PRESS RELEASE #TRASHion Show 2013

Proudly Zimbabwean Foundation, through the sponsorship of Edgars and Swift, will be holding a TRASHion Show event on the 29^th of November 2013 at the Harare International School in Mt Pleasant starting at 6pm. The event will showcase fashion items made from ordinary trash. A team of 8 fashion designers have come up with 30 outfits that will be paraded by 10 models during the event. A panel of three judges will decide on the best outfit, with the designer receiving a prize.

Zimbabwe is facing a daunting challenge of waste management at all levels of the community. The country is currently generating 3 million tons of solid waste per year with no viable large scale Re-Use or Re-Cycling strategies. All this mixed waste is accumulating at various dumpsites around the country over and above illegal dumpsites mushrooming in residential and industrial areas. This is not only an eyesore but an extreme health hazard.

With this in mind, Proudly Zimbabwean Foundation through their flagship campaign, BIN-it Zimbabwe is pioneering an ambitious seperation@source program for domestic waste in high density areas. This program will capacitate emerging up and down stream industries using waste as an input by providing easy and health-conscious catchment areas for waste.

This event will not only showcase the immense talents that are housed in this country with local designers transforming what we see as ordinary waste into amazing fashion items, but will also act as a call-out to all Zimbabweans to come together and drive litter out of our country.. The anticipated result is that fashion in Zimbabwe will begin incorporating waste items at a Re-Use stage and further inspire new ideas and fabrics at Re-Cycling level. This will be an annual event to be held in a different city every year. This year’s edition is being co-ordinated by Zimbabwe’s famous designer, Colin Ratisai.

 Tickets to attend the event are going for $10.00 and available from selected Edgars Stores in Harare, Giovannis Coffee Shop at Arundel Village, Celebration Centre Bookshop and PZF Office address hereunder.

On The Ones & Twos With Dj Smoove!!!

“Scratch, scratch! Hit it!” And the party starts. We all love dancing, we all love partying and nothing gets the mood going at a party than good music being mixed by a professional disc jockey. Last Friday we had The Big Chill and one of the highlights was the star studded line-up of dee-jays which included arguably one of the best to ever come out of Zimbabwe, The Infamous Dj Smoove who was on fire as usual.

Born Deon Fulton in Harare, he is the first in a family of four children. His parents were avid music collectors and that definitely played a massive part in his journey to become the world class dj he is today. "My mom and dad were music collectors so I grew up around lots of records," he said in a chilled down tone which would make you think he was not the same guy who on stage is the Zimbabwean version of Fatman Scoop.

At only 12 years, Dj Smoove got noticed as he displayed some tight skills at a party and soon he became a resident dj at an afternoon joint. He started getting called up to do his thing at different places and the rest, as the cliché goes, is history. Most parents would not tolerate their young teen frequenting clubs and parties but his parents decided to give it a chance. "As long as I did well in school, I was allowed to do my thing. It was school first always and I did well academically so I never had problems with them”.

One of the most travelled entertainers, Dj Smoove has played all over the globe including in London, Germany, the Scandinavia region, Switzerland, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles and South Africa just to name but a few. "I feel so blessed and lucky to have played at various places worldwide .The reception has been great especially in Africa, right now Botswana is high on the agenda.”

Many have wondered what the difference really is between a club dj and a radio dj so we asked Dj Smoove to shed some light. "A club dj makes people have fun. The music played in a club is not necessarily radio friendly. The radio guys are more of presenters and they are there to keep you company. Being a dj is all about your personality. You have to have a passion for music and you have to love what you do”.

Just like wine which gets better with time, Dj Smoove's skills continue to advance and now he has branched into music production. He is working with artistes like Ammara Brown and Rassie Ai on some projects. Currently he is getting ready to release a new project titled Dj Chronicles Vol.1 which promises to be a bomb as it will include artistes like Australian based Zimbabwean songstress, Gianna, Rassie Ai ,Joy Rocks and many more surprises.

As someone who has been in the game for a span now, the man famous for his trademark scratch believes that most local djs have dropped a standard or two technically. He is however impressed by their music selection. "Most of these guys have not been exposed to the right dee-jaying culture so technically it's still lacking." He is inspired by legends in the game including George Munetsi, Darlington Masenda, Harry Muvhuti, Otis Fraser, Kimble Rogers, Funkmaster Flexx and obviously Fatman Scoop. Amazingly, this dj does not prepare for his shows. "I just let the mood control the flow, the atmosphere guides the whole show".

