Dance Hall artiste Don Kamati is taking up space in Namibian music with his signature sound that draws from Caribbean influences.
He almost came from nowhere to garner so much popularity that at such an early stage of his career, he already boasts a couple of Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) nods.
Check out what he has to say about his music, making it onto the coveted NAMAs nominee list and being endorsed by some of the industry’s most respected figures.
You performed on the Sound Wave Africa stage during the lockdown, how was that experience and how has the COVID-19 pandemic drawn you out of your comfort zone?
First of all, I just want to thank Sound Wave Africa, Simply You Magazine and the Kasi Vibe management for creating a platform like that because the coronavirus affected all of us. Most shows have been postponed or cancelled, so this was a good initiative to bring artists together. With the Head of State telling us to stay at home, what better way is there to entertain you than from the comfort of your home?
A platform like bringing artists on board as influencers is great because entertaining isn’t just about dancing, it’s also about educating so it was a beautiful opportunity for me to be a part of raising awareness for COVID-19.
What other ways are you finding to keep yourself busy?
COVID-19 did somehow come with a little blessing I would say. Not that it’s a good thing but it’s putting us into a different perspective. It’s teaching us to think outside the box.
I just recently collaborated with DJ Alba for my collaboration mix – something I never thought of until I was isolated for five days.
Isolation can really let your creative juices flow.
A lot of cats are probably angry with you because you just came out of nowhere and boom! No album but you still scooped all these NAMAs nominations. How did you feel hearing that you were nominated?
I felt so blessed. It’s like a blessing in disguise and even though somewhere along the line God was telling me ‘it’s not your time yet, it’s not your time yet,’ I feel like that broke my heart but God still fixed it.
And I really thank Sally and DJ Kboz for taking me on.
Which awards do you hope to scoop, have you given it any thought?
I don’t know, I just have the instinct that we are taking all of them. These collaborations have been like fire man, there’s no way that God can disappoint. God can’t take us this far to lose.
But ultimately, being nominated is a win for me.
What are your general thoughts and views about this year’s nominees?
I honestly feel like MTC has done something that they haven’t done in past years. There are more new acts and I really feel they outdid themselves this year in terms of looking into pre-established artists like Ethnix.
Everybody deserves their nominations. Although I’m kind of disappointed my guy King Elegant wasn’t nominated, I’m a big fan, but my win is his win. We win together.
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