For all the events we have on Harare's entertainment scene, curation is something that always feels lacking. We often put together a lot of big names that attract a crowd but with no real concept grounding the event. To help address this, in came Silhouette Sessions; a space for nothing but Afrobeats, R&B, hip hop and dancehall. A much needed music policy, in a space that has become dominated by Afro house.
While marketed as a music event, it certainly doubles as something of the social. The event's intentional themes have ensured that fashion is just as important as the music. The inaugaral edition was "A Denim Affair" and the audience indulged in it by wearing so much cotton that we could've resuscitated Cottco. February's event was dubbed the "Y2K Edition" and revellers certainly turned back the clock.
It felt a little silly and maybe even ridiculous, but we raided wardrobes for clothes not worn in almost 2 decades, had disposable bandages on our cheeks like Nelly, and it was unbelievable fun.
The year was 2003, Beyoncé's "Baby Boy," Chingy's "Right Thurr," 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P," Fabolous' "Into You" and Nelly's "Shake Ya Tailfeather" were dominating the charts. The iPhone was still an idea in Steve Jobs' head, so the flip phone reined supreme. Clothes were twice the size, shoes three times the weight, and durags, bandanas and the AIDS pandemic have us tightly wrapping both heads.
Ama2k was yet to be a concept, and Y2K was the generation of the moment. So much went wrong then, but not the music, and for that they will always be the good old days. This is why 20 years later Silhouette Sessions captured our hearts with nostalgia and had us "Putting Our Lighters Up" and singing for the "Return Of The Mack." True to its mission of reigniting Harare's dance floors, we danced until Mara Mara's lawn had indelible marks of our footprints.
The rain had made an attempt to sour the mood, but even it realised the show had to go on. XTC, Tvwvndv, TAPIWA and Andile Brown stirred our souls and brought motion to our waists, but it was to Shaku Chanté that the night belonged.
Drifting from the present to the past, with seamless transitions from Jnr Spragga's "Marulez" to Richie Stevens' "Weakness For Sweetness," from Master H's "Hugwegweshe" to Rihanna's "Pon Di Replay," and with moments of hip hop excellence that included Swiss Beatz' "Money In The Bank," Snoop Dogg & Pharrell Williams' "Drop It Like It's Hot" and Lil Kim's "Put Your Lighters Up," Shaku was a DJ on par with none.
We sang, we danced, and we reflected on years long gone. Mara Mara Restaurant's prices may have bullied our wallets, the music may have twisted in genre where more dedicated sets would've been better and urban grooves may have been forgotten on the musical menu, but the Y2K Edition certainly cemented Silhouette Sessions as a fixture on Harare's event calendar.
Greedysouth rating: 7/10