At first, the ”Basketball Chill” Party scheduled for Saturday August 27th could assume the configuration of those myriad Parties that have continuously been doting the summer especially in Africa-Stockholm. Hardly a week passed by without a boogie and as the sun sets to mark the end of the 2011 summer break, yet another Party – the “Basketball Chill” is next on the line. What is the “BB Chill” all about? What is its theme and who exactly is behind it?
When KSB posed these questions to the organizers, there were ready-made answers and the Party seemed to have been on the drawing board for quite some time. Just as the name suggests, there will be a series of Basketball matches at the field in Skogås and the main idea is to introduce an annual basketball tournament slated for every summer.
The BB tournament is a replica of the Football matches that were organized this summer at Skarpnäck’s Sports Ground by the Sports Association of Afro-Scandinavians (SAAS) although the difference is that the organizer of the BB Chill is a completely different group that has an extended agenda.
They call themselves the “Dream Team”, a group of young and energetic East African youths who feel isolated in Stockholm’s entertainment industry and who believe that it is time for them to take matters into their own hands. Majority of “Dream Team” members are under 30 years, love Basketball and think that music played in Africa-Stockholm’s disco joints do not add up to their real tastes. This is the 80s and 90s generation bracket either born in Sweden or migrated here in recent years.
To underline the seriousness with which this new generation has decided to “take over” control, the team has set up their flag-ship – The Zion Heights Entertainment”, a disco group that specializes in reggae, genge, dancehall, banjuka, bongo and other popular genres. Although these beats are usually played at almost every East African disco, members of the Dream Team claim that the variety of songs have not always been up to their tastes because the selections have mainly been targeted at “Wazee wa kazi”.
The “Dream Team”, which appears to have been working overtime to put its act together, is represented by DJ Wadada and DJ Ben. Wadada is the point man in Zion Heights Entertainment whose website is packed with the kind of music the group claims, is part of the collection which has always gone missing in local disco outings. Wadada told KSB that the main reason why the Dream Team generation is always not well represented at these discos is because they don’t identify with the music that hits the loud speakers.
Identifying a niche
“Zion Heights is trying to fill the vacuum and we took the initiative because there is a crowd that feels left out of the disco loop”, Wadada told KSB. He added that Zion Heights has a long way to go because its main crowd is just beginning to appreciate the group’s existence. He was happy that the initial response from the group’s target audience has been very good.
At the Basketball matches in Skogås, teams which will feature are Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. The matches begin at 15.00hrs, time when music will also be available for entertainment. There will be plenty of Nyama Choma and if you are looking for that last minute summer opportunity to enjoy manyake with members of the community, Skogås is the place to be this Sato. You can picture yourself biting the nyama as you cheer your best BB team in the court to go ahead and score but do I say?
The strategy seem to have been well-thought out because apart from the BB and Nyama choma, there will be plenty of room for families to be accommodated in the entertainment arrangement. The organizers told KSB that games for kids are in the agenda together with free sausages to feed the kids as they run around under the careful watch of their minders. If you have kids, this could be another opportunity to get them on their toes in Skogås this week-end.
For fun lovers who will not be on wheels, the BB scene is just five minutes-walk from Skogås train station so it should be very easy to locate. Asked why the event had to be hosted in Skogås, DJ Wadada said that the locality has the best BB court, quite a good answer.
It is after the field events and after the kids have been taken home that the main “Dream Party” will begin at Vretensborgsvägen 21 in Hägasten where every guest will be welcomed with a free drink. The Party starts at 22hrs and will run until 5.00 hrs, time when it will surely be appropriate for revelers to roll their beefs back home.
With Zion Heights Entertainment having been firmly erected, the “Dream Team” can no longer complain of “marginalization” in the entertainment scene. It is therefore the responsibility of the “Dream generation” to support their movement if they want to remain relevant and entertained in Stockholm.
The Africa-Stockholm’s entertainment industry remains complicated and very competitive with numerous groups chasing specific audiences. What Zion Heights is trying to do is to identify a niche so that it can position itself accordingly. The big challenge the new group will face is that of living up to expectation. DJ Wadada will have to deliver and satisfy his expectant audience if Zion Heights is to maintain the fire it has just ignited.
The collective involvement of members of the Dream Team in the arrangement of the “BB Chill” is enough indication that there is a strong will within the team for the creation of a fresh alternative force that could show how things are done from the perspective of the youth. Zion Heights entertainment is therefore a welcome relief whose potential nevertheless awaits to be seen.
Okoth Osewe
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