For a guy who has performed round the globe, Dj Smoove is satisfied with the pay check at the end of the day. He is a proud dad to one-year old Brooklyn (perhaps the next Dj Smoove). As for all the ladies wondering if he is still on the market, he just said, "Let's keep them guessing". Guess we just have to scratch that part of the record for now....

Catch Dj Smoove on Star Fm's 'The Breeze' every Wednesday @ 1120hrs.You can also catch him @ club H2O every weekend...

Facebook: Dj Smoove

The writer Eddie Love Jones Biriyati is the Entertainment reporter for True African Woman Magazine. He is also an events dee-jay.

 

 

APP JUNKIES

Whoever came up with the idea of instant messaging in the form of WhatsApp should... wait; I’m not too sure what should be done to them. I still cannot decide if I love them or hate them.

Don’t you just love though how you always stay in touch with everyone because of WhatsApp? You can never be lonely. Your app pals are always there for you. Nobody can hide from you too. Why; because you can see WHEN EXACTLY somebody who is not replying your messages was last online! But then again, you too can’t hide, because they too can see when you were last online, lol.

I’ve become so fascinated by how you will see people in public places typing frantically on their phones. One time I was in a supermarket, frantically typing on my phone (being antisocial to my aunt who I was “shopping” with) when I almost bumped into things several times. And every time I looked up smiling to myself, I would notice almost everybody doing the same thing. So cannot imagine life without app.

One thing that never ceases to annoy me though, those long never ending messages that either demand or threaten you to pass the message to more than a dozen more people. Firstly, I don’t like reading a five page long message. It’s just tiresome. Secondly, I got better things to do than forward one boring message to my whole contact list; and lastly, just because there is a threat, I don’t forward! I’m like; now let’s see if that threat works lol. And to the person who would have sent the message to me; well, one has to be polite eh, so without bothering to read the message, I just scroll down to reply and send an emoji, a thank you or an Amen, J.

As much as talking to people the whole day is great, it’s just horrible when the only people online are the ones you don’t quite enjoy having conversations with. You reply because what else is there to do? Yes you don’t want to encourage them to keep texting, but then if you don’t respond, then your phone is going to be silent for who knows how long. Sad moments.

And then there are the WhatsApp groups. If there is anything that will send me to an early grave, it’s going to be that! It’s not enough that people just add you to their lousy groups without asking for your permission, but the members have to talk about nothing literally the whole day and get you annoyed and irritated by the notifications too. Meanwhile, every time you hear the ring tone, you figure it must be somebody interesting but oh no, it’s one of those groups again! Argh!

Funny how just talking with people like that can be so addictive. I fail to connect the dots! But who cares? Who says everything ought to make sense? So ciao for now people, got to get back to my app pals, been away too long already writing this articleJ.

SIMUKA COMEDY NIGHT UP IN FLAMES!!!

The house was on fire last night at the Book Café! But how could that not have happened when we had Q the Boss as host, Doc Vikela as the headline act and a crazy crowd?

The show started off with a performance by Dziva rembira – a male traditional music band. Their gear was definitely to die for! What with nhembe (animal skin traditional clothing) and all? But 30minutes of mbira was just too much! Twists like Dziva reMbira are nice surprises but only if they are for a very short time and we get into the business of the night ASAP! Yes, that of laughing!

I did say that Q was hosting didn’t I? Well that was just recipe for disaster!  Would you believe he told an already insane crowd that if they happened to not like an open mic act, all they had to do was shout for him to come back? As fate would have it, all of the acts save for one were shouted off the stage! The way it happened, I couldn’t stop laughing, although I did feel for the up starts at the same time. It was sad and funny at the same time. The only open mic who wasn’t shouted off, we liked. The guy’s got real potential and everybody loved the way he took control of the stage.

Apparently Q doesn’t like people interrupting him. There were some ladies who learnt this the hard way, I was so embarrassed on their behalf, I could have sunk in a hole! And then it was Seb Diesel’s turn. After the last Simuka, I was pretty nervous. He started off well, actually had some guys in tears and then I have no idea what happened. All of a sudden he was being vulgar – not in a funny way at all. It was in a way that had people calling for Q as if their lives depended on it. And he wouldn’t stop!

