Charly Black rocks Zimbabwe Crowd
Dancehall artiste Charly Black pulled a cheering throng of over 10,000 patrons to a show dubbed the 'Heroes Sunsplash', held at Long Cheng Plaza in Zimbabwe on August 8.
The 30 year-old Black, whose real name is Desmond Mendez, was performing in Zimbabwe for the first time.
"When I got to the venue, the promoters told me that 9,000 people were already there, and they had to send for more tickets, and 2,000 more came in when it came time for me to hit the stage," Black said.
Known for his hit single, Buddy Buddy, years ago, he has a huge following on the African continent. He opened his set with Smoke All Day, before doing Lighter, Am Too Blessed, but it was his new single Mi No Fraid, which had the crowd in a tizzy.
"I had to sing Mi No Fraid five times. The fans dem tear down the VIP fence to come closer to the stage so they could see the 'country bwoy'. It was intense," he said.
He shared the stage with Zimbabwean artistes such as Soul Jah Love, Seh Calaz, Kinnah, Killer T, and Freeman. The show was organised by United Kingdom-based promoters Digital One International and Chipaz Promotions.
It was the final leg of a three-gig tour of Africa, having performed at two events a few days before in Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa.
Charly Black has a huge following in Central and South America, and one of his latest releases, Party Animal, is doing well on dancehall charts. The single, produced on the Techniques Records label, hit number six on a chart in Costa Rica, and number four in Chile.
He performed at a show in Colombia in June and will return for a major festival in the country in September. He also recently performed for the first time in countries such as Israel and Mauritius.
"My music is really going out in the world, and a lot of countries are calling for Charly Black. I have invested a lot of time and sacrificed to make this happen, so it is great that things are paying off now," he said.
He will be performing at a show dubbed 'Trelawny Fiesta' at the Zebra Free Lawn in Albert Town, Trelawny, this weekend.