• Pinehas Nakaziko
Fresh from an honorary award from the Akademia Award in the United States of America (USA), local Jazz and traditional music live performer, Erna Chimu, is destined to further put Namibia’s music firmly on the international platform.
Her hit song, Telewaniba (San version) recently got the nod to air on several Berkshire Media Group radio stations across the globe. “We are pleased to inform you that your song ‘Song- Telewaniba (San version)’ was very well received by our directors! As a result, they have expressed willingness to place your song in rotation on ten major stations targeting different geographic regions to begin testing listener response and feedback beginning April 6. All of these stations have substantial listener bases and can significantly elevate your exposure as an artist,” reads the statements from the Berkshire Media Group.
Erna says she is thankful and honoured for this opportunity, saying many years after releasing her first album Imamakunguwe, which simply means my source of love in 2009, it keeps on opening many doors for her. “The song Telewaniba from the album made me win in the category of Best Traditional in the Namibia Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) in 2011, signed me to the Republic of South Africa (RSA)-based company known as Sheer publishers, and also got me on the compilation album of Salon International Musique Africane (SIMA) Cameroun,” she says via the post on social media.
“I never thought I stood a chance. Over five billion songs, my song ended up among the top 15 000 and later to the top 10. I’m reaching for the number-one spot,” adds Erna. She is certainly no newcomer to the industry, yet some of the 4 000 spectators at the 2010 Old Mutual Jazz Encounter, now Windhoek Jazz Festival experienced for the second time a Namibian African lady espousing international music standards, so much so that those not totally familiar with the evening’s programme asked who this artist was and where she came from.
Her first musical experience was with Shemyetu – one of the major reggae forces in Namibia today.
In 2007 she embarked on her own road to musical freedom and was one of the Namibian musicians to perform at the Old Mutual Jazz Encounter 2008, where she shared the stage with Lira and Sipho Hotstix Mabuse. November 2009 marked the release of her debut album, Imamakunguwe, one of few Namibian albums featuring a band of musicians. Imamakunguwe stands out as one of very few Namibian releases one can recommend to foreigners and Namibians with critical minds – as a truly Namibian product.