What do politics and entertainment have in common? Quite a bit, judging by the gyrating artists who have been singing their hearts out at rival political rallies over the past three weeks.But do they do it for love, or for money?Artists Cici, Bucie Nqwiliso, Mafikizolo, Somizi, Nathi, Ziyon, Kid X and Riky Rick are among the celebs who have performed at the manifesto launches of the ANC, DA and EFF ahead of August's local government elections.The musicians walk away from political stages with wads of cash, but some have faced a backlash from fans questioning their allegiances.Among them was musician Ziyon, real name Jonathan Hamilton, who was heavily criticised after performing at the DA manifesto launch in Johannesburg last weekend."@BUCIENQWILISO @_ZIYON_ performing at the #DA March! I love House Music but I will never book them or buy their music," tweeted one Dogg-Dbn.Loyiso Sidimba asked: "Will he ever perform at ANC events again?"This week Hamilton's manager Linda Maseko defended the artist, saying they had not known that the performance part of the manifesto launch would be televised."For a number of years, Ziyon has been refusing to perform at political events because he feared people believing he was endorsing or aligned to any political party."This time we convinced him to do this and are now getting a backlash from certain people, claiming he is part of the DA ... They need to know he is not involved in the messaging of these parties and this is like any other performance-booking work he has done in the past," said Maseko.Another entertainer who took flak for performing at a DA event was iFani, who sang for the opposition party in 2014 at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg.As a result, the ANC cancelled the rapper's scheduled appearance the following day at a party rally at the FNB Stadium.The Ayadelela hitmaker claimed he had been refused entry to the ANC event, something that had celebrities like Simphiwe Dana tweeting: "From a branding perspective, iFani made a mess of it. You can't endorse Coca-Cola today and Pepsi tomorrow. No."Rick, who performed at the DA manifesto launch last weekend, said the gig had been for his fans, not the political party."I don't believe performing at the DA event has anything to do with them. I performed at Rustenburg when Zuma spoke a few months ago, and at EFF and DA events. My only job is to perform. Music is not about political stances."Although Somizi declined to comment this week about his performance at the ANC manifesto launch in Nelson Mandela Bay two weeks ago, Get Over It singer Bucie said it was all in a day's work."This is my job," said Bucie. "This does not mean I support that particular party ... I am ... providing a service for a client."Cici's manager, Arthur Mafokate, said artists signed to his recording label had the final say in deciding for whom they performed."We love all our music supporters, [regardless of] which party they support. The artists choose who they want to perform for and where. It's not me forcing them to perform for people."DJ Sbu Leope also disagreed with the perception that "performing at a certain party's event means you're supporting them"."When we make music we make it for all people, irrespective of what political party they support. It's unfair for people to be intimidated about their choices to perform for several parties," he said.Nhlanhla Nciza, one half of Mafikizolo - best-known for Khona - said they treated political events like any other booking."We don't mind people accusing us of supporting the ANC, because we love the ANC and we've been voting for the ANC."The DA plays our songs at their manifesto [launches], but that doesn't affect our business and positioning," she said...