Rapper D-Jay Back With a Bang

After a year-long sabbatical during which he produced music in seclusion, rapper D-Jay will make his first public appearance at the Lifestyle Experience event at Acacia Park at Otjiwarongo next Saturday.

Born in Windhoek and raised in the United States, where he lived with his Namibian parents until he reached high school age, D-Jay made a name for himself as one of the coolest and most original rappers around.

Born Diogene Ochs, D-Jay caused quite a commotion when he hit the Namibian music scene like an active volcano.

“My interest in music was born in America, where I spent most of my teen years. We were first based in Nebraska before we moved to Iowa, where my love and interest for music just heated up,” he says.

“We started recording demos on cassettes. I was actually inspired by the likes of Bow Wow and Lil Wayne, who were young rappers in the United States. Seasoned stars like Snoop Dogg and LL Cool J also played a role.”

He says the poetry classes they had at school in the United States drastically shaped his songwriting skills.

“Returning to Namibia, where I resumed my high school, I was lucky that the hip-hop mania was just heating up, with young artists like Catty Catt, Kannibal and Jericho at the forefront of the hype,” explains D-Jay.