In a statement released on Saturday, Gilbert Promotions said it has been assigned by Makhadzi Entertainment to process all business dealings involving Makhadzi in Botswana. This followed the singer’s separation from Open Mic Productions recently, which means she is now independent and can be selective with her career choices. “The responsibility commences with immediate effect. Kindly note that all bookings will be done straight to Makhadzi Entertainment. Gilbert Promotions will be the advisory body in all business dealings between Makhadzi and clients in Botswana,” read the statement.
Makhadzi, who has enjoyed massive support in Botswana in the past, has recently had a difficult time with local promoters and fans as a result of her failure to honour multiple bookings across the country. Her shenanigans led to one of the popular music festivals, Born and Raised (BnR) withdrawing her from the line-up at the 11th hour after receiving backlash from patrons for including her in the line-up while another local promoter threatened to sue. Some fans were calling for the 'Go Nkga Dikuku' hit maker to be blacklisted to never get bookings for local performances.
However, in an interview with MmegiOnline, PP wa Pimp said part of his responsibilities will be to restore the artist’s dented image and reconcile with everyone she previously had issues with. PP wa Pimp also blamed Makhadzi’s previous record label for her non-appearances at local shows. “There were things that were done by her former record label management, which she was not aware of. It is now my responsibility to reconcile amicably with everyone including the local fans and show that it wasn’t her own doing since she was not an independent artist. Now it is up to us to make sure that she makes it up to Batswana to mend relations. That’s why she engaged me because she knows the local market is very important to her,” PP wa Pimp said.
He explained that Batswana should know that the performer was under a 360-deal which meant that she was not in charge of her bookings. A '360' is a deal whereby a recording label not only takes a share of the artist’s music sales, but also percentages of revenue from other ventures such as concerts, merchandise, television appearances, or publishing. It's an "all-in" nature contract that has earned the nickname '360 deal'. The goal with the all-in arrangement is to recoup what the record label 'spent' on breaking a new artist and launching their career. However, the renowned promoter said he does not think there is bad blood between Makhadzi and local promoters as they understand what was happening behind the scenes.
