the process. This early exposure to writing led to him writing his first rap verses at the age of 12. Jonathan also developed a keen interest in drama, frequently performing in school productions at Maru-A-Pula, where he attended high school.
By the time he was 15 years old, Jonathan already began exploring rhythmic poetry and, through hip hop acts like Nas, KRS- One, and Eric B & Rakim began polishing his craft and establishing his role within the realm of arts as a hip hop poet and lyricist. Throughout his high school years, he would go on to perform several times on the Maitisong stage; most notably at the annual Verbal Emancipation talent show. He also went on to perform at several poetry shows in the years that followed and shared the stage alongside poets Delerecal and Gomolemo ‘Ghost’ Motsamai at the 2016 GIMC Poetry event. Jonathan has also been a member of the Warzone battle rap league in Botswana, having competed in various rap battles against other local rappers.
Although he has written and performed a number of poems, Jonathan classifies himself as more of a rapper than a poet, and references his rhythmic delivery as the basis for such classification. His alternative stage name ’Poetik Enigma’ is a reflection of his artistry as he considers himself lyrically gifted and stylistically flexible and unpredictable.
Jonathan is part of an arts collective called ANMLY which seeks to band African artists together with the aim of reigniting a vibrant creative culture within the continent. He is an avid football fan. He is also a huge fan of 60s rock group The Beatles, 80’s new- wave band Talking Heads and various other vintage rock acts.
Ludo is a musician and poet that has been performing for the past 12years.In 2011, she was signed under Bittersweet Poetry Zambia and has since performed for various shows, weddings and corporate events.
Her poetry has seen her grace stages for events such as The Day of Thunder event in Livingstone, Zambian Music awards 2016, African Development Bank’s 2016 Annual Meeting, The unveiling of Sanlam, as well as events for Standard Chartered and Stanbic bank, to name a few.
Denzel Takudzwa Mashonganyika aka Probeatz is a 24 year old whose versatile talents include acting ,rapping ,dancing ,and beatboxing. His simultaneous multi-vocal percussion abilities defy nature. He attributes the discovery of his beatboxing talent to frequent powercuts in the neighbourhood where he grew up. His repertoire has allowed him to tour around the world and be awarded international awards and appearances on different platforms.
Q Dube, real name Nqobizitha Mitchel Dube, is a Stand up comedian, Radio personality, T.V presenter, Actor, Voice over artist, Wedding and Cooperate function MC and Rapper! He began his career as a T.V presenter in 2005 presenting a music show on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation called . He then moved to on to acting on a local TV drama called The Small House saga, a role that earned him a best actor nomination in the 2008 NAMAs (National arts merit awards). In 2010 Q Dube packed his bags and left for South Africa to try break into the entertainment industry there. While in South Africa Q Dube found his voice for comedy. With a little help from his uncle, an established actor in South Africa (Luthuli Dlamini), Q Dube stepped on his first comedy stage at the Blues Room (Open Mic) sharing the stage with the likes of Trevor Noah and Loyiso Gola. After failing to secure a work permit Q Dube returned to Zimbabwe where he briefly acted in another local drama cast called Studio 263 in 2011. Late in 2011 Q Dube was introduced to the local comedy industry (which was a few months old itself) by his good friend Simba the Comic King who allowed him to hit the stage and ever since Q Dube has never looked back. Since then Q Dube has stepped on every big comedy stage in Zimbabwe namely HIFA, Shoko Festival and Intwasa Festival . In 2013 he was on the line up in Zimbabwe’s First International Comedy Festival held at the HICC! Q Dube has also had the pleasure of touring South Africa with his stand up act, performing in clubs such as Parkers comedy club and Capetown comedy club just to name a few. In 2015 Q Dube took his act to the United States with the help of his family. He managed to perform in six cities namely Chicago, Los Angeles, Texas, Kentucky, Indiana and New York and managed to meet and speak with legends in the Stand Up world like Bill Bellamy, Lavell Crowford and D.L Hughley. Q Dube’s biggest crowd to date is 3.7k people that he performed for as he opened for the queen of African comedy, Anne Kansiime in Harare Zimbabwe. He has also toured the United Kingdom, namely London (with South African Comedian Lihle Msimang) and Leicester city where he performed in a number of venues while having his main residency at Mama Jumbes. Q Dube holds two of the biggest comedy awards in Zimbabwe as he was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Comedian Award at the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) on the 18th of February 2017 as well as Outstanding Comedian for the Bulawayo Arts Awards (BAA) held on the 29th of June 2019. Q Dube is currently based in South Africa where is has been a regular feature at all the top comedy spot in Johannesburg and Capetown as well as being a DJ on The 1873fm. He has appeared on the hit TV show Mzansi Comedy Night and just finished recording Funny People Africa for ShowMax.
An award winning Zimbabwean Stand Up comic he stands tall as a sharp & witty satirist and socio political commentator who points out the absurdity of what is supposedly normal. His professional journey as a fulltime comedian began in February 2011 at the legendary BOCAPA OPEN MIC at the BOOK CAFE. He is the founder and regular performer at SIMUKA COMEDY, Zimbabwe’s Official Stand Up Comedy Night a monthly held event at the BOOK CAFE. He was a regular performer at the Zimbabwe German Society’s Acoustic Night event where he was awarded The Most Improved Artist/Performer 2011/12. He is the former resident comedian at Zimbabwe Germany Society.
