Having been in existence for eight years in the music industry, the trio Xtrazz, which started as freestyle dancers, have now been taking music seriously due to the demand and support from music spectators.
Consisting of Herold Hiiko (Bux), Nfwile Abel (Cyrus) and Padja Ndilula (Simzza), the group released their first album called The Beginning of the Endless in 2017, which covers quite a variety of different genres such as Kwaito, House, Reggae, Traditional and Afro-pop.
“With the inspiration from music legends such as Mandoza. The Xtrazz started by doing freestyles in the streets as they grew up together and as a result of the people in their surroundings always cheering for every performance, this then motivated the group to take the music seriously,” said Hiiko.
“We have three music videos on YouTube and all Namibian TV channels titled Victory, Stars and recently dropped a single called Ndifuna Ubumnandi. We can do any type of music listened to in Africa,” they believed.
The music video was shot by Olavi Nyau and the song was produced by AndrewOnTheBeat. Ndifuna Ubumnandi is in Xhosa phrase meaning I am looking for something sweet.
“The music video is about a guy who lost his girlfriend to another man who’s in the Xtrazz t-shirt and then later it was explained to him that the reason he lost his girl was not because of muscle power but it was because of the brand (Xtrazz). Apart from the video, we are also going to release a Ma/gaisa song featuring Piri Gure titled Tolika. We are also working on new singles and planning to do more visuals before releasing an album,” said Hiiko.
Ndilula added that they are appreciated in Omaruru and their work is appreciated from all corners of the town, their brand is known and out there.
“The crew has been in existence for almost eight years now. Even though countrywide exposure has been delayed by obvious reasons that upcoming artists would have as a result of managing themselves,” said Ndilula.
Xtrazz music at the moment can be streamed from DonluAfrica. Their music is available on all other digital platforms including iTunes.
The group started in 2010 but the love of musical performances started in their early school years, inspiration was drawn from family members with golden voices to the likes of Jackson Kaujeua, Awilo Longomba, Mandoza and Lucky Dube.
-psiririka@nepc.com.na