Hip Hop and gospel musician Mudiwa was awarded the best-dressed male at the recently held Zim Hip Hop awards and the award has courted some controversy.
Some have said he was wearing too many colours and that the judges were not fair in their awarding him best dressed.
We hooked up with Mudiwa Hood to explain to us the reason behind the many colours.
Below is his explanation.
When one is dressing for an occasion there are key points that one has to consider:
1. Is is a black tie event
2. Is it a red carpet event
3. Is it an awards ceremony
4. Is it a meeting
5. Is it a dinner
That event was a red carpet event and a hip hop awards event.
One has to be dressed for the red carpet but maintain a hip hop taste.
Never look ordinary or dress simple at an awards night especially if you are a nominee to walk on stage, give it your best, take a risk, that’s fashion.
I hate it when I go to a place and find someone dressed exactly as I am…so I become more creative in my dressing at the same time maintaining class.
We also spoke to one of the Judges Lilian Madyara aka Hollywood Lee to tell us how they arrived at their decision.
Said Lilian,“Mudiwa Hood was the winner because he simply surpassed the rest in his look. It was stylish and Bold which is what Hip hop red carpet is.”
“On our criteria, we were looking for outstanding fashion risk takers who were not afraid to be bold and stylish, unlike the normally predictable award outfits. These two (Mudiwa and Queen Vee) surpassed the rest and dared to be different and that’s what Hip Hop red carpet is.”
This year the Zim Hip Hop Awards celebrated its 5th Anniversary with a well put together ceremony at the 1+1 club at Longchen Plaza.
Responsible for the stage management was The empire team, a Fashion House and Events Management company.
They have launched albums for such artists as Mudiwa,Passion Java Records, Courtney Antipas, Masofa Panze among others.
We spoke to one the team event managers Fungai Lee Chaks about their experience at the Zim Hip Hop Awards.
She was being assisted by Legarta Kamanda.
Below are the excerpts from the interview.
Zimbuzz: We just witnessed a splendid job of stage management and coordination at the ZHHA, how was the experience like for you and your team?
Fungai:thank you very much we are still overwhelmed by the positive feedback from different individuals and still grasping what happened that night…
We had an awesome experience filled with a bit of pressure as expected when doing an event of such a nature but we are very excited to see that whatever effort we had put in came out almost as planned.
Legarta Kamanda and Fungai Lee Chaks (in cap)
Zimbuzz: I understand some artist who arrived late for their performances didn’t get the chance to perform, just how important is the essence of time at such events?
Fungai:Yes we had to cancel some performances because when you are doing an event time management is essential as time lost can never be recovered and this was just going to cause distortion and destruction to the programme we had made.
We vowed to stick to all plans hence, we kickstarted the event at exactly 8 pm despite of the venue being not full at that time.
We only lost a bit of time during the freestyle Award but we were way ahead of our programme.
Zimbuzz: What can you say were the challenges you faced before and during the show, especially dealing with artists?
Fungai:We didn’t really face as many challenges since we had planned our stuff on time but we had challenges with getting people to get accredited on time of which most people only got accredited on the day.
And it still goes back to the issue of timing otherwise everything was in place and the artists we worked with this time were co-operative… Even when we had to make them stay backstage for close to 30mins before their slots on stage, we applaud all the artists on the night for a job well.
Zimbuzz: The venue being a club was a risky experiment, how did you manage to maintain order and making sure the programme runs smoothly?
Fungai: We had a strong team and our programme was on point to get the crowd fixated..we had ushers, security, stage management team, floor managers and co-ordinators..we had great teamwork and we made sure the programme had a smooth sail from the beginning to the end.
It was not all bliss for hip hop artist Briss Mbada who could not hide his disappointment at the just ended Zim Hip Hop Awards5th edition held at 1+1 Longchen Plaza in Harare.
The Harare Hucci hitmaker who was nominated for best Male Hip Hop award nearly brought business to a halt after he failed to land the award which was clinched by high-flying Cal-vin from Bulawayo after also scooping song of the year and best album award.
In a protest reminiscent of the 2014 edition’s PeeKay and former Big Brother housemate Hakim’s near violent onstage tiff over the later’s sentiments that Tehn Diamond was supposed to win the award instead of Pee Kay.
Security had a difficult time restraining the sleek looking Mbada who charged fearlessly towards the podium where Cal-vin appeared unmoved and business continued as usual as he delivered an emotional speech much to the applause of the cheerful audience.
The melee continued even after Briss Mbada was shoved out of the venue by bouncers with his entourage hurling insults at both the winner and the organisers.
Briss Mbada being restrained by security. Pic by Plot Mhako
After a few minutes, the furious artist left. He was seen back outside the venue when the awards ended, now bit calm.
Zimbuzz caught up with the Briss Mbada and this is what he had to say:
“I have the hottest album at the moment and I am the hip hop artist of the moment, I did what I did because I wasn’t ok with people whose music is not in the streets to be honoured with the best male,” he said.
“The way I reacted is the right way to have my concerns and grievances addressed. Right now my next move is to prove to people that I am the best artist in Africa.”
