2021’s breakout star

WINDHOEKMICHAEL KAYUNDEWith a track record that could impress anyone willing to pay attention, elia da vincii continues to develop himself on all levels. The song writing, the singing, the rapping and the business have all been checked. Following the release of his remarkable ‘Rock the Boat’ episode on Ngandu TV on YouTube recently, his career just keeps moving forward.The music that has catapulted him into the mainstream is derived from his 2020 album ‘I Am Who I Am’. Speaking on the positive response this body of work continues to enjoy, elia da vincii told tjil that music usually takes time to be properly consumed, but not the ‘I Am Who I Am’ album.“Immediately after a fellow brother or sister (fans) got themselves a copy they would reach out to me and congratulate me in such a way that made it feel like I wrote the Namibian music bible,” he said.Sonically, the Afro sound is the foundation of most of his songs, with an addition of pop, rap, R&B, kwaito, trap or samba on top of that, depending on what the idea is.So far, he has three projects to his name: ‘The I Playlist’ and ‘I Am Who I Am’, which both dropped in 2020, and the third is the collaboration EP ‘Taboo’ with producer SkArii, which was released on Valentine’s Day this year.With his last solo album being eight months old yet still getting new release treatment in the industry, we asked how this affects the release schedule of the new music he has been working on.He replied: “I understand how music works and the music I put out is like wine, the older it gets the better it becomes.“I like to keep my cards close to my chest so I’m not ready to talk about my next play, thus I would like us to keep sharing the album to all non-believers and play it for ourselves because I believe we still learn something new from the music every day as everything has a double meaning to it.”On what informs what he writes about, the musician mentioned where he’s from, social issues, the people who raised him and, most importantly, his life.“There is nothing new under the sun - I love that expression because I am obsessed with knowledge and wisdom so I read a lot and listen to people I consider wise and this inspires the music I make,” shared elia da vincii. He believes his music is a conduit to fill his listeners with courage and drive to pursue their dreams. He emphasised that if we all woke up with the power to take the first step toward pursuing our dreams, every shrink in the directory would be out of business, prisons would be empty and there would be less alcohol and drug addiction.He references himself as being a perfect example of this as he doesn’t consume alcohol or any performance-enhancing drugs. “Most people I tell this can’t comprehend it because they feel my energy and singing abilities are not natural. My best advice is to look in your own heart. Unless I'm crazy, right now a still small voice is whispering, telling you as it has ten thousand times, the calling that is yours and yours alone. You know it.“No one has to tell you. Unless I’m crazy, you're not closer to taking action on it than you were yesterday or will be tomorrow. You think fear isn't real? It will bury you.”The acme of his career thus far entails performing live with The Generalz Band, his personal growth as an artist and looking at how far he has come to meet people who see the vision – his brothers and sisters (the fans) and, most importantly, the healthy working relationship he has with his team.“Performing with The Generalz Band is in the top five of my highlights of my music journey. Those guys understand me and my music; we work in harmony like we have known each other for a long time.”Concluding the interview with tjil, he explained that he added the suffix ‘da vincii’ to his name because he believes if you want to be great, you have to associate yourself with great people, men of change and innovation. “I am just a vessel of the universe or God; this entity speaks through me, I’m just a body doing the work.”

2021’s breakout star

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-04

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2021’s breakout star

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-04

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