Bebe Cool, D’banj to battle in Zimbabwe

Before the Gagamel boss could wipe the smile off, he was thrown into frenzy when he was chosen as one of two African artistes to headline the Lion Beer festival in Zimbabwe slated for October 26.

The other artiste to grace the show will be Nigerian icon and Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music protégé Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo alias D’banj. According to Zimbabwe’s News Day, D’banj and Bebe Cool are the two international acts billed to perform at the country’s biggest festival.

The annual festival will be held on October 26 at the Glamis Arena in Harare under the theme The Battle of Africa because this year’s festival seeks to converge African talent from the West, East and South, celebrating what the continent has achieved in the arts industry.

According to Patricia Murambinda, the sales and marketing manager of Delta Beverages, the celebrity stars were chosen on the basis of suggestions from fans across the country. “We have been running a programme on local radio stations since January where we accorded the fans the opportunity to choose the artistes to headline this year’s summer festival,” explained Murambinda.

“D’banj and Bebe Cool had the highest votes; so, we decided to bring them to reward our loyal consumers.”

Bebe Cool is apparently popular in Zimbabwe for songs like Fitina, Mambo Mingi and Coccidiosis, among others.

“It’s so good that we are having such festivals in Africa where artistes get to perform live for foreign audiences. My fans in Zimbabwe should expect the best of reggae and dancehall from me and the Gagamel band,” Bebe told The Observer on phone.

He did not rule out possibilities of collaborating with D’banj and Zimbabwean artistes. “I am not a collabo-based artiste and I don’t like doing a song I can’t perform on stage, but if chance comes up, I will,” he says.

This is the fifth installment since the festival’s inception in 2009. Past events have been graced by Jamaica’s Beenie Man, Cocoa Tea and Fantan Mojah. Last year P-Square became the first African act to headline the festival.