She is nominated for the Best Female Artist Of The Year category at the Metro FM Awards to be held at Mbombela Stadium today. She has had a great year in the music industry and a seemingly memorable three years signed to Open Mic Productions co-owned by Molau Rammala and Lionel Jamela. But singer and dancer Makhadzi, real name Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona, who stands a high chance of walking away with the award of the night, is said to be booked in Zambia to perform and allegedly keeping away from possibly accepting the award.

NOT ATTENDING THE METROs

An insider at Open Mic says that the singer was most likely to "spill the tea about the label's dubious dealings on stage during the acceptance, If she wins." "She is booked in Zambia so she doesn't get to accept the awards and if she chooses to cancel the booking, she will have to pay dearly and she is in no financial position to do so. She is the headline act of a gig that is worth millions and she can't just leave to go and accept an award.'

FEELING EXPLOITED

On the morning of the Metro Awards, the Milandu Bhe singer took to social media to expose the label of exploitation. "In these three years, I dropped four albums. I have never received any cent from my sales. Some of my albums reached platinum and some gold and a lot of hit songs that reached platinum and gold. But I continue to work without complaining," Makhadzi said, adding that she feels like a slave to the label after they saved her from her former manager, Rita Dee Nephawe, who allegedly swindled money from her bookings. "Must I continue working where I am not happy? I served my contract, I don't want to work with them anymore.' she says.

NEVER RECEIVING A CONTRACT

Makhadzi says she never received a copy of her contract from Open Mic."Nkateko Maluleke became the MD of Open Mic a year after I signed. Allegedly he was hired to threaten me because I was demanding my contract. After he came, everything changed and I was told to only to speak with him,' she says. "Only Open Mic knows this clause alone, I requested my contract again yesterday maybe they will send it so I can see, the clause. As I said they never gave me a copy, they have been promising to send it to me for the past three years," she added. She went on to say that her latest song has been removed from social media platforms. "Yesterday I dropped my new song Niazwifha, they removed it sitting on 130k views,' she says. "This breaks me more because they don't want to see me working but being their slave,' she shares. 

NOT MEETING TARGETS

 According to a close source at Open Mic, Makhadzi's three-year contract stipulates that she will continue to work for the company even after three years if they feel dissatisfied with her performance. "That is the clause that she failed to read in the contract,' the insider says. "They are still not satisfied with her performance and she has not reached the company's targets and deliverables, therefore, they will continue working with her until they have reached the target they had set out three years ago,' the insider says. "That company said long ago that she needed to meet certain requirements before she can leave the company.' Another source says that Makhadzi's legal team is fighting tooth and nail to get her out of the "silly contract.' 
"She needs to get out of that silly contract. The money they invested three years ago when she was down and out has been recouped but they refuse to let her go because they are greedy.'

ARTISTS CONTINUE TO LEAVE THE LABEL

Makhadzi is not the first to leave the label. producer and hitmaker, Master KG, real name Kgaogelo Moagi, left the label some years ago but continues to do some work with them. Nomcebo Zikode still has an ongoing legal battle with the label after she claimed not to have not received money that was due to her for the song Jerusalema. Not long ago, a former member of pop group Jamali, Jacky Carpede was allegedly embroiled in a dispute with Open Mic Productions after claiming she had not been paid a single cent of royalties for the song she recorded with the label. The song is said to be part of the soundtrack on one of Netflix's biggest series, Blood and Water. Trouble started when she was allegedly announced as one of the talents joining Open Mic Productions but it turns out that she never signed a contract with the record label after refusing to give away her publishing rights.  Lionel Jamela tells ZiMoja that he refuses to entertain gossip. "It's all gossip. We work with facts. Makhadzi is still signed to Open Mic."