By Style reporter
Local hip-hop star King 98 says collaborations have given impetus to his rising career, amid revelations that the youthful crooner is mulling over joining forces with Winky D in a duet that should come out before the end of the year.
Collaborations have provided breakthrough opportunities for the 21-year-old former Watershed College student.
With less than a year on the musical scene, King 98 has carved a niche for himself in the cut-throat music industry, releasing a debut album titled Francesca last month, coupled by follow-up shows in neighbouring Zambia and Mozambique.
Next week, he travels to Nigeria for schmoozing with fellow artistes in the West African country and he will also record a single with Omoniyi Temidayo Raphael, aka Zlatan, a popular Nigerian rapper.
In an interview with Standard Style on Thursday, King 98, who is riding high with his recently released video of the song Wacko which he did alongside South African hip-hop sensation Nasty C and Mozambican award-winning rapper Edson Abel Jeremias Tchamo, aka Laylizzy, described collaborations as key to his career.
“I believe in the power of collaborations, hence my decision to rope in top guys on the continent on my debut album Francesca,” King 98 said.
“Collaborations are one of the biggest creative forces driving music today. And who am I to say no? My dream collaboration would be with Winky D and it’s something that I aspire to do this year. Winky D is humble and is someone who I can learn a lot from.”
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Last year, the Defeat singer travelled to Canada, where he shared the stage with Winky D and DJ Silence Dosh at the Impala Car Rental Africa-Canada Summer Festival in Toronto.
“I had a brief interaction with Winky D and I found out that he is someone who does not blow his own trumpet, but a brother who is willing to assist. I think I can do a collaboration with him,” he said.
In January, King 98 roped in Nigerian David “Davido” Adeleke on the track No Bad Vibes, which is also featured on the album Francesca and the track is now a hit, receiving rave airplay on radio stations in Zimbabwe and South Africa, while the video of the song is a regular feature on regional television channels Channel O and Trace Africa.
However, it is the video of the track Wacko that was released on Friday that has caused a sensation. Within 30 minutes of release, the video had 167 views, a feat the youngster attributed to the power of collaborations.
“Working with Nasty C, Davido and Ex-Q opened up a whole new world of sounds, styles and opportunities for me. Featuring these brothers in my work also allowed me to pool fan bases from these artistes’ respective countries,” he said.
Ex-Q is featured on the track Shoko and the duo is working on a video that is coming out soon.
“We shot part of the video in South Africa and in Zimbabwe with Ex-Q and it is coming out soon. In the meantime, we are giving time to the video Wacko which I believe is a masterpiece,” King 98 said.
King 98 refuted claims that he was riding on his father’s “purse” that has seen him writing a fairytale on the music scene in a short space of time.
“Every father has the right to support their child, but in my case my father is riding on my talent. He saw the talent in me and decided to support that. I don’t think Davido, Nasty C as well as foreign promoters would have wanted to be associated with me if I was not talented,” he said.
“The problem with the Zimbabwean music industry is that people pursue personal issues at the expense of talent. Our industry is different from that of Zambia and South Africa, where it’s all about promoting talent.”
King 98 said he had recently sold-out shows in Zambia and Mozambique where promoters are jostling for an “encore”.
“Promoters in Zambia and Mozambique want me to come back following my maiden shows in their respective countries. I am surprised the Mozambicans were jumping around despite me singing in English and that shows how they appreciate music,” he said.
“I am going to Nigeria to promote my music, share ideas with musicians in that country as well as record a single with Zylatan. From there, I will be in South Africa to promote my album Francesca.”
His manager DJ Simz expressed his gratitude to local fans who have rallied behind King 98.
“The King 98 brand is growing because of you fans. We salute you! A lot of things are in store for you and King 98 is working flat out to give you the best. His album Francesca is now available online and on CDs, but above all, his latest video is available on YouTube,” DJ Simz.
King 98 made his debut on the mainstream music scene in style when he launched his single titled Defeat on the regional urban music channel MTV Base in July last year.
