By Mohalenyane Phakela
MASERU — The Econet Buddie Zone Concert held at the Setsoto Stadium on Saturday was marred by poor sound quality, frustrating hordes of fans who had turned up for the much-hyped gig.
After enduring the poor sound for the better part of the show, the fans could not take it anymore when South African rapper HHP hopped on stage for the closing act.
The fans had patiently waited for HHP but when he eventually made an appearance, the sound quality had deteriorated so much his voice was barely audible, resulting in the angry fans kicking down the fence which had been set as a barrier between them and the stage.
The Bosso rapper, acclaimed as the “king of rhyme” in South Africa, had to leave the stage and wait for the technical problem to be resolved.
And when he reappeared, he was now in the company of his Motswako accomplice Cassper Nyovest, and the duo performed the track Wa Mtseba Moth’o, which they originally did together. For the love of his fans, Cassper stayed on stage acting as HHP’s backing rapper and together, gave an outstanding performance which made fans momentarily forget about the sound flop.
Cassper, who was also among the list of the night’s acts, mesmerised the crowd with witty punch-lines and hard-hitting lyrics, and his performance included hits such as Gusheshe and the recently-released Doc Shebeleza.
But that was not all that the South African hip-hop sub-genre Motswako had to offer. There was also the flamboyant Lection, who got his career-break by being featured in some of HHP’s jams.
Although it was his first time in Lesotho, Lection exuded a larger-than-life stage-presence and engaged the fans by asking them to sing along with him, making it appear as if he was already-known in this country.
And then came the most-anticipated performance of the night in the form of Durban-born deejay, Black Coffee.
Black Coffee’s appearance forced the Basali All-Stars performance to be cut short, as one of the MCs was already calling his name.
This inglorious exit angered the Maseru-based All-Stars, as they were forced to vacate the stage while still rocking the crowd.
The Stars told the Weekender they were disappointed with the way they had been treated, as they were made to appear inferior simply because they were locals.
Different acts on the night, which included DJ Kent, Dimplez, Ralf Gum, Mo Flava, Soul T, Miza and DJ Guru, all from South Africa, supported by local acts OGM, Mekonko, Harris T and the disappointed Basali All-Stars, gave out their best, atoning for the otherwise poor sound quality.
The crowd danced the night away, reluctantly leaving at around 5am, when the show eventually ended with HHP’s performance.
But as they left the show, the fans could be heard complaining that the entertainment they had received was not worth the M80 they had paid to get into the stadium.
