ZimCelebs vs The Fixx

Opening prayer 

Before you start reading this column please note that if at any point you start to feel like I’m taking shots at anyone I’d like to urge you to not let the devil use you. Amen 🙏🏾

So, For years, we've been fed the idea of a "North vs South" divide in Zimbabwean hip hop, this divide is a myth. If it were real, the South would have won in spectacular fashion back in 2004 but let's focus on the real issue: the divide between ZimCelebs and The Fixx. Don't get caught up with the names; what matters is the purpose they serve.

ZimCelebs represents commercial, pop, mainstream hip hop. If you want to know who operates there, Look at who gets invited to do remixes when a song accidentally goes viral - that's who they are. The Fixx, on the other hand, serves the market of rappers on their way to breaking out. The guys that ZimCelebs doesn’t believe gives them enough engagement yet. 

Both spaces are critical for a thriving hip hop community, but they're currently too divided to create a pipeline from underground to commercial viability. All that talk of North vs South seems to ignore that take Dough Major, for example. He's more likely to collaborate with VI the Law than Saintfloew, whether it's on a song, at a show, or just bumping into each other in town. This is a universally acknowledged fact but it’s not along that divide. My theory is the distinction used to be along the lines of unemployement but now everyone is unemployed so ma1, but I digress. 

Platforms like The Fixx played a significant role in launching the careers of now-mainstream artists like Saintfloew, Holyten, and Kae Chaps. It's a shame they don't often return to these spaces once they've "made it out the hood". Instead, they opt for more mainstream interviews, which I understand, but surely they can make time to interact with the shows that their core fans heard them on?

It matters because it's not just about The Fixx, but about the type of platforms it represents - like Zazise, RiddimsAndRaps, and Greedy South. Once acts graduate from these spaces, they miss out on collaborations and lose their core fan base. Imagine if ZimCelebs featured underground acts in their remixes - it could create a more united hip hop community. ZimCelebs could be substituted by DJ Ollah, KVG or MisRed in this conversation. I just use them to represent platforms that are already shining an incredible light on the mainstream half of the hip hop scene. 

Acts like Kayflow and Denim are caught between these platforms now. If they can figure out how to bring the underground with them on their journey - by doing features and performing at shows like Shabeenia - they'll have loyal fans for life."

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