Tawastok, the Voice Of The ghetto speaks

By Tawanda Ngena

Dancehall emcee Tawanda 'tawastok' Tsoka has challenged the mainstream media to do more for the music industry and not relegate their role of identifying and exposing more new talent which is in abundance locally.

"In any society, the media plays a big part in the growth or (in our case) the death of the arts industry because everyday we see them neglecting the upcoming acts and dedicating vast amounts of space to the same old 'usual suspects'. It is almost as if they are too lazy to not only find but invest in new talent and the future of our local industry.
"There is so much bias and sensationalism of the news which tends to focus more on the negative side of the artists but at the same time which I also understand sells more copies for their tabloids but does very little for the growth and future of this industry", he said.

It was because of this vacuum left behind by the mainstream media that Tawastok decided to dedicate his time and personal resources to what he calls 'ghetto journalism', aimed at the exposure of new talent.

"As the 'ghetto journalist', I am the voice of the poor who have talent but are unheralded, there are so many 'diamonds in the rough' where I am from and I felt that it was my responsibility to give them a voice to be heard as well.
"I got the name 'ghetto journalist' as a sign of an achievement from my late best and only friend Henry Muwungani after having finished my course in journalism. I majored in both broadcast and newspaper reporting, I worked some time in 2003 at the Zbc news hour @8 as a production assistant and later worked at the Zimpapers as an entertainment and hard news reporter.
"The name meant I was the most recognised 'ghetto yut' who was the pride of the dusty streets", said Ghetto journalist, as he is affectionately known.

He however went on to take a swipe at a section of the current crop of artists whom he felt lacked an identity/originality.

"How Come there is no such thing as German dancehall? That is because it is a universal culture that does not need to be diluted.
"I don't see where exactly they think they are going with this 'zimjunkhall', I honestly love talented people but not to the extent of subjecting myself to some of the trash being put out. These guys should know and recognize that it takes a bit more for them to be considered original and merely translating a song into Shona or Ndebele just won't cut it", said Tsoka.


Tawastok said he believed that artists needed to broaden their minds and think 'international' in order to expand their scope and reach.
 "Believe me, we have artists like Da shocca, he matches the type of market I am talking of but is not given the platform.
" A talented person is a very big threat to the devil hence they make it hard, but one good thing about talented people is, try as you might to slow them down but you can not stop them......I believe that soon people will get bored by the circus that is happening in entertainment industry right now and start focusing on the real thing", he said.

But just who is Tawastok?
The Harare-based emcee said that he considered himself a jack of all trades and does not hesitate to explore new opportunities.

"Besides being an emcee, I am an underground artist as well and I have released two albums titled 'Ghetto Journalism' 1 and 2. I have been doing this for over 18 yrs ever since I was young my uncle Eddie Muffin of one of the oldest sounds, Zim Startime Super Powa introduced me to the art of emceeing.

"I have a fashion label called 'TST', mainly dealing with bucket hats. I am one of the first emcees for Judgement Yard and before all Dem 'ethys' and blah blah, I did volumes 1-to-3 before i left them to pursue my dream of making it on my own which is hard but I am a sucker for pain and I am still holding firm, not giving in to the pressure", he confidently asserts.
Asked to describe himself in 3 words he said he was 'vicious', a glorified goal getter and that his prime rule was 'trust noone'.