In a 57-minute interview on Monday (October. 5), Trevor Ncube sat down with the Zim-dancehall gaffer, Winky D for a lengthy, wide-ranging discussion about his humble beginnings in Kambuzuma, his creative process, his roots in Zim-dancehall et cetera
We summarized the conversation and below are the biggest takeaways
Wink D on being socially awkward and whether he lives in a shell
"I don't think I live in a shell. Maybe, we look at things differently but as far as my social media handles are concerned, we give people updates on everything concerning the Winky D brand as it happens. It's not a page where by I take my camera with me whenever I m going somewhere to eat Sadza, and say alright, let me take it to the world that I'm eating Sadza. I have made sure that it's a platform for me to send my message concerning the business side of Winky D as a brand."
Winky D on why he does not respond to social media conversations
"It's very difficult to respond because, most of the things that circulate are rumors but when people want to hear our side of the story and approach me, we are free. We have always been doing that from the beginning of my career until today."
Winky D on growing up in Kambuzuma
"Growing up in the dusty roads of Kambuzuma was like an education that I couldn't get from the physical schools. There were so many lessons from kindergarten up until I was a grown man. The challenges that we faced were lessons, they made me who I m today. I give credit to the struggle, you might not enjoy the situation but it hardened me and made me a stronger person at the end of the day. If ever I'm to be in that particular situation again, it won't be an alien situation to myself, I know how to hold on to the ropes and sail through."
Winky D on discovering his passion and talent
"I think the anointing was there from birth, but as an individual, It was the early stages of my primary school. I used to have a collection of tapes and vinyl at the age of 10. I think that's were it all started."
Njema was influenced by a book titled "The Willie Lynch Letter: The Making of a Slave" by Willie Lynch. Njema means that we are prisoners of ourselves. In most cases, our habits become the cell block so we have to think outside the box and do away with certain things. Njema is not a Political album, "...it's about us as a people, taking for example the way religion is structured worldwide. It seems like religion brought morals to the people but we had our morals pre religion. The only difference is, with religion the morals were written down. People need to look in the past to find answers about the future."
The song "Twenty Five" is social commentary and not political issues.
Kasong kejecha is not a political song but the phrase is street lingo.
About Winky D's his music transition from Reggae to Dancehall
"Music evolves so you have to move with the pace. When we started, most of our songs were made on instrumentals produced in Jamaica. With growth, we wanted to appeal to a wider market, so we changed the sound and put elements that people actually relate to.
Feedback influences his music direction. As a creator, he identifies what the market needs and he supplies it.
Winky D is free to have a collaboration with anyone as long as they have a good song on their hands. He is big on astronomy as evidenced by his songs Area 51 and the album Extra terrestrial.
Watch the whole conversation between Winky D and Trevor below.
Wink D on being socially awkward and whether he lives in a shell
"I don't think I live in a shell. Maybe, we look at things differently but as far as my social media handles are concerned, we give people updates on everything concerning the Winky D brand as it happens. It's not a page where by I take my camera with me whenever I m going somewhere to eat Sadza, and say alright, let me take it to the world that I'm eating Sadza. I have made sure that it's a platform for me to send my message concerning the business side of Winky D as a brand."
Winky D on why he does not respond to social media conversations
"It's very difficult to respond because, most of the things that circulate are rumors but when people want to hear our side of the story and approach me, we are free. We have always been doing that from the beginning of my career until today."
Winky D on growing up in Kambuzuma
"Growing up in the dusty roads of Kambuzuma was like an education that I couldn't get from the physical schools. There were so many lessons from kindergarten up until I was a grown man. The challenges that we faced were lessons, they made me who I m today. I give credit to the struggle, you might not enjoy the situation but it hardened me and made me a stronger person at the end of the day. If ever I'm to be in that particular situation again, it won't be an alien situation to myself, I know how to hold on to the ropes and sail through."
Winky D on discovering his passion and talent
"I think the anointing was there from birth, but as an individual, It was the early stages of my primary school. I used to have a collection of tapes and vinyl at the age of 10. I think that's were it all started."
