Kombi's!! The New Radio!!

Growing up if an artist wanted to become a household name they would need to get airplay on national radio stations. Traditionally being played on radio was a sign of good things to come, or in the least it provided one with a platform on which to succeed. Also being played on radio means that an artist would be entitled to royalties at the end of the month, a little something for all the hard work put in.

In Zimbabwe such a system has died down, the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMURA) has been erratic in disbursing the royalties and also the process for one to get airplay is very challenging especially if you're an upcoming artist. So in the end many artists just lost hope of ever getting a chance to have a breakthrough. 

The phenomenal rise of ZimDancehall has opened up new avenues of marketing and exposure for artists. Since way back music was always being played on public transport but since the popularity of Zim dancehall the Kombi's evolved from just playing music to please the passengers into a very formidable form of marketing for artists. 

In the radio era the more plays one got, the more shows that artist also got but that now has changed to the extend that some artists get a lot of plays on radio but remain largely unknown by the masses. That certain effect can be seen especially in local Hip Hop. Local hip hop receives a lot of airplay on radio but when it comes to popularity and pulling power its severely lacks. In contrast the same genre also gets very few to no airplay in kombis and mushikashika's. The same effect can be seen on local RnB and pop music.

Getting more Kombi airplay that radio airplay has transformed a lot of musicians. Mathias Mhere rose from being a Blessing Shumba copycat to a big gospel star mainly because of him being played in kombi's. In his early days one would not hear Mathias Mhere being played much on radio except on dedicated gospel shows on the various radio stations. But despite the low airplay on radio stations he became a big artist merely by being played in Public Transport. I remember when he emerged on the scene, every Kombi was playing him and to be honest he annoyed me quite a lot but the more he was being played the more I ended up warming up to his sound and singing along to his tracks. It grew on me, to the extend that I found myself singing his tracks when I was at home.

Kombi's also played a big role in Jah Prayzah's career, elevating him into the superstar he is today. Before he became a media darling that he is today Jah was once an unknown possibly irritating artist getting insane plays in the Kombi's and public braai areas. During his Sungano days he was being played in the majority of Kombis. As much as many complained then, the majority later became huge fans of him. Radio started playing Jah Prayzah's music more after he was already a favourite in the Kombi's and of a lot of people. What Jah Prayzah went through in his first days is more like what Andy Muridzo is going through these days. Getting little to no airplay on radio but massively popular in the Kombis and braai spots. Many people are labeling him a copycat and annoying but during the couple of months his album has been out you can see and hear a lot of people testifying that they now like his music.

Sulumani Chimbetu also has benefited from Kombi airplay. His past 3 albums (Non Stop, Syllabus and Gunship) received an insane amount of airplay in the Kombi's as compared to his other Chimbetu counterparts (Allan, Tryson & Douglas) and this has led to major differences in their success and popularity. This difference extends to even other sungura artists.

Sungura in overall has fallen from being the top music genre in the country due to the less Kombi airplay as compared to dancehall music. Back in the day all one would hear in a Kombi was sungura but now its all dancehall. Kombi playlist preferences in a large way show a shift in the music industry. The artist's that are getting more airplay in Kombi's are the ones who are also having sold out shows (or capacities near to that). A few legends like Tuku, Macheso..etc are the ones who can survive without much Kombi airplay but the rest are in dire need of it.

Lastly and more visibly is the rise of Zim Dancehall. Local dancehall is one genre that was pushed by Kombis by ginya to the top. Many kombi drivers, conductors and hwindis relate to Zim Dancehall more than any other genres and because of that they pushed for and began playing more dancehall in their kombis. I remember when Zim dancehall was still rising, in most kombi's I boarded a number of people would complain about local dancehall and request for a change in the music. In those days the conductor or driver were more polite and would abide to the request but as time went one they started to shoot down such requests with statements such as "eehh vabereki inzwai zvirikurira" or "manje ndiro rega disk ratinaro". Now passengers rarely complain, they just listen to whatever the driver has planned for them and just hope a song or artists they like is included in the playlist.

The majority of Zimbos use public transport and that means if an artist or genre gets massive airplay in kombis they will be exposed to a larger part of the population. Regardless of how irritating the music may sound at first, due to repetition, a lot of people will warm up to it and before you know it they already have preferences among the artists being played. Months down the line an artist will be shocked to receive a call booking him/her to a town they were not even targeting.

In conclusion I believe Kombis are the new radio. Get airplay in the Kombi's and you have a platform to become a big artist. The more airplay you get the more the number of promoters that will be on your tail begging for shows. So to all the upcoming artists, if the commercial radio stations are making it hard for you to include your music on their playlists, just distribute your music to the Kombi drivers, once you blow up there the radios will be dying to play your music. Your music has to be good though because the Kombi drivers also have standards they cant play noise.

Proud_Zimbo