Behind the beats with DJ Chronic

Unknown to many, he's one of Namibia's best kept secrets with his edgy and masterful beats.
Michael Kayunde
The best and biggest songs are usually collaborative efforts. But in most cases, the vocalists take the lead from the producers or composers. We have seen many talented artists fall short of reaching their potential owing to the inability to find the right production. So tjil salutes the undercover heroes who keep bringing the heat. We present to you the Namibia Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) Best Producer of the Year for 2019 DJ Chronic, real name Lucas Kambinda.

He has production credits on Lize Ehlers, and Exit's latest album, projects he maintains he enjoyed working on. For DJ Chronic aligning with such big names means he is in the right direction. “Even before winning Best Producer of the Year at the NAMAs I already knew I am a winner in my own right because I have worked and impressed the biggest artists in the country,” said DJ Chronic.

Besides being a producer DJ Chronic is also an author of the book From Zero to Hundred Grand. He wrote and published the book last year. “I made N$100 000 last year from selling beats and studio time alone so I decided to document that achievement in a form of a book.

“I lost all of it because I invested it in an industry that did not pay back. It was my biggest mistake because I was supposed to invest in in my art by purchasing new music equipment, but you live and you learn,” he shared.

He mentioned Arrafath, Elvo, Andrew on the Beat, DJ Kboz, MJay and Dr Dre as some of the producers whose work he admires for their renowned production styles. He shared that after completing his high school he could not pursue tertiary education because of financial issues. “I could not go to university and I had to take care of my mother and siblings and music was the outlet for me to do that.

“I use Fruity Loops (FL) Studio to make beats, a software many only consider to be for beginners but it is not about the software it is about your passion,” he said.

On what separates his production style from other producers, DJ Chronic mentioned that it is the patient he is when creating beats. “Every producer has their own style of doing things. I do not like rushing the creative process. Many people will also tell you that artists and producers need to drink and smoke for inspiration, I do not do any of that,” he said.

Since 2017, DJ Chronic has produced so many hits it's almost unbelievable and has had the highest played songs on radio at different times of the year. “I also give credit to the artists I work with; they take my beats and really make good songs out of these beats,” he said.

MICHAEL KAYNDE

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Namibian Sun 2024-05-12

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 360.52/OZ UP +0.59% | Copper US$ 4.62/lb UP +1.13% | Zinc US$ 2 961.00/T DOWN -0.06% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 83.21/BBP DOWN -0.0171 | Platinum US$ 995.62/OZ UP +1.05% Sport results: Premier League: Nottingham Forest 2 vs 3 Chelsea | Newcastle 1 vs 1 Brighton | Wolves 1 vs 3 Crystal Palace | Everton 1 vs 0 Sheffield United | West Ham 3 vs 1 Luton Town | Bournemouth 1 vs 2 Brentford | Tottenham Hotspur 2 vs 1 Burnley | Fulham 0 vs 4 Manchester City LaLiga: Athletic Club 2 vs 2 Osasuna | Granada 0 vs 4 Real Madrid | Villarreal 3 vs 2 Sevilla | Mallorca 1 vs 0 Las Palmas | Deportivo Alaves 2 vs 2 Girona SerieA: SS Lazio 2 vs 0 Empoli | AC Milan 5 vs 1 Cagliari | Napoli 0 vs 2 Bologna | Frosinone 0 vs 5 Inter Milan European Championships Qualifying: Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United English Championship: Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United Weather: Katima Mulilo: 15° | 33° Rundu: 15° | 32° Eenhana: 14° | 34° Oshakati: 16° | 32° Ruacana: 16° | 33° Tsumeb: 17° | 31° Otjiwarongo: 13° | 29° Omaruru: 16° | 31° Windhoek: 14° | 27° Gobabis: 15° | 28° Henties Bay: 14° | 20° Wind speed: 20km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 12:02, High tide: 06:03, Low Tide: 00:33, High tide: 18:39 Swakopmund: 15° | 16° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 12:00, High tide: 06:01, Low Tide: 00:31, High tide: 18:37 Walvis Bay: 15° | 23° Wind speed: 31km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 12:00, High tide: 06:00, Low Tide: 00:31, High tide: 18:36 Rehoboth: 15° | 29° Mariental: 20° | 31° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 31° Aranos: 17° | 30° Lüderitz: 12° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 18° | 33° Oranjemund: 10° | 23° Luanda: 25° | 27° Gaborone: 15° | 27° Lubumbashi: 15° | 29° Mbabane: 14° | 19° Maseru: 8° | 23° Antananarivo: 12° | 25° Lilongwe: 16° | 27° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 14° | 27° Cape Town: 13° | 22° Durban: 18° | 22° Johannesburg: 14° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 17° | 28° Harare: 14° | 27° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23 | EUR to NAD 19.82 | CNY to NAD 2.55 | USD to NAD 18.41 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.31 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.68 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.56 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.06 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.6 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1439.8 | USD to ZAR 18.44 | USD to ZMW 26.75 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 78464.25 Up +1.19% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1754.6 Up +1.22% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13527.01 Up +0.36% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 26003.16 Up +0.05% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 360.52/OZ UP +0.59% | Copper US$ 4.62/lb UP +1.13% | Zinc US$ 2 961.00/T DOWN -0.06% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 83.21/BBP DOWN -0.0171 | Platinum US$ 995.62/OZ UP +1.05%