Winky D grew up in the same neighborhood with his management team and crew members including Bartholomew Vera and Banda. They were all influenced by a dancehall lifestyle. Winky D and Banda had a sound system crew called Super Yuts where his moniker Winky D comes from, which means Wicked DJ. Super Yuts collected vinyl and played at the local neighborhood backyard parties. Around 2001, Banda went to university and Winky D teamed up with Gary B to form another crew called Darkchild. Winky D was once a TV presenter. His Dad was a great Mbira player. His biggest music Influences are Beanie Man and the late Oliver Mtukudzi.
Njema Album meaning
Njema Album meaning
Njema was influenced by a book titled "The Willie Lynch Letter: The Making of a Slave" by Willie Lynch. Njema means that we are prisoners of ourselves. In most cases, our habits become the cell block so we have to think outside the box and do away with certain things. Njema is not a Political album, "...it's about us as a people, taking for example the way religion is structured worldwide. It seems like religion brought morals to the people but we had our morals pre religion. The only difference is, with religion the morals were written down. People need to look in the past to find answers about the future."
The song "Twenty Five" is social commentary and not political issues.
"We are ambitious growing up and have a plan.. go to school, go to university and get a steady job around 24.. 25 years but reality strikes when you get to 30 years still holding on to the same wish and same dreams, without anything materializing, so basically that's what inspired the song."
Kasong kejecha is not a political song but the phrase is street lingo.
"When street lingo get's into the parliament, it doesn't change the definition of the phrase. They might use the word in a different way from the streets but It's just social commentary at it's best. People might interpret things the wrong way and I have no control on that. It is the street language being grabbed by different sections of the country and redefining it in their own ways."
About Winky D's his music transition from Reggae to Dancehall
"Music evolves so you have to move with the pace. When we started, most of our songs were made on instrumentals produced in Jamaica. With growth, we wanted to appeal to a wider market, so we changed the sound and put elements that people actually relate to.
Feedback influences his music direction. As a creator, he identifies what the market needs and he supplies it.
Winky D on the origins of Zim-dancehall and whether he is the pioneer
"I can say maybe I took it (Zim-dancehall) to a higher level but the term started around 2000, 2001. Before the name, other Zimbabwean artists did what we are doing today. The likes of Yappie Bantan and Mulga Man did tracks in the 90's but they had no specific name, they just called it Dancehall. With the new blood, referring to ourselves, ...I got a call from Jusa (Dementor) around 2003 and he suggested that we need to give a name to this music that we are creating. Jusa is based in the UK and I was here in Zimbabwe so, he had exposure and realized that we could not continue moving the Jamaican path, we needed our own identity. I said to him "Muno muZimbabwe, tomati Mangoma isu.." then he replied, I'm thinking of calling it Zim-dancehall. I think there was Jusa and Sluggy Yut from three wise man. From that point on, they established a website Zimdancehall.com, the dancehall that was being produced in Zimbabwe was then uploaded to this website. Zim-dancehall awards were established around 2007, and the first locally based Zimbabwean to get the award was King Labash for the song Kukonzeresa. I received the award in 2008 for Rokesheni. If I was to put a mark and say this is were it officially started, I would say the website zimdancehall.com
"I can say maybe I took it (Zim-dancehall) to a higher level but the term started around 2000, 2001. Before the name, other Zimbabwean artists did what we are doing today. The likes of Yappie Bantan and Mulga Man did tracks in the 90's but they had no specific name, they just called it Dancehall. With the new blood, referring to ourselves, ...I got a call from Jusa (Dementor) around 2003 and he suggested that we need to give a name to this music that we are creating. Jusa is based in the UK and I was here in Zimbabwe so, he had exposure and realized that we could not continue moving the Jamaican path, we needed our own identity. I said to him "Muno muZimbabwe, tomati Mangoma isu.." then he replied, I'm thinking of calling it Zim-dancehall. I think there was Jusa and Sluggy Yut from three wise man. From that point on, they established a website Zimdancehall.com, the dancehall that was being produced in Zimbabwe was then uploaded to this website. Zim-dancehall awards were established around 2007, and the first locally based Zimbabwean to get the award was King Labash for the song Kukonzeresa. I received the award in 2008 for Rokesheni. If I was to put a mark and say this is were it officially started, I would say the website zimdancehall.com
Winky D is free to have a collaboration with anyone as long as they have a good song on their hands. He is big on astronomy as evidenced by his songs Area 51 and the album Extra terrestrial.
Watch the whole conversation between Winky D and Trevor below.