Hip hop in Southern Africa is really taking shape. 10-15 years ago, being a rapper was probably more of a hobby than a profession if you lived in Zimbabwe, Botswana and even South Africa. These days, however, more and more youngsters are investing in their craft and recognising that their talents can take them places.
Nobody exemplifies this more than 23-year-old Sharky from Zimbabwe. The young man from Chitungwiza has been steadily climbing the ranks in Zim over the past few years. The fruits of his labour came this year when he was nominated for four awards at the upcoming Zimbabwe Hip Hop Awards.
MTV Base caught up with the rapper and asked about how he received the news that he had been nominated at #ZHHA. He said:
“I’m not going to act like I’m not excited about the nomination. It’s one of those things that every artist needs, you know, some form of validation. It really feels good to finally be a part of the conversation. When we submitted we did expect to get nominated, [but] if we hadn’t been, we would have just shrugged it off, and went back to working harder.”
However, when your success begins to peak, so do the number of haters knocking on your door. Surprisingly, Sharky isn’t bothered by haters.
“Honestly man, i have never really had a “hater”. I am not a confrontational person really. Have some things been said about me? Yes. Have i had shots fired at me? Yes. But i’m really all about positive energy and just shutting out everything that isn’t positive or constructive to me and my team”
Sharky has got his eyes set on the continent and has even performed in Senegal already. He spoke to us about how that experience has got him excited about working with other African acts:
“I was in Senegal in May, i performed at their biggest hip-hop festival, Festa2H. I witnessed people doing things differently from how its done back home in Zimbabwe.I got so much love from that 5k people crowd and i was doing a mix of English and Shona raps. I would love to branch out to other countries as well, learn about their cultures”
You can stream Sharky’s debut album, Soko Matemai on YouTube below:
Source: http://www.mtvbase.com/news/with-greatrhymes-come-great-responsibilities-introducing-sharky-from-zim/luhbc0
