Makhadzi’s late arrival almost dampens GIMC
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday September 6, 2022 06:00
Makhadzi was one of the main headliners for this year’s GIMC music festival, which capped a week-long schedule of arts events.
The South African hitmaker was scheduled to perform at 2am but she could not make it on time as the border closed at midnight before she could reach Botswana.
Makhadzi then had to wait until 6AM in the morning to cross and she managed to arrive at the National Stadium at around 7AM where some of her fans were eagerly waiting for her.
She knew very well that she had to show up especially after the backlash she received when she ditched one of the local shows for a gig in the UK some time ago.
Makhadzi had promised local fans that she will see them in September and GIMC happened to be the first of many events she will perform at this month. Makhadzi, who is adored in Botswana, has a huge fan base here and she not so long ago successfully hosted her One Woman Show in Tlokweng.
The Limpopo dance queen is one of the most booked SA artists in local events and she hit the ground running immediately when she arrived at the stadium. The majority of the crowd was still there in the early morning of Sunday despite Makhadzi’s late arrival.
Although some were tired and sleepy, the arrival of the Murahu hitmaker lifted their spirits and reignited the mood some revellers displayed during the peak of the night. Makhadzi performed some of her new popular songs such as Magear and Mama.
She was then joined by local decorated musician Vee Mampeezy on stage to perform their collaborative hit Beke le beke. Speaking of Vee Mampeezy, the Letlhale hitmaker delivered a memorable performance where he featured Mafitlhakgosi from Old Naledi in Gaborone.
Even though it was cold in the night the group, which featured talent as young as four-years-old, did their best to warm up the stage. Vee Mampeezy also invited Danko hitmaker Ezra Neethings who showed Batswana why he has one of the trendy songs at the moment.
Vee Mampeezy, who is well known for supporting other local creatives, said Ezra Neethings deserved to be booked at almost every event. The Takutaku hitmaker also took time to remember some of the fallen talents in the music industry like the late Dramaboi and Sasa Klaas. It is worth noting that Makhadzi officially shut down this year’s event, a spot that was supposed to be taken by local Rhumba legend Franco & Afro Musica. Nothing much changed really as Franco arrived on stage at his scheduled time except that this time around he was not the last act like it was during the festival’s last edition in 2019. Franco was back to the same venue where he made history by filling up the National Stadium during his show called Soul Fill Up with Franco earlier this year. Franco reminded doubters once more why he has been consistent for the past 20 years.
His catalogue of hits kept the crowd going as they waited for Makhadzi to cross the border. One of the artists who delivered the best on the night is Uthando hitmaker DJ Ngwazi.
The man from Thamaga, who is just about to drop his maiden album, gave the GIMC crowd a glimpse of his world tours with Master KG. “I am going to pull out the best Independence Day party in the land in Thamaga village called Kumnandi Ekhaya on September 30,” he told the GIMC crowd. Talented local duo Ancestral Rituals’ gratifying performance also left the crowd on their feet.
Ancestral Rituals, which reminds many of South Africa’s Black Motion with their intoxicating stage presence, dished out their best. Talk of comparison, another local group which did it first and had the similar style Team Distant also gave the crowd their best despite losing some of their group members over the years. SA trap artist Emtee of Roll Up fame was also on the line-up and given his decline in popularity in recent years was not much of thrill for revellers.
Mafikizolo also came and brought positive vibes on stage. Overall, this year’s GIMC was great and the crowd was controllable with a lot of police visibility and top notch security. The sound was also great and the organisers did very well.