And then some guy from the audience comes and attempts to grab Seb’s mic. Upon failing he starts urging the crowd to call for Q and he actually goes backstage and literally drags Q on to the stage. By this time, I was laughing uncontrollably and in awe at how someone could do such a thing. That’s a comic crowd for you.

Doc Vikela was up next and he was definitely a breadth of fresh air. He started off with political jokes and he got the house applauding like mad! I liked his diversity of subjects because essentially, what we want to hear is satire about our daily lives which isn’t just about women and sex.

Doc was getting uproars at every turn! Midway through his act I was not laughing anymore. Not for want of humour mind you. Oh no! But my cheeks were burning! I’ve never laughed as hard! One of the ladies I was sitting on the same table with couldn’t help but shout “He’s on fire!” And oh yes, Vikela was definitely up in flames! BURNING!

The best part was when he got to dissing celebrities - Sani for his last century summer shirts, Sulumane and Peter for their non-existent voices and Tichafa Matambanadzo for his crappy name. Lol.

I mean come on! What was there not to love; curtain raisers almost wetting their pants because of a crazy crowd shouting them off stage, a host not making the situation any better and the Headline Act sending us home in style? Crazy Comedy Night and one of the best I’ve had! Thumbs up Simuka!!!

The Big Chill - Harare's Biggest Slam!!!

Harare's nightlife is no doubt the most hectic in Zimbabwe as the people of this city party like there is no tomorrow. The city has hosted various events including shows performed by international acts like Akon, Sean Paul, Beenie Man, P.Square and most recently D'Banj. However, the beginning of 2013 saw an event coming onto the scene and changing the game altogether. It is The Big Chill and it has become Harare's most happening monthly event.

Last Friday at Old Hararians Sports Club was the 7th installment of The Big Chill which as always rocked big time! Performing live on stage were Ammara Brown, Few Kings & Dadza D backed by a hot line up of dee-jays including the internationally acclaimed Dj Smoove, Dj Hotspitter, Chucknosis and the 'Game Recognize Game' duo of Ash Stylez & Nivek.

All the performers gave a fantastic show but no doubt the night belonged to dancehall star Dadza D who sent the crowd into a frenzy with hits like 'mvura hakuna' and 'uyu ndiani'. He really proved to all and sundry that Zim Dancehall has definitely taken over as his performance was filled with energy. Not to be outdone was Ammara Brown who's dances captivated the crowd and left most guys looking for her number (tough luck gents).

The djs also had their 'A' game on as they were dropping them down hit after hit. The usual 'suspects' Chuckie, Dj Hotspitter and Game Recognize Game really steered the ship as they had some heavy mixes. Chuckie in particular was outstanding and he has become what we can call the resident dj of The Big Chill. Dj Smoove was no doubt the top billing spinner at the event and as usual his set was world class. No wonder he is one of Zimbabwe's biggest experts when we talk of entertainment.

The Big Chill is organised by Khaya Defero and hosted by Star FM every month and Old Hararians has become the natural venue. This event offers fans the chance to mix and mingle with the whos who of entertainment in Zimbabwe. Star FM should be especially commended for their advertising and hosting of the event. The night's MCs were TXO-The Crossover presenter, Nikki and StarFM Sport's Chief Koti and to say they were amazing would be an understatement!

Thumbs up to everyone who came on Friday, the atmosphere was amazing and it showed that Harare is one of the most happening cities in Africa. All we can say is we cannot wait for the next Big Chill.

Facebook: The Big Chill

The writer Eddie Love Jones Biriyati is the Entertainment reporter for True African Woman Magazine. He is also an events dee-jay.

SO YOU THINK YOU ARE FUNNY EH? #SIMUKAWORKSHOP

Apparently, there is more to Stand up Comedy than what meets the eye. I always thought one just got on stage and said whatever came to mind and voila! Comedy night.

I went for the SimukaWorkshop this weekend and well, I must say, it was quite eye-opening. Would you believe that comics actually go through years of practice to get to where they are – studying other comics, going around comedy clubs botching it up like mad and having workshops? Handle! All that just to learn how to go on-stage and make people laugh? INCREDIBLE!

