Zim music export breaches icon status in South Africa

Unassuming in demeanour, his posture is non -threatening. Yet that look is very beguiling because he is by now, one of the biggest handlers of music talent in southern Africa. Literally running the gamut down South, he is credited with masterminding the careers of the likes of award winning acts ‘90s pop group Boom Shaka led by Lebo Mathosa, recent Metro FM winner Zonke,multiple winner Professor, female DJ Zinhle, Mafikizolo, Bongo Muffin, WinnieKhumalo, Dr Malinga, Unathi, and intriguingly another Zimbo-Berita Khumalo who won in the Best Afro Pop album in a fiercely contested category to mention a few! The magnitude of Oskido is so pervasive that the whole Durban kwaito/house movement which has seen the rise of the likes of Big Nuz and DJ Tira owes its effervescence to the canny attention of   one Oskido, a Zimbabwean son.
Candy, the Limpopo based songstress who features on Oskido’s Song of the Year gushed at the Metro FM awards: “Thank you so much Oskido for changing all of our lives. Wangithusa.” The song Tsa Mandebele featuring Candy and Mabhiza was the biggest song of 2012 on South African radio.  Kalawa Jazmee is the stable that she belongs to which snagged the Best Compilation for 2012 award at the Radio Metro Music Awards about two weeks ago. Oskido is a co-owner and founder of this music company which has spawned countless hitsongs andprovided the soundtrack to post- apartheid urban cultural expression. It all started with ‘90s pop group Boom Shaka featuring the late controversial Lebo Mathosa which blazed a trail of glory on southern African radio stations and music charts. The group fronted by Lebo Mathosa and Thembi Seete as co- lead singers, became a cult favourite amongst post -apartheid black youth as it represented a new hopefulness about the future. Behind the scenes Oscar Mdlongwa, Bulawayo export disc jockey-cum-music producer was pulling the strings alongside his South African sidekicks Don Laka and Bruce Sebitlo.
Oscar Mdlongwa aka Oskido is a bona fide legend in music circles in southern Africa. Born in 1967 in the Oukasie township near BRITS, South Africa to Esaph Mdlongwa a Zimbabwean politician, he was raised in Bulawayo but later returned to SA in 1987 where he began his successful hustle to the top of the musical food chain. Oskido is also a recipient of the Channel O Music Channel special award for his contribution to music. Just to get a measure of how important this award is, the only other person to receive this award is Brenda Fassi the late great. Oskido is colossus and towers heads and shoulders above many of his musical peers in southern Africa. No one can begrudge Oscar that much .Rightfully making it into the list of famous Zimbabweans in Wikipedia; it is no accident that Oskido has been made KwaZulu- Natal cultural ambassador. He has contributed that much to the economy, not just of Durban, but the whole of South Africa which has a multi-billion rand music industry. Hundreds of jobs have been created out of nothing for many urban youth because of Oskido’s trail blazing work. Joining forces with fellow producers, Don Laka and Christos Katsaitis; they founded Kalawa Records and released their eponymous self-titled BOP (Brothers Of Peace) compilation in 1993. Establishing a commune of DJs, musicians, producers and other hopefuls, the label turned into Kalawa Jazmee in 1995 when Christos left.
I am inclined to agree with an out-going foreign ambassador who is reported to have bemoaned the fact Zimbabwe is to preoccupied with politics and artificial cultural differences. There is more to life than who gets elected into political office. We have framed our society too narrowly and missed out on the energising potential of our cultural industries. The time has come for Zimbabwe to learn to celebrate its own and learn to look beyond Harare and see the richness of its cultural industries. Other countries are benefitting from the talent and ingenuity of Zimbabweans in the diaspora.