Like the great French statesman and revolutionary leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon Nyanhi – totem, Nyamasvisva has fought so many battles in the trenches of Zimbabwe media. At times he has won and in some cases as was the case at the Capitalk Battle, he has lost.
But the leader never stays down. Coming back with the Radio Presenter Masterclass, Napoleon re-positioned himself to be an independent force in the media field and he has stayed relevant in the game since then.
When he was revealed to be the commander of the Jacaranda Culture and Media Corporation leading the troops in their first NAMA battle many were not sure if he would pull it off.
However, with each press conference he held in the run-up to #NAMA19 we could tell that the battalion was brewing something splendid.
It was therefore no surprise when on Saturday, February 29 at the HICC, Zimbabweans were treated to something rare for the first time in a long time.
The NAMA’s were on point.
Nyamasvisva and co restored the value of this national arts recognition platform which saw the government pouring in funds for the very first time – all winners walked away ZWL$10000 richer.
The red carpet was fire. People dressed up for the occasion. Even the men.
Usually ladies are the ones who always put an effort at most local black tie events but this time around the men joined the party. Shout out to 4 May International for dressing most of the male nominees. Their executive and exclusive touch added colour which has been for long lacking at such events.
Accessing the venue was no hustle. From the parking to the entrance things were well laid out.
The event started with a stellar pre-show, something we don’t usually get hey.
This proved that when Nyamasvisva travelled to various internationally recognised awards during his reign at Star FM he was not just wasting the stations resources. He was learning and on Saturday he was showing us that that he had been drinking from a different chalice compared to other event organisers.
After the pre-show which saw various budding acts standing guests, the main show began with a bang.
A well curated act featuring Macheso, Freeman, Ammara, TiGonzi and Vabati VaJehovah complemented by some exuberant dancers blew the roof off the venue.
The curation got us reminiscing about Tuesday nights at the Harare International Festival of the Arts.
Yes, it was that good.
All elements were on point except one in that act and it was sound.
Whoever was responsible for the lapel microphones did a very shoddy job that messed up Macheso’s performance. The microphone challenged continued throughout the run of the show and this is one area that Nyanhi and his team need to revisit next year. When people are doing sound check all things should be tested several times to avoid such silly glitches.
Another memorable moment was when Prudence Katomeni showed that even though there are many vocally gifted musicians rising she remains a mega force when she did a somber rendition of the track ‘Samatenga’.
She oscillated between her mid and high registers with so much ease causing a chill to flow in the room as she sang.
As NAMA is about all art forms, it was not only about music and dance. Even poets and painters were given a time to shine and they did justice as they remembered the late national heroe, Dr. Oliver Mtukudzi.
The icing on top of the cake was when Jah Prayzah staged a cool performance that got the whole auditorium on its feet, sending Minister Kirtsy Coventry, nominees and top government officials onto the dance floor.
Whilst the programme flowed well, there are still a number of things that need to be addressed for the event to reach world-class status and Nyanhi acknowledges.
“It was a good show but far from international standard,” wrote Nyanhi on Facebook.
“A lot did not go according to plan and we really were stringing the show along as we were going but what we lacked in technical preparedness was compensated for in mental preparedness. We planned these awards for 6 months – that’s no joke,” he highlighted.
Whilst many note that the show improved drastically with the new team in charge of the awards, one thing that still lacks is the ability to produce for TV.
Those at home were not enjoying at all and Nyanhi also admits they failed.
“We had also endeavoured to produce the show for TV meaning all action, and cues were for TV but vanhu vakarovha ma reheasals (people did not come for rehearsals) so a lot of them were not speaking into camera, they were not getting the concept.
“For next year this is the mantra Speak to the millions while entertaining the thousands. Focus on the bigger number.”
