Tafadzwa Zimoyo Zimpapers Entertainment Editor THOUSANDS of music fans packed two venues, just 3kms apart, in Harare on Saturday night as the final weekend of August – which is traditionally…
Tafadzwa Zimoyo
Zimpapers Entertainment Editor
THOUSANDS of music fans packed two venues, just 3kms apart, in Harare on Saturday night as the final weekend of August – which is traditionally the biggest weekend on the local entertainment scene – lived up to expectations.
Rough estimates suggest that the two mega shows at Alex Sports Club and the Exhibition Park, which featured the two of the three biggest artists in the country —Jah Prayzah and Winky D – pulled in excess of 30,000 fans.
The third member of the Big Three, Alick Macheso, played in England on Saturday night.
While the correct numbers will never be known, what is not in doubt is that the attendance at Alex Sports Club and the Exhibition Park was MASSIVE.
From the deafening cheers that greeted Jah Prayzah at the closing day of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show to the packed venues hosting Unplugged, Cup Clash and Winky D’s Tête-à-Tête, the capital delivered what may well have been its biggest entertainment weekend ever.
Jah Prayzah provided a fitting soundtrack to the final day of the Agricultural Show, putting up a stellar performance before a packed crowd.
The ‘Chiremerera’ hitmaker demonstrated once again why he remains one of the country’s most reliable live performers, commanding the stage while fans sang along, danced and soaked up the atmosphere.
The closing day of the Agricultural Show has traditionally been the biggest drawcard of the annual showcase. However, this year’s spectacle felt different. Jah Prayzah and the Agricultural Show were only part of the story.
The Agricultural Show concert organisers have long understood the relationship between commerce and entertainment.
The closing day has always carried a different energy. People know it is their last chance to experience the Show before the gates
At Alex Sports Club, Winky D threw Zimbabwe into a cultural storm on Saturday night, in a show which spilled into the early hours of yesterday, but this time, it was not only his music making the noise. The Zimdancehall giant’s dramatic appearance at Tête-à-Tête Season 2 concert has unleashed a fierce debate over fashion, faith, artificial intelligence and the increasingly blurred boundaries between entertainment and symbolism.
For some, Winky D’s latest fashion statement is nothing short of creative genius.
For others, the horns and imagery are disturbing, unacceptable and dangerously close to symbolism they associate with the occult.
The debate erupted around Winky D’s striking attire, particularly the horn-like headpiece, which immediately sent some social media users reaching for religious interpretations.
Fashionistas are divided over Winky D’s latest style statement, with some insisting that fashion has always been about creativity, identity and pushing boundaries.
“Fashion is a language — designers and performers use clothing to express an idea, a mood or even provoke a reaction,” said one fashion enthusiast, arguing that Winky D should be allowed to experiment. “The world is moving towards bold, conceptual fashion, and artists cannot remain trapped in conventional dressing.”
But for critics, the Gafa may have pushed the envelope too far. The combination of goat imagery on the chest and horn-like elements on his head has been interpreted by some as carrying occult or Illuminati undertones, although there is no evidence that the imagery proves any affiliation with such a group.
“There is creativity, and then there is symbolism that people will naturally question,” another observer said.
“When you put horns on the head and a goat motif on the body, you cannot be surprised when people start asking what message you are sending.”
The tension is precisely what makes the fashion statement so provocative: supporters see a fearless artist embracing theatricality and contemporary visual culture, while critics see imagery that clashes with their religious and cultural values.
Fashion itself has long functioned as a form of visual communication and self-expression, meaning audiences can legitimately interpret the same look in very different ways.
THE BAPHOMET QUESTION
Baphomet is not a biblical character.
The famous modern depiction of Baphomet is largely associated with 19th-century French occultist Éliphas Lévi, who created an image of a winged, goat-headed figure with horns.
The Bible contains numerous references to horns, often using them symbolically to represent strength, power, kingdoms or rulers. Daniel, for example, contains visions involving beasts and horns. The Bible also uses the imagery of goats in different contexts, including the famous separation of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25.
But does that mean Winky D’s outfit was a declaration of Satanism? Absolutely not — there is no verified evidence establishing that.
That distinction is crucial.
WINKY D’S DIGITAL WORLD
Perhaps the biggest story from the performance was not even the horns. It was the entrance.
Winky D embraced the digital age with a cinematic presentation incorporating AI-driven visuals, turning his arrival into something resembling a futuristic film rather than a conventional concert entrance. The screens, imagery and atmosphere created a world before the man himself fully took over the stage. It was futuristic.
Instead of simply walking onto the stage, the Gafa appeared to be presenting an entire visual universe — one where music, fashion, technology and storytelling collide.
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