Jah Prayzah reveals the secret to naming his dancers Gonyeti,Excavator,Stimela etc

Generator, Excavator, Gonyeti and Stimela. Upon reading the above words only a wildly imaginative mind could associate them with anything musical or artistic.

But in the mind of one of Zimbabwe’s foremost musicians currently,Jah Prayzah, these and other names make the most appropriate aliases for his ever-changing troop of seemingly battery- charged energetic stage dancers.

The country had barely had time to blink when it was announced that the dread-locked Prayzah had replaced the popular Pamela ‘Gonyeti’ Ncube with one Thobekile Nleya who was quickly slapped with the moniker Excavator as her stage name.

For many the change was surprising as few had expected Gonyeti, who had become a star attraction in her own right during the Soja’s live performances.

Jah Prayzah reveals the secret to naming his dancers Gonyeti,Excavator,Stimela etc

However, she was not the first dancer who worked with Jah Prayzah to bite the dust, after Evidence ‘Generator’ Kufinya also met a similar fate due to alleged indiscipline a few years ago.

Now Pamela is the most experienced female dancer in Prayzah’s famed Third Generation Band., where she is joined by Nleya. While some will wonder if the group’s rapport and on stage performance won’t be affected by Gonyeti’s absence as it reportedly did at the launch of the album at the HICC where the crowd chanted her name, others will wonder how these performers got their names in the first place. According to Jay Prayzah, he picks the names himself as he believes it makes the dancers memorable.

“Their names are always intentional on my part because they are impactful and it gives them an edge before they have even set foot on stage. There is nothing deep behind it but it seems like fans are fond of the names and that is something that I always aim for when I think them ,” he said.
Although the dancers have gone on to break from Jah Prayzah as they become recognizable names in their right, he says that it is always intentional on his part as he wants them to bask in their own spotlight. Looking at the aftermath of his fallout with his old dancers, this is certainly true, as Generator went on to assemble her own 11 member band called Ngorimba Fusion Band while the former Summer Breeze and Jabavu lead singer Gonyeti is also forming her own band.

“My intention is to make sure that all my performers become brands on their own. A stage name like Excavator is memorable so people will remember her without even associating my name with her. By becoming brands on their own they also improve my stage act because we hear people coming to shows saying they want to see Excavator or Stimela and not just me,” he said. Catchy stage names for supporting female performers are not something new on the Zimbabwean music scene.

The late Safirio ‘Mukadota’ Madzikatire nicknamed his favourite stage partner Katarina, which made her one of the household names on the Zimbabwean entertainment scene despite the fact that she did not have a notable solo career of her own. This is tradition that Prayzah would like to continue with his dancers, as he believes that his stage act presents him with an opportunity to create memorable stage acts. “I plan all my stage performances with the dancers in mind because I feed off their energy as they do mine. That is why care is taken on who I choose to be a back-up singer or dancer and the names that they use while on stage because it is a vital component of overall act,” he said.

Source-H Metro