However, Cal-vin said he did not know who Briss Mbada was when the incident happened and had only seen his name for the first time on the nominees list.
The Luveve boy is riding high on the success of his single Z’Khupan which also features a remix which he did with SA’s Cassper Nyovest.
Cal_Vin delivers his speech after winning Best Male Artist. Pic by Plot Mhako
Such controversy is not synonymous with Zimbabwean awards only, remember In 2009 Kanye West jumped on stage to interrupt Taylor Swift’ MTV VMA award acceptance speech and suggested that Beyonce deserved the award.
Fast forward 2015 in Zimbabwe a similar incident took place at the Zim Hip Hop Awards.
Nonetheless, the occurrence did not kill the spirit of the awards and the organisers must be commended for setting high standards this year.
Modelling legend and Patron of Miss Zimbabwe TrustKiki Divaris has been laid to rest.
Kiki was buried this afternoon at Mbare’s Pioneer cemetery.
Government officials, Modelling and fashion personalities attended to pay their last respects to Divaris who was this week declared a liberation war heroin.
Those present included Commander of the Defense forces General Dr Chiwenga and wife Mary Chiwenga who is chair of Miss World Zim.
Modelling Agent Mercy Mushaninga, former Miss Zimbabwe Malaika Mushandu.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs for Harare Province Miriam Chikukwa and Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa.
Prosecutor General Johannes Tomana, Honourable Betty Kaseke, Barbara Mzembi, his Excellence the Greece Ambassador to Zimbabwe among a host of other high-profile figures.
In her tribute speech at the Orthodox church in the city centre, Mrs Mary Chiwenga described Kiki as a loving person and a unifier.
She said Kiki always taught her how to take care of other people and always pressed that she took care of her husband.
Below are the images from the church proceedings:
Mrs ChiwengaMrs ChiwengaMercy MushaningaMiss World Zim Spokesperson Mr Chirau (in black suit)
General and Mrs ChiwengaModelling communityProsecutor General Mr Tomana
This Thursday theZim Hip Hop Stars gather for yet another night, full of music and this is the time when the contenders meet and, of course, the Mayweathers will be knocking off the weak contenders of the nominees list.
When such fistful nights occur, it’s always another joyful marriage between music and fashion.
Aldrian Beefy Harrison and girlfriend, at last year’s ceremony
Usually, awards ceremonies are a formal occasion with but Hip Hop is a creative industry and there will be no room for conservative dressing.
And this year there is a prize for the best-dressed person of the night.
So we asked fashionistas what they think will dominate the red carpet.
Tafadzwa Zimoyo –The Boss
For a start the show is all about bling, swaged up and classic.
Not that I am talking of the show but I’m more focused on the fashion police side as this year the organisers said there is an award for best dressed.
Well looking at how some hip hop musicians, promoters and producers organises their events I think this year the show itself will run money on fashion red carpet moments for the first time.
No more kids stuff at the show, please.
Golden tip, the show is different from the Golden Globe, Oscars, NAMA or ZIMAwhere you can pull it off with a tuxedo and bowtie.
Be guided what hip-hop is all about and don’t be mistaken for something with the wrong outfit.
If you want the complete full suit then make sure it is brighter with a bit of funky. Unless you are the CEO of the company or sponsors then you lucky but still dress to express and impress.
When it comes to dressing up for award shows I think Hip Hop Awards are more exciting in terms of fashion.
Fashion and Hip Hop cannot be separated, as you may have noticed by now Hip Hop artists are fashion forward and they mention fashion and luxury brands in their lyrics from time to time.
Rappers like to show off just how artistic they can be from their lyrics to how they dress. I remember attending the Zim Hip Hop Awards 2 years ago and as I walked in immediately these two boys caught my attention. They wore gold and black rocking an 80’s kinda swag and they even had a boom box, neckline heavy with gold chains and they had after dark sunglasses on.
They had everyone’s attention.
Hollywood Lee, at last year’s Zim Hip Hop Awards
The thing about Hip Hop Awards is that sometimes people forget that just like any other award show one has to dress red carpet appropriate, elegant and stylish. In order to achieve this, I think it’s wise to get a designer to work with.
The mistake many people make is taking Hip Hop Awards as a ticket to look ratchet with ladies showing up half naked and guys opting for comfortable looks wearing shoes like plimsolls.
It’s okay to experiment with different styles while looking elegant. From the classic cocktail dress to the more relaxed pants look, one can also never go wrong in a ball gown or Tuxedo.
Don’t miss the mirror before heading out and keep it classy and elegant and when in doubt looking Hollywood is not a bad idea
Fashion Designer Tapfumaneyi Munenge
As we hit spring, fashion takes a leap of faith down memory lane. Think of 70s glam, power suits and strong cuts.
The main influence is drawn from the rise of Hip Hop in the late 70s leaking into the early 80s.
Let your suit do the talking as clean sophisticated cuts are expected to grace the red carpet with minimalistic influence and sharply tailored suits.
The silhouette is slim though the double breast box cut fit are also expected to feature.
On the other hand the female counterparts are expected to be influenced by strong masculine silhouettes, think of Grace Jones in Yves Saint Laurent.