Kikkybadass real name Christabelle Mahlungwa is a 24 year old multi award winning artist. She won Best Female award at the Zimbabwe HipHop Award 2017 and Peopleʼs choice. She went ahead and scooped 2 more awards at the Changamire HipHop awards , for best female and best duo with rapper Fucci. She scooped Best Female at the Glam Awards 2018 . And in 2019 won 2 awards at the Changamire festival . Kikkyʼs Debut Album QUEEN OF THE SOUTH gave her a special place in the music industry. On the album she featured Ycee from Nigeria and Jnr Brown along with other artists. It was a masterpiece and she went ahead killing the game with her confidence and work . She has shared the stage with some of Zimbabweʼs biggest artists , Like Jah Signal in Cyprus 2018. She released the visuals for Boys dzeTonaz which did well with almost 200k views making her the first femaleHipHop in Zimbabwe with such numbers on one video alone . She recently featured in Enzo Ishallʼs Magate which has her dancing and the video is almost a million
views. 2019 has been a great year for her as she has been booked and busy since the year started . Her growth in the industry is impeccable and she keeps challenging herself all the time . To get some of Kikkyʼs works you can search for @kikkybadass.
Vimbai Zimuto was born in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. Vimbai started music at 6 years old, playing in her school's percussion band. Her first instrument: a tambourine. Vimbai joined a traditional dance group and the school choir. Playing Mbira at the age of 12, she knew music was her calling. High school: theory and practical study of Music. Member of the high school choir, together they recorded a first music album, 'Wedding Bells'. Professional life: Vimbai worked in several projects and participated in music programmes.
Vimbai is now based in the Netherlands, doing shows with a.o. Makali sounds, performing solo and in duet or trio. Mostly in Europe, especially in neighbouring Belgium and Germany. The change captures and expresses our vision and commitment to arts development, community, transformation and positive youth development through popular youth culture.
DING'O (born Munyaradzi Dzwekesu) is a rapper/creative hailing from Kuwadzana Phase III, Harare. Started his rap career in 2013 when he was 18 and is a member of a hip hop collective called R.A.P (Real-And-Passionate).His music is inspired by the townships' way of life and mostly talks of the effect of peer pressure in a place highly affected by poverty, domestic violence, depression and drug abuse in his sorroundings which he also addresses in his music. In 2016 He released an EP called "Imaginary Audience" online with singles such as "Hameno featuring Case Btz","Can't Get Enough" and "Juveniles" which received positive critics in the streets of Harare as well as the Zimbabwean hip hop scene. His discography also include singles like Carling (The Black Label Song) which caused heatwaves across the country and Ha'arare which dropped early 2019. He has also worked with a number of artists with the likes of Jora MC (Uganda), Blax, Case Btz, Ghanaianthekid and Raheem Beatbox. He also takes part in awareness campaigns such has the StepUp2Hiv and has perfomed at quite a number of festivals and concerts including HiFa 2017 (as part of Jibilika Youth Culture Centre),Shoko Festival's BrickhillDome in 2016 and Jibilika Festivals from 2016-2018.
Mollen Tichireva AKA Senator is a prolific talented sungura artist based in Harare. Senator started his musical career at a tender age singing in a school choir and churches where he also learnt how to sing. He grew up in Chikomba district, Njanja area and did his Primary and Secondary education in the same area.
Senator had also worked with renowned Zimbabwe artists. He formed his musical group, The Skylimit Express Band which is made up of 13 members in 2015 and recorded three albums to date “Nguva yakwana”2015, ”Zvasiyana”2017 and “The Fulcrum 2018,”Chikuru hupenyu” (2019 single) these musical projects made him also so popular in the music circles locally and regionally . Senator had also performed at various musical festivals, galas, corporates and state fundraising events, to mention only a few events.
Zimbabwean-born and raised artist and producer Aevian is a versatile performer covering many diverse genres. As an underground artist in Gweru, Aevian grew up watching the likes of DJ Tamuka and Oskid break out of the local scene and he eventually left for Harare to carve out his own mark on the national scene. Since then, he has brought his unique blend of hiphop, acoustic soul and self- produced genre-bending beats to many stages. In just under a year and a half Aevian has gone from small open mic events, to The Jam Tree and to Unplugged Music Festival. From a hopeful spectator at Shoko Festival to being one of the performers at Peace In Hood concert, Aevian’s rise is only just beginning.
Instagram.com/aevian_
Noble Stylz is a multi award winning hip hop artiste. Famed for his supreme lyrical ability, the Masvingo bred rapper’s last solo album titled BETTER THAN YOUR ALBUM won Album Of The Year at the ZimHipHop Awards.
He is also the inaugural BEST MALE award winner of the Changamire Hip Hop Awards. He commands a catalogue of 6 albums and is set to drop his 7th this summer.
Michael Chiunda is a multi-talented indie singer-songwriter, award nominee from Mutare,currently based in Harare. The artist, in the past couple of months of 2018 - 2019, has collaborated with other artists, corporate organizations and internationally recognized platforms facilitated by the Harare International Festival of Arts and HIVOS. Michael Chiunda is a socio-political artist who seeks to consciously liberate his community.
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