Zimbabwean hip-hop artist Karizma strikes a deal with MTV
Having Karizma goes a long way.
Tinashe Sahanga, a Zimbabwean born hip-hop artist is making his mark in the music industry on a global scale.
Since getting a taste for success from his first deal with Big Brother Africa in 2013 Karizma has been pushing for opportunities.
Hard work most certainly pays off and he was shortly thereafter featured on BBC’s 1 Xtra Talent which puts the spotlight on rising stars. He is, after all, rated among the top rising hip-hop artists in Zimbabwe.
Shuga Shuga how you get so fly?
Debuting in 2009 on MTV Base as part of the “MTV staying alive ignite” social initiative, Shuga has since seen tremendous success.
In partnership with the governments of Kenya and Nigeria, Shuga and other “MTV Staying alive ignite” shows are part of a campaign aimed to create social awareness in terms of sexual responsibility, gender-based violence and other social issues.
The show was a hit and started airing across 40 African countries and can now be seen internationally on more than 100 TV stations.
This brings us back to Karizma.
Now in its 6th season, Shuga has thus far featured 2 songs by Karizma, namely ‘Shisha Pipe’ and ‘Hausati Wamboon.’ They plan to employ more of his songs in the future.
Karizma had this to say about his pivotal achievement:
“As far as I know I am the first Zimbabwean artist to ever have music featured on this production. I hope other artists are looking at this and feeling inspired or seeing it as a possibility for their music to do the same.”
This is a huge feat for talented musicians from “lesser-known” countries. For those artists who feel it impossible to achieve international success based on your location, take a note from someone who pushed and put in the work and is now reaping the benefits.
