Breaking down Jericho's walls

WindhoekGordon Joseph Hop-Hop star Jerome Gawanab - popularly known as Jericho - hasn't had it easy and at various times he has felt like his early childhood struggles and achievements have created too many expectations. Raised in Katutura by a single mother - along with his sisters - Jericho says street life became his father. By the age of 18 he was already in prison. He spent a year in jail awaiting trial and four more years after being sentenced for culpable homicide and robbery. However, prison didn't stop him from making music. “We even had a band in prison. Music was what kept me together in jail,” he said. After being released from prison in 2004, Jericho experienced a spectacular rise to fame and was the big winner at the 2011 NAMAs, scooping Best Male Artist of the Year. While his rise to fame has been well-documented, his fall from grace has also filled news pages. It was after the 2011 NAMAs that everything seemed to go wrong. Jericho was accused by his then radio personality girlfriend of physically abusing her and spending all his money on alcohol. Asked about all of these troubles, Jericho admits that he hasn't been at his best in recent times, but says that he is learning from his mistakes. “After 2011, there were too many expectations. You see I grew up on the streets and I have been through things. I had guns pressed against my head and spent five years in prison. Somehow these things became a part of me and everyone had different expectations after the awards,” he reveals. Jericho recently made headlines again when he was accused of physically attacking long-time friend, Webster Snewe, popularly known as Webster. While he doesn't want to reveal the details of what transpired, since the case is before court, he says despite his desire to reach out to Webster, he can't because of his bail conditions. “Webster is surrounded by people who are putting pleasure on him to make this case as big as possible and see me go down. I definitely would have made contact with him, if it weren't for the bail conditions,” he said. Asked what he would describe as his biggest struggle over the years, Jericho says although he has done many things he's not proud of, and experienced life's punches on many occasions, spending five years in prison was the hardest. “I was young, scared and just 18,” he says. While he says he takes full responsibility for all his wrongs, Jericho says in a sad tone that he sometimes wishes he had a father figure in his life. “My mother did the best she could, but maybe if I had a father in my life or a big brother who could have kept me off the streets, I would have been a different man,” he says. The singer has, however, embarked on a journey to do better. He recently moved to Rehoboth with his long-time girlfriend. He is also seeing a psychologist now to help him deal with his issues and is expected to release a new album next month.