Australia is opening up for dancehall: Slicker 1

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AUSTRALIA-based dancehall chanter Slicker 1 — real name Larry Makombe — boasts of being one of the foreigners who pioneered dancehall into the Australian showbiz scene which is dominated with hip-hop, pop, rock‘ n’ roll and R n’B.
Slicker 1

By Sindiso Dube

AUSTRALIA-based dancehall chanter Slicker 1 — real name Larry Makombe — boasts of being one of the foreigners who pioneered dancehall into the Australian showbiz scene which is dominated with hip-hop, pop, rock‘ n’ roll and R n’B.

The self-proclaimed Australian king of dancehall, Slicker 1, who left Zimbabwe at the age of 18, has opened the stage for the likes of Jamaican Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Dermaco, Cecil, Winky D and Jah Prayzah in Australia.

“Dancehall is a genre that’s growing in Australia as compared to Zimbabwe, where it’s the dominant one. The genres is most common with foreigners, but through the efforts we have been making the locals are slowly catching up and the media and radio stations are being tolerant now.

“The names that are widely known here are Vybz Kartel, Elephant Man, Beenie Man, Konshens and Sean Paul, among others. Myself, Dizzy Dee and the late Apprentice (Australian) were the pioneers of dancehall in Australia and the effort we have done so far has seen great appreciation and recognition,” said Slicker 1.

About his rise in Australia, Slicker 1 said:

“I have been doing my own shows in Australia and the support I receive is humbling and inspires me to do more. These shows have made me a household name and the king of dancehall since 2014 such that I feature on every high-profile gig here by a foreigner,” he said.

The 29-year-old musician attended Bradley Secondary School in Bindura and St Magadalene High School in Inyanga before moving to Australia for his university studies where he graduated with a degree in Business Management.

He is currently working on his second album After Culture Shocked, which features productions by Cymplex, Fantan of Chillspot Records and some Australian producers and chanters.

Slicker is famed for a video he did with Freeman dubbed One More Time which was shot in Dubai.