Lazarus Shiimi (born 10 March 1977), known by his stage name Gazza, is a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n musician.

Career

Born in

Oshikuku Oshikuku is a town in Omusati Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of Oshikuku Constituency. Oshikuku features a secondary school, Nuuyoma Senior Secondary School, and a hospital. Its neighbouring villages are Outapi, El ...

,Tonchi, Victor, L.; Lindeke, William A.; Grotpeter, John J. (2012) ''Historical Dictionary of Namibia'', Scarecrow Press, , p. 136 Gazza grew up in a family of seven. As a soccer lover, he nicknamed himself Gazza after famous English soccer player Paul Gascoigne. After completing high school he went to study marketing at Boston Business College in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa where he advanced his love for

Kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...

music. His music can be defined as a mix of several influences namely

kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...

, dancehall,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, and hip hop, and his lyrics are about township life. Gazza toured the United States and Canada, performing in Canada and shooting his reality TV show in New York and Los Angeles as well as a music video called ''Wambo in New York'', making the first Namibian artist to shoot a video and reality show in America. He became the first Namibian artist to have a reality show on the Namibian Broadcasting Channel NBC, named ''Just Whyling''. He received a car endorsement by KIA MOTORS. To date, he has released 19 albums. His 10th album titled ''Ondjila – Long Journey'' was launched at The Hage Geingob Stadium on 11 October 2014. Gazza also serves as a Goodwill Ambassador of Education sanctioned by the Ministry of Education,Gazza Goes Kwaito Again
, ''Namibia Economist'', 1 February 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2018 and as an Ambassador for Team Namibia, as well as the Back To School Campaign (at the office of the Prime Minister). In 2016 he took part in a

United Nations Information Centre United Nations Information Centres (UNIC) is an organization which was established in 1946. Its headquarters is situated at New York, USA, and it currently works worldwide in 63 countries. These centres are managed by the United Nations to exchan ...

Windhoek campaign to get people to save water by taking shorter showers. Gazza owns Gazza Music Productions, which releases music by Tequila and Dