Windhoek
It’s confirmed! Jamaican-American songstress and songwriter, Janelle Thorbourne, better known on stage as Nyanda, joins Gazza tomorrow at the University of Namibia (Unam) Stadium for his 11th album, Pumunu’s launch tomorrow.
Nyanda agreed to show her support to him and perform for free as part of their working relationship. This followed Gazza’s travel to Miami last December to work on a song and shot a video with Nyanda titled Up, Up and Away, which is also part of Gazza’s album. “Sharing the stage with Nyanda is a dream comes true. When I went o Miami it was not just to do collaboration with Nyanda, but to build relationship such as this one,” says Gazza, adding working with a professional international artist like Nyanda is not easy as one needs to act professionally. “She is humble, that is why she also agreed to support my project.”
Nyanda was a member of the RnB/Reggae duo Brick & Lace whose debut album, Love Is Wicked, was released through Geffen / Kon Live in 2007 featured the chart-topping single, Love Is Wicked.
In her early days, Nyanda went to Campion College High School where and when her group Brick & Lace was formed. After graduating from high School, she studied Marketing at Miami Dade College and then Advertising & Theater at the University of Miami. February 2013 marked the launch of Nyanda’s career as a solo artist with the release of her promotional single, Trouble produced by Black Lion. Trouble is a remix of Taylor Swift’s multi-platinum single I Knew You Were Trouble fusing reggae, dancehall and pop music. The single entered United Kingdom Music Week’s Top 30 Urban Club Charts in Week 7 (2013) and remained in the charts for seven weeks, peaking at #15.
Nyanda’s first official single, Slippery When Wet, was initially released as a free download through SoundCloud in March 2013. The song entered UK Music Week’s Urban Club Charts in Week 27 (2013) and remained in the Top 30 for five weeks. In August 2013, Nyanda released the electro fueled house track, Cool & Deadly with South African DJs Euphonik and Fresh. Cool & Deadly was considered a South African Summer Anthem in 2013 as it climbed to #28 on South Africa Airplay Charts and reached #1 on 5FM’s Top 40. The music video was done documentary style with all footage being taken from Split Seconds, a 5-part TV series on Channel O showcasing the fast-paced look at Fresh and Euphonik in Miami during 2013’s Winter Music Conference.
However, other artists to perform at Gazza’s CD launch includes Dicklaz One, Blacksheep, Tequila, Jaili, Tswazis, Lady May, Sally, Promise, Matongo Family, Cool Under Pressure and many others. Gazza says all artists agreed to perform for free as a support to him. General tickets for the show are N$ 50; N$ 100 Golden Circle and N$ 500 for VIPs. The show starts at seven O’clock in the evening