Zimbabwe: Coca­Cola honours musicians, listeners

The honoured musicians are Leonard Zhakata, Jah Prayzah, Ammara Brown and ExQ. Their songs and videos were chosen as best of last year.

Zhakata received a total of $6,000 in prizes: $2500 for ‘Madam Boss’, $2,000 for ‘Zvine Mwaka’, and $1,500 for ‘Moyo Wekutenda’ off his Mutungadzese album, which topped the annual competition.

Zhakata, 48, becomes the first musician to have three songs from the same album in the competition’s top three. Of the 19 people who accurately predicted the top five songs, Muranganwa Svosve was a returnee: Two years ago, he won a prize for predicting the top songs.

On the television part of the competition, multiple award-winning musician, Jah Prayzah’s ‘Watora Mari’ video, which features Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz, was voted Best Video of The Year, and he received $2,500 and a hamper. Tytan’s ‘Mukoko’ featuring Ammara Brown was second, for which he got $2,000 and a hamper. Urban groover ExQ received $1,500 and a hamper for the ‘Bhachura’ video, which also features Ammara Brown.

In separate speeches, the musicians applauded the competition organisers for their commitment to supporting the music sector. “Videos are very hard to produce, as they are costly, but we are happy that we have people who recognise our works,” ExQ said.

“Being honoured for our works gives us the strength and inspiration to keep on working hard,” said Jay Prayzah. “We thank you Coca­Cola for supporting our talent.”

Coca­Cola Zimbabwe official, Vee Chibanda said they were committed to supporting local artistes by giving them a platform to showcase their talent.

“We are committed to supporting local artistes with some of our programmes that include the Coca­Cola Radio Zimbabwe Top 20, ZTV Coke on the Beat, and the recent Coke Studio and Coke Studio in the Mix, which have given our local artistes international exposure and opportunities for collaborations,” she said.

This article was originally published in NewsDay on 26 January 2017.