Namibian stars praise 081every1Fest

Afroberries

The female duo DJs were amongst the first to perform at the festival and both ladies agreed that it was a great success. DJ Maggz said she was honoured to have been part of the line-up with other world-class artists. DJ Alba said the hospitality provided for them was the cherry on the cake and that she was privileged to have been part of the team.

“MTC really outdid themselves. The event was well organised from get-go. We thought we would be performing for security guards only but there were people from the get-go and that was exciting,” they said.



Adora

Songbird Adora said the festival is likely to have been the biggest platform she has performed at thus far. Adora, who performed her new album single Akutiike Kwi, said she couldn't get over the royal treatment she and the rest of the artists received… there was a point she requested strawberries and pineapples… which she received.

“I genuinely want to thank all the stakeholders involved. Yes, there were a few hiccups from my team but we pulled it together. It made me feel appreciated and many should learn from this,” she said.



Backoz

The Damara Punch artist reminisced on sharing the stage with Gazza again, as they have done so in the past. He says the festival is a celebration for him being in the industry for a good 20 years and witnessing it as an artist. He applauded the organisers for taking the event to the people in Katutura and he says it should go down in history as a triumph. He suggested that MTC take the next event, should there be one, out of Windhoek. “It was a prestigious event. I was a late addition but I'm not disappointed. I performed with Gazza in 2005 and now again in 2018. The fact that it started with our people and spiralled out to Africa, that was a brilliant idea,” said Backoz.



Gazza

Gazza, who performed his hit track Piki Piki with Nigerian artist Davido, said the event brought exposure 'on another level' and opportunity for the artists. He says there is much to learn for Namibia having a young industry compared to the rest of Africa and the world in terms of increasing booking fees and rates. According to him, this makes one comfortable and that's one way of them putting on stellar performances.

“The show was well organised and we had blue-light escorts. The ushering at my room was another thing, I didn't even know if it was really my room but these are things that can be worked on, should this be an annual event,” he said.



4x4 Too Much Power

The group, represented by member Fan Fan, thanked Namibian artists for their astonishing performances. Fan Fan says he enjoyed performances from Busiswa, Heavy K and Jah Prayzah as international acts. He believes his group did a great job and despite them performing in the day, the audience got their money's worth. “Winning awards or your songs playing on radio doesn't mean one can entertain the crowd and I always tell Namibian artists this. Those ones (Davido and Runtown) are CD sellers. Thanks MTC, the show was a success,” he said.

PDK

The trio, who had the chance to perform twice featuring Castro, said they enjoyed the whole event - more especially the chosen venue saying it was everyone's venue. Dion, speaking on behalf of the group praised fellow local artists for putting on fire performances in his words, as usual.

He urged MTC to continue supporting the arts and consider making the event an annual one.

“I can't remember the last time we had an event of this magnitude. I had high expectations of Jah Prayzah

but I mean not everyone has to put on an electrifying performance like PKD,” concluded Dion with a joke.

June Shimuoshili