Jah Prayzah, Winky D and the coincidences

Competition between the two has always been discussed and though they have not admitted to any rivalry, it is hard to ignore. Comparisons have always been drawn starting from the capacity to fill the Harare International Conference Centre, which they have both proven they can.

In terms of awards, the two were set head-on during the 2017 National Arts Merit Awards (NAMAs) with their albums Mudhara Vachauya and Gafa Futi being drawn together. They went on to bag two gongs each.

However, cordial relations do exist as seen by Jah Prayzah inviting Winky D to his events such as after the Davido no-show and they also like each other’s social media posts.

In their musical journey, however, there have been several coincidences that have led many to conclude that rivalry exists between them. Early this year, Winky D dropped his album Gombwe and within a few days, Jah Prayzah dropped his video ‘Angel Lo’ which featured Jah Cure which resulted in talk.

Last week, Jah Prayzah released an album and a day before, Winky D dropped the video ‘Paper Bag’. The timing of the video torched controversy with some alleging it was meant to counter Jah Prayzah hype towards the album launch and maybe a tit-for-tat following the February incident.

Winky D, through his manager Jonathan Banda poured cold waters on the claims, saying they do not have control over the processes at Trace Africa. Trace Africa TV had exclusive rights to the video and started advertising it two days before the release.

“That is a foreign television channel with its own processes and decisions. We submitted our work at Trace Africa and underwent several processes and to release it is their decision. We have no power over them,” he said.

Jah Prayzah’s camp also weighed in saying such comparisons are inevitable when two big artists are involved. They said there is no rift with Winky D and they respect him for his contributions to the music industry as a whole.

“Such comparisons are inevitable when two big artists are excelling in their line of work and people assume beef. This is not the first time that we have heard this, remember the Sulu comparison. We can’t run away from it but it shows that we are doing something great,” Jah Prayzah’s manager's Keen Mushapaidze said.

Mushapaidze said they do not take the coincidence as a direct attack to their project saying they have different fans.

“We are doing different genres and we both have hard core fans which are different. It is unfortunate that there seem to be clashes in some projects but we do not take that as a direct attack to our project.

“We relate well and we have had them at our events. We relate with every artiste,” he added.

The comparison between these two giants has also been taken to the political field. Jah Prayzah has been associated and claimed to be a Zanu PF artist. This follows his songs being interpreted as prophetic to Zanu PF on-goings. His album Mudhara Vachauya was largely used at Zanu PF youth interface rallies during former president Robert Mugabe’s reign.

After his deposition, some referred to current President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the Mudhara who was being referred to. Jah Prayzah’s previous release Kutonga Kwaro was then interpreted as Mnangagwa’s anthem and constantly played at his functions accompanied by a trademark dance which his camp refer to as the presidential shuffle.

The singer once invited Mnangagwa to his album launch while he was still vice president. Opposition political figures such as Tendai Biti have come out publicly hitting out at Jah Prayzah for praise-singing Zanu PF which — according to them — has ruined the country’s fortunes.

Winky D, on the other hand, has found favours from the opposition MDC, starting from the party’s president, Nelson Chamisa. His earlier release, 'Parliament', was welcomed by the opposition as it addressed issues that identify with the masses.

Chamisa, at his rallies towards the July 30 harmonised elections, would refer to the song’s lyrics. In his latest release, 'Paper Bag', Winky D made reference to spaghetti roads which Chamisa envisioned should be the country’s future.

Writing on Twitter, Chamisa described Winky D as great talent after the lyrics of the song were highlighted to him. After all has been said and done, Winky and Jah Prayzah are big artists coming out of the country and their capabilities are not questionable.

This article first appeared in Daily News on 11 November 2018.