Cassper Nyovest fills Woodlands

ZIO MWALE, Lusaka
FOR a man who is building a repertoire of being the only South African hip-hop artiste capable of selling out venues and stadiums, Cassper Nyovest, who has a healthy following internationally was always going to attract a crowd at woodlands Stadium in Lusaka last Saturday.
And he did. And not for the first time in Zambia.
And with performances from the likes of Bombshell, Cleo Ice Queen, Macky II, Slap D, Stevo and Bobby East, the show was somewhat a must-attend for hip-hop lovers as well as those into rap.
The event started steadily at about 17:00 hours with various disc jockeys treating the few in the audience until 18:30 hours when different performers started appearing on stage.
At that time, the audience was busy; drinking beer, smoking shisha and trying to find a better viewing spot while others were busy dancing to the performances.
The Sappers Band, who won the Battle of Bands competition at Radisson Blu last month, were among the early performers.
After a wonderful performance from the Sappers, female rapper Bomb Shell took over the stage. Now the audience was getting interested in what was happening on stage. Bombshell thrilled her audience with her dance and rap style.
Just after Bombshell, Cleo Ice Queen took the stage with her dancing kings who were dressed like policemen; she was also in the same uniform with a crown on her head.
While singing songs like Fever and Oxygen, she let the audience sing the lyrics as she danced in style with her group.
Later, hip-hop star Stevo was on stage for 20 minutes. But the time was not enough for the audience which demanded for more. The demand was not granted, but more was still coming.
Bobby East was introduced as the next act by DJ Roxa who was the host. The audience screamed as Bobby East stepped on stage. He rapped to his various hit songs and the audience responded to him.
It was a good appearance by Bobby East.
At about 22:00 hours, the stadium was packed. Still, the queues were not ending outside.
Tickets that were supposed to fetch for K100 were now being at K150. The ones for K200 were increased to K250 while the VIP tickets escalated from K500 to K700 with those for VVIP going to K1, 000 from K750.
As the chaos continued outside, the event inside was at its peak.
Macky II also took the stage and brought in the kopola and chimwemwe dances.
Macky II’s performance was almost 30 minutes. But in that time, he brought out almost all his hit songs.
The audience was obviously eager to watch Cassper. Boy, when he came, didn’t the whole complexion of Woodlands Stadium change! In fact, to say woodlands Stadium is an understatement; the whole neighbourhood changed.
On Sunday morning, residents living near wsoodlands were posting online how they were unable to get some sleep because of the Cassper concert.
Well, that is what you get when one of the leading African artistes in town.