Slapdee is one of the pioneers of hip-hop in Zambia. He started out in 2006, and he’s managed to stay on top ever since.
He says it’s all about staying in tune with the younger ones, the future fans.
“Every other artist will focus on the people coming to their shows, but you need to also focus on the ones coming up under them, the ones that can’t get in.
“They have more passion because they are dying to see you, and the day they turn 18 or are legally able to go to the clubs, you’re the first person they want to vibe to.”
Slapdee has been willing to change his sound to appeal to his target audience, and doesn’t care too much about his critics.
“Sometimes my own friends say: ‘ Yo, Slapdee, why are you making this childish music?’
“And I’m like: ‘Bro it’s business!’
“You’ve got to know what you’re aiming for. For instance if you are targeting ninth graders now, it’ll take another three years to see the fruits.”
Slapdee has children of his own now, but when he was the age of the kids he is wooing, life was very tough for him.
Both of his parents died in a car crash when he was very young, and by the time he was 17 he was living independently in one of Lusaka’s roughest neighbourhoods.
“I’ve done almost every street job there is in Lusaka, I’ve sold fritters, ice blocks, you name it.
“I’ve done check your weight where you just walk around with a body scale, I’ve stolen stuff, I’ve done all the crazy stuff there is to do.
“I used to ask God like: ‘Why would you put me in this position?’ I’d go into a corner and cry sometimes: ‘Why me?’”
But Slapdee didn’t allow despair or self-pity to swallow him up. He realised that he could turn his disadvantage into an asset.
“That was all content. I think the universe was preparing me for greatness – not that I am the greatest!
“My first three albums were basically about my hustles, and to date I think the influence I have is because of my story. It inspires people.”
Source: BBC
