Local rapper Sharky has urged artists to not only focus on music, but develop a culture of merchandising especially fashion as a way of engaging their fans.
Sharky, who many fell in love with when he put up a stunning live performance at the Toya Delazy show late last year, has developed from just his African taste in fashion to merchandising as a way of engaging and extending his fanbase.
He has since established a merchandise with the brand, Monkey Bznz (MB), a term inspired by his cultural identity and his totem ‘Soko Matemai’ and he says this is a redefinition of Hip Hop, in which he is trying to blend it with both the African culture as well as extending its reach to people.
“People need to identify with something, its human nature. So if I see someone wearing a Monkey Bznz t-shirt or cap, I know immediately that they’re family and if there are like two people who meet and they both have MB merchandise then they will know that they have that in common,” said the rapper.
“In some cases where the design is super nice even someone who’s never been exposed to the music will see the merchandise and say I want that t-shirt and when they find out that its related to a piece of art or to an artist, they might want to check that out at some point and you know, the family keeps growing,” he added.
To Sharky, music and fashion intertwine and one aides the other in terms of fuelling up expression as well as painting a whole bigger picture about the artist.
“The fashion is related to the music in terms of how it allows me to stand out. Hip-Hop is a foreign culture, so in trying as much as possible to bring it closer to home, I combine the usual hip-hop dressing such as your snapbacks, sneakers, and jeans with maybe some beads or an African print shirt,” he explained.
Sharky who released his debut album ‘Soko Matemai’ last year says this year his fans can look out for a few singles from him as most of his energy shall be directed towards some personal business.
“It’s a busy year for me because I’m handling some personal stuff on the side, but there are a couple of features already recorded which will be dropping to keep people from forgetting about me completely,” he said.
