This week in the Khuta – Why act the fool?

The public conduct of our local artists has come under scrutiny recently amidst reports of physical violence. Hip-Hop artist and Artist of the Year, Jericho, has been accused of abusing his girlfriend while Exit of Exit and Mushe fame made headlines after he assaulted a woman in a night club last week.
GMP boss, Gazza was accused of masterminding the violent attack on Jericho which landed him in hospital and was also in the news for chasing his brother in-law with a gun earlier this year, while The Dogg has a scar on his face as a result of a violent attack in a night club.
I do not understand why our artists are fighting against each other when the industry is so small. They should rather assist each other to get ahead. Only a selected few have made it big in this industry but instead of helping the upcoming artists grow, they are out there trying to kill each other, their girlfriends or members of the public.
Are these the kind of people we want as role models for our children, younger brothers and sisters? Are they just trying to seek publicity or attention by beating and insulting each other at every opportunity they get? Then our artists are definitely still living in the times of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G and are following the wrong trend.
Get with the programme! International artists have moved away from the culture of trying to kill each other. They now have another modus operandi. They are getting married and divorcing after 72 days, posing next to their arch rivals and pretending to have made peace or posting naked pictures of themselves on social networks such as Facebook or Twitter and then put the blame on their crazy exes or stalkers. Now that‘s what I call perfect PR and it gets people talking for days. The best part is, they do not get in trouble with the law.
There is a lot of “beef” in the industry and I do not understand, why these artist should even bother each other in the first place because most of them have all come a long way, built up a huge fan base for themselves and doing well financially. Basically, they do not need to stir up trouble with each other for their music to sell, so why are they so bothered with what the other is doing?
However, there are some of our artists who are really struggling to get ahead in the game even though they have been in the industry for some time. Some have to walk from Katutura to the centre of town while others use taxis like the rest of us. These artists spend a lot of hours and money on recording their albums but sponsorships are only given to those who already made a name for themselves.
I would like to urge companies that give sponsorship to artists such as the Gazzas, the Jerichos and the Doggs to give the upcoming artists a chance, because some of them really have great talent and have potential to become big in this industry and become Namibian ambassadors.
Last week, The Dogg – Namibia’s self proclaimed Kwaito Master – once again made the Nation proud and walked away with the Most Gifted Kwaito Artist at the annual Channel O Music Awards in South Africa. What a great celebration it would have been, if the country wasn’t divided into two camps – those who support him and those who support his “arch rival” Gazza.
How do we expect our music industry to grow, if the artists do not support each other? If we, the public do not buy local music? If the established artists are so selfish and want to make the industry about themselves?
Come on, Gazza and Dogg, your beef is becoming boring, even Khanyi Mbau and Kelly Khumalo kissed and made up. Anyway congratulations on receiving the award Dogg, you deserve it. And those who wonder whether I voted for him, I did a few times. Not because I am part of the ‘Mshasho Family’ but because I am Namibian.