Local hip hop artists have remained consistent in producing quality productions over the past couple of years – though some of the material lacks social relevance. Quality wise, hip hop artists have been a cut above the rest.
Come 2017, the genre continues it’s form for instance the new Mudiwa video bares it all.
Today we focus on new artist in the genre who has a unique touch of quality, and his name is Scarfizzo.
Hailing from Mbare, the raw and amazingly talented rapper has made his entry into the industry with a dope video titled, ‘Zvekudaro’.
Zimbo Jam got to speak to him and he shared more about his life experiences and where he wants to take his music.
“Scarfizzo aka Ashley Neshamba, was born and bred in Mbare National and went to Sunningdale 1 Primary School, Glenview High 2 and Chemarima High in Rusape,” said Fizzo.
“I ventured into music because I believe music connects people from all corners of the world and it’s the only instrument I can use to tell my story to the world.”
On why he chose hip hop and not any other genre he said, “To me, hip hop is a culture. I live it everyday from the moment I wake up till I get back to bed, its my life style.”
Scarfizzo revealed that he cannot be compared to any other rapper because his message is a reflection of his life.
“My rap style is unique, I can’t be compared to any rapper locally and internationally because my music is my life.
“Another factor is that my message is about life situations, not about spending money. I’m not saying its bad but I can’t rap about it now because my grind hasn’t started bringing in the mula,” revealed Neshamba.
The rapper also shared with us that it took him two years to save money to make his debut video.
“My video, Zvekudaro was shot in Mbare where I live and it took me two years to raise the money because I have no sponsor, I do it all from my pocket. I did the scripting together with the director, Andy Cutta,” he explained.
Scarfizzo believes Zim hip hop will be the biggest genre in Zimbabwe and will play a major role in reducing crime.
“Zim hip hop will grow. It’s going to be the greatest genre to come out of Zimbabwe that will help in reducing crime and employ a lot of youth’.
“Zimbabwean rapper’s are working very hard to break new ground and change African music at large,” he said.
Scarfizzo’s publicist, Kevin Kumire shared with us that for now they are focusing on releasing singles and hinted on a mix tape dropping soon.
“Our focus for 2017 is to release more singles, with a video accompanying each track. We will release a mixtape towards the last quater of 2017, but our current drive is to drop more singles and attach ourselves to a few features not only in hip hop but in other genres, ” said Kumire.
Kumire added that Scarfizzo stands out due to his unique artistry and soon he will be staging his own shows.
“Scarfizzo stands out because the artistry behind his music is raw and pure. His lyrical content is stemmed from the depth of his soul, and rooted in his life experiences.
“His drive and ambition separates him from every other artist in the hip hop fraternity because coming from Mbare, he represents that your environment doesn’t determine your future but your focus, drive and ambition.
“It not only shows through his lyrical content but the depth of his videos.
“We will be putting some shows together as the year progresses. Lord willing, we want to extend the reach of his music beyond the borders of Harare to other countries across the continent,” he added.
