The dancehall king

As the custodian journalist for tjil, I am also the publication's biggest fan. And as I was going through last year's editions before my holiday ended – because I wanted to examine areas I should improve on – I realised there weren't a lot of articles written about dancehall artists. That could be because there aren't many dancehall artists in Namibia. I also believe ragga music has no supporting structures in Namibia. To oil the wheels of tjil this week, we feature Don Kamati, an artist passionate about a genre that isn't very popular in our country. Since that is his lane, Kamati isn't looking to steal anyone's shine – it's not like kwaito or hip-hop where artists come in and have guys like Exit or Skypt to look up to and challenge. He said part of the reason why his journey to mainstream music took so long is because he believes the ragga territory is his. “I am confident with my music because I feel like I do not have competition in this genre.”Ragga is a sub-culture of dancehall. “This is something I have been crafting for the longest of time because I want to alter the genre to appeal to the Namibian audience as well as the global audience,” he said. While having been in the game for a while now, Kamati said he doesn't see himself putting out an album any time soon. He however stressed that his fans shouldn't worry because he will serve them with singles until he is ready to put out a body of work. “I have a totally different approach to my music. I am taking my time because as much as I feel I am good at this, I am still learning and the goal is to go international. You can't put out mediocre work if you have a dream like that,” said Kamati, adding that many artists make the mistake of packaging their music exclusively for Namibian music consumers only.His latest single, Back To Back featuring producer Chris Wayne, was released a few weeks ago, and has been embraced warmly, he noted. “Chris Wayne has a different approach to making music. He gives life to the song. “I have worked with a lot of music producers before, but Chris Wayne and DJ KBoz stand out for me because of how they've influenced my sound,” Kamati said.The song will be complemented by a video, slated for release in February.“How the song was released was just incredible. We had a release party because we did not want to go the normal route of dumping the link online. We wanted to give our fans a different experience,” he said. Kamati said he does not lose sleep just because he is pursuing a genre that isn't popular. Instead, he uses that to his advantage. “I am not saying I am the only ragga dancehall artist in Namibia but we all agree that it's not a popular genre and I am working hard to change that,” he said, giving props to the likes of the late Pablo, Kamasutra and Shipolopolo. MICHAEL KAYUNDE

The dancehall king

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

Please login to leave a comment

The dancehall king

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

Please login to leave a comment

Login