Elephant Man Lyrics

Zimbabwe: There's Overdose of Dancehall

The universal regard for money is the one hopeful fact in modern civilisation and artistes, just like diamond traders, will travel anywhere to get it. As George Bernard Shaw put it many years ago, "Lack of money is the root of all evil", because all evils, be it robbery, adultery, theft, prostitution, fraud, bribery and other bad practices are motivated by the need to make money. On the other hand, money is the most important thing in the world. It represents health, strength, power, honour, generosity and beauty. If one has money, he or she can solve many problems.

It seems Zimbabwe's music promoters continue to focus on dancehall artistes from Jamaica because they are cheap, with the hope of attracting large audiences who will in turn spin such projects into money-making ventures. The business begins with choosing popular acts which the promoter feels will draw large crowds of people.

Foreign artistes who have cashed in on performances in Zimbabwe from the beginning of 2010 include Sizzla Kalonji, Yassus Afari, Sean Paul, Brick and Lace, Beenie Man, King Sounds, Capleton and Akon.

I am not sure who is advising C&A Entertainment but they seem to believe that bringing in another dancehall artiste will draw large crowds. In 10 days' time, Jamaican reggae dancehall artist Elephant Man a.k.a. "The Energy God" comes to Zimbabwe for his inaugural show slated for June 24. The question to ask is, "Is Elephant Man popular in Zimbabwe?"

C & A Entertainment, the promoters who recently brought Sean Kingston into Zimbabwe, hope that Elephant Man's Zimbabwean tour will receive a tremendous response from concert goers. They have even pegged the entry fee at US$5, with the hope that this low fee will attract large crowds.

Dancehall music is fast and exciting. Dancehall music is a genre of Jamaican popular music - a more sparse version of Reggae. It is characterised by faster rhythms which are mainly due to digital instrumentation from computers. It is not clear yet whether Elephant Man will use a live band or CDs to back him up.

Artistes associated with dancehall music include Sizzla , Bounty Killer, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Elephant Man and Capleton. Quite a number of dancehall artistes have been known to be associated with violence and anti-homosexual (battyman) lyrics. They have been criticised by many international organisations for preaching hatred.

The anti-homosexual stance taken by some of them is the real reason why Buju Banton is serving a prison sentence in one of the American penitentiaries after being framed for selling drugs. It is said that the American homosexuality community was so outraged by his 1992 song "Boom Bye Bye" in which he advocated for the shooting of homosexuals and they decided to set a drugs trap for him.

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Articulating the elephant man, Joseph Merrick and his interpreters

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