So I got to the workshop some five minutes after it had just started and to my horror, I had just settled in when I was called to go up and participate in a game of comic advertising that was being played. People would go in twos, take a random object and in turn advertise it as if in a commercial. The twist was, it was impromptu and you had to be funny. The lesson was, don’t think too hard, just be yourself. Easier said than done I tell you.

The next game was a sort of pimped up broken telephone. Each person had to say a word out loud, right up to the last person and the aim was to construct a humorous sentence. The lesson here was, ‘don’t try to be funny, be funny’. Honestly, I’ve got lots of respect for comics after this experience because being funny is HARD WORK!

My favourite of all the games we played was where you had to compliment the person seating on your left in one round and then turn that compliment in to an insult during the second round. Lol! You would never believe how dissing each other can be such fun! Crazy moments for sure.

In between the games, there were presentations by Simba The Comic King and Doc Vikela and to say I enjoyed myself would definitely be the understatement of not just the century but the whole MILLENIUM! Who would have thought there were actually theories and techniques and the whole lot to stand up comedy? Definitely not me.

I liked that the workshop was small and intimate, oft times we were paired up which made everybody feel part of the team. The games were involving, making the experience not only fun and casual but also a kind of intermission between the presentations. They say 45 minutes is the most any human being can take at a time concentrating on something. Well Simba and Doc made sure we never got around to too long doing the same thing. That was super creative, informative and entertaining; it felt like a private stand up comedy show because we had some of the country’s best comics all to ourselves for a whole 3 HOURS!!! Learning doesn’t get any better than that!

The lessons learnt were invaluable that my public presentations are definitely going to be having lots of spicing up. You just wait and see! And I’m sure the up and coming comics who came are also going to be upping their game as well. Some of them are going to be curtain raising for the Thursday night Simuka Comedy show at Book Cafe. Let’s see if they got something from the workshop eh.

DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC – AN ETERNAL HELL!!!

Customer Care is the hardest job on earth! Why? Because it is about dealing with the public! So what is wrong with dealing with the public? Nothing, except that you ought to have really good acting skills, otherwise – you could not last.

THE REALLY STUPID

Last week I was working at the front of where I work, doing what we call ‘meet and greet’ where you meet customers as they enter, you greet them and assist them to go where they are supposed to go. So this guy tells me his query and as I am explaining how he can get assistance I hand him a form. By this time, I am so tired, hungry, and my cheeks are literally burning from talking and smiling - it’s almost end of day, so you can imagine. And this guy asks me “so what am I supposed to do with this form?” Ah! What did you want to do with it, give it to the cow? FILL IT IN SILLY!

THE REALLY DIFFICULT

Yesterday, I got in to a shop where one customer was giving the manager a piece of his mind! He was so furious, he was shaking, “you are so ridiculously expensive here! Why aren’t you like so and so, I go there all the time and they do such and such, way better than what I am getting here!” All the while I’m thinking, oh come on! Don’t be such a nuisance!!! Go there where you like the services! Nxa!

THE SMELLY

One time, again when I was doing the meet and greet thing, I met a number of guys who almost made me run out of air. It wasn’t just bad breadth; it was a nasty odour coming from the whole person, and not just sweat, but a combination of bad breadth, sweat, and not having showered for so many days! I almost died!

WANNABE UP CLASS

These type of people aren’t irritating per say, they just leave you in wonder. Seriously! One client almost had me doubling over in laughter once and it took me all I had to keep a straight face on. To think I had actually greeted her in Shona, the least she could have done is stick to the mother tounge and save us all the embarrassment, lol.

THE BADLY DRESSED

My friends and I in High School used to call it “good clothes happening to bad people”, lol or “bad clothes happening to good people”. Do not get me wrong, I am not talking about the financially challenged (could never be a snob like that), I am talking of just plain poor wardrobe choice. One guy had all the girls at my work place in fits of laughter. We would all signal at each other and double over kkkk and poor guy had no idea he had just spiced up our day. Honestly, he had on white shoes, red pants, red floral tucked in shirt, bow tie and shadesJ. For real, in this 21^st century he was confident enough to walk like that.

And do you know what the worst part of dealing with these kinds of people is? You’ve got to keep your cool, smile and politely serve them. Tsk tsk dealing with the public – no job like it.