Welcome to the fifth edition of The Greedy Weekend! What is the Greedy Weekend you might ask? Well, it's a new column where we discuss and review some of the weekend events, that we would've attended. It really should've been a podcast but you know web hosting is way cheaper than microphones. So here we are with our round-up of the weekend ending Sunday, 23 February 2025.
KAOS
For the first time this year we danced under the KAOS sun, well it was more a KAOS storm because of the torrential downpour, but then they were prepared for that. Once again hosted at Emagumeni (Helensvale), Ace Frvr's KAOS came alive with the sounds of Afro house and other closely related members of the family tree. A perfect offset for the gloomy weather.
The lineup had old favourites and those who would soon endear themselves to us. Mimi kicked us off with vibrant and percussive heavy selections, that instantly ignited the right vibe. Once at the right BPM, the tempo remained consistent. Karyendasoul's "Isambulo," the Francis Mercier remix of Dlala Thukzin's "iPlan," and Shimza, Kabza De Small & DJ Vitoto's "2 Step" were notable picks in that first hour.
Fresh from being announced on the Carpe Diem lineup, TAPIWA diverted from the usual to give something experimental. "Noko," his recent release together with Simbai as Sebenza SoundSystem, was an exclamation point in the middle of a set that dabbled in both Afro house and disco. On his heels came Ace Frvr and it might've been the best I've seen from him. In fact, on the night the sets seemed stacked to get progressively better with each one that came next.
Kotwane Hikwa was however the revelation of the night. All the way from Bulawayo and not a step of that journey had been wasted. Weaving together selections from Dlala Thukzin, Emmanuel Jal, Blvck Ceiling, Drumetic Boyz and Black Coffee among others, he took us through a one of a kind experience. Nostalgia with DJ Clock ft Beatenberg's "Pluto" (played over what sounded like Thukzin's "Ballito"), then euphoria with "Premier Gaou Nitefreak remix" played over Nitefreak's "Masterclass."
Young DLC had the tough challenge of following a new perfect performance, but he proved himself more than up to it. With selections from his catalogue such as "Around Here" and "Rules In Africa," alongside nostalgic picks such as Avicii's "Levels," he had everyone on puppet strings. Afterwards Ace Frvr returned to give our first dance under the KAOS it's summation and it was certainly one that set the bar high for the year.
Riddims & Raps: WARGAMES
Riddims & Raps in collaboration with DJ RSK, hosted the first ever WARGAMES; a DJ battle pitting dancehall against hip-hop, the two most popular genres in the country (Radio Zimbabwe would deny this). The dress code was the colour of whatever genre you supported, with dancehall being blue and hip-hop being red (I personally wore blue because ndiyo yanga yakaoma). However a good number of the audience were neutrals who came in neither colour.
Moto Republik was the venue and although a last minute decision it proved to be just the right fit with the resultant turnout. We were greeted with shots of whiskey on arrival and the two sides of the isle were very much on the same page in terms of the vibe. Having a good time certainly took precedence over being on the winning side, yet dancehall was certainly in the lead at the early stages.
However it wasn't until Cassper Branson came on that it truly became a battle. Carefully selecting local dancehall tracks of similar rhythm, Branson was that catalyst that made everyone start truly paying attention to the music. The crowd broke out in song with almost every lyric and it was just shouts of "Dancehall irikuuya." On the back of the crowds appreciation MC Mocla had a lot to say - maybe even too much - to the hip-hop contingent.
Whatever lead had been opened up by the dancehall side was erased by Tatz Bless. Hip hop made its presence felt, so much so the audience forgot what colours they were wearing. Adding commentary to the soundtrack MC Cut was great at his crowdcontrol. As just a fan of good music and a consumer of good vibes, the back and forth was thoroughly entertaining. From DJ Tao, Cassper Branson and MadeHerBelieve, to DJ Youngvibe, Tatz Bless and RSK - who made hip-hop's victory undeniable.
Yet with Voltz JT in the house that was always coming. The rain poured down and briefly interrupted the music for a moment but then the show went on. It was it's first ever edition and despite a few blemishes WARGAMES was easy to love. Something about an event dedicated to just hip-hop and dancehall felt right.
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