OTU...”On The Up” will be an official list that I will publish three times a year. OTU will give you and the rest of the country a clear picture of which artists are on the up and deserve a chance to sit alongside the Kings and Queens of the Namibian entertainment industry.
This is the first edition of the OTU official list. These are artists that you do not know. Let’s be clear about that. You don’t know them. They are heavy underground but deserve a chance. And if you do know these acts ... then you are a true lover of quality music regardless of status.
The official OTU list has one criterion and one criterion only ... good music. If the music is good, regardless of how unknown you are ... you WILL feature on this exclusive list.
The first artist to feature is Royale. Royale is a female Afro-pop/RnB artist from Grootfontein that is currently being managed by Woosh Records. She is young, she is fresh, she is raw and my goodness she is authentic. She has two songs on the Fresh Fm playlist ... ‘Won’t last’ and ‘Ndjambi Onjesa’. What excites me about Royale apart from her potential is that she is from Grootfontein. This should give hope to talent out in smaller towns.
Second on the official OTU list is a group from Omaruru who call themselves The Fam. The Fam consists of BJ, MarvinTheRat, Coco, Eli, Nxase with associate acts like Tricko, DJ Tevin and Tjipee. The Fam is a breath of fresh air in an era where groups are virtually non-existent in Namibia. The Fam is authentic, raw and with a polishing effort here and there ... will be a world-class musical ensemble in the near future. Again, another musical act from outside Windhoek – Omaruru nogals. They have two songs on the Fresh Fm playlist ... ‘Otjiryavandu’ and ‘Afrika’.
The final act to feature on the official OTU list is nothing short of an inspirational story. Tukondjeni AKA Maniak from the capital. This is a man that literally has been in the shadows of the entertainment industry since the heyday of the late Catty Cat and visual artist Dingalo ... and finally gets a chance to sit at the table.
That’s a good five to 10 years of trying to break into an industry that never really wanted to see him for the talent that he is. He is an affiliate of 061 Music and they recently released two songs from an upcoming EP … ‘The lingo’ and ‘TrashCan’.
Maniak is straight-up streetwise rapper. He reminds me of a younger Jericho. The ‘Check who’s back’ Jericho, but just better.
Dear industry insiders, media, promoters and music lovers, take it from someone who has been an industry analyst for over nine years, Royale, The Fam and Maniak deserve a chance. Listen to them. Book them. Fan them. You will not regret it.
The first edition of the official OTU list, exclusive to the biggest newspaper brand. .. done and dusted. Check out their music and let me know what you think using the hashtag “OTUList”.
Until the next loop, we say “GMTM”!
NSK is a professional MC. For bookings, email naobebsekind@gmail.com
@naobebsekind (twitter)