Provocative comedienne Tumi Morake for Shoko 2013

With election fever gripping the country yet again, Zimbabweans have been registering to vote, following campaign trails and polishing their crystal balls for a glimpse into the future. Not so Sam Monro, aka Comrade Fatso, a fire cracker in the Magamba Cultural Activist Network, and director of Shoko Festival. With his lieutenant Tafadzwa Sharaunga and dedicated cohorts, preparations have been under way for Shoko Festival 2013, to be held from 17-22 September at Water World in Eastlea.
Acknowledged to be Zimbabwe’s fastest growing international festival of urban music, Shoko involves a variety of arts genres and attracts a diverse local and international audience. The festival theme this year, We, the People, symbolises Shoko’s commitment to unity as ‘artists, activists, dreamers, poets, developers and media activists’ come together.
South African rapper Khuli Chana will be a huge attraction for the fans of the hip-hop scene. This talented musician is a master of vernacular rap, sending out street talk and influential messages in Setswana, English and a medley of South African dialects.
Symbiz Sound will be a novel experience for most Zimbabweans. Created by the Korean-German brothers Buddysym (no relative to Psy) and ChrisImbiss, this unique sound was influenced by the brothers’ early interest in Hip-Hop and Reggae. It has developed into a versatile, dance-floor oriented new style known as future dancehall. It’s likely that this Berlin-based duo will be impressed by the music scene here, and probably find elements to incorporate into their electronic club sound system culture.
Followers of Big Brother Africa: The Chase, will have met the provocative and fearless comedienne, Tumi Morake. The multi-talented Tumi studied drama at Wits University and has worked as a puppeteer, actress and theatre director. Discovering her talent for comedy she took to stand-up comedy in 2006 and has never looked back. Popular local comedians Carl Joshua Ncube and Clive Chigubhu will also take part, providing entertainment for their many fans. Zimbabweans love to laugh, but only the bravest will take a front row seat when these artistes take the stage.
Mbira star, Hope Masike, also known for her innovative sound blending mbira, jazz and hip-hop, will be collaborating with the hip-hop gospel group, Monkey Nuts, and Mbare-based hip-hop artiste Junior Brown who has been top dog since he released the popular song Madrinks last year, will be sure to draw the crowds.
Shoko 2013 will see 250 artistes from three different continents perform in a festival of urban music second to none. Be sure to be in Harare from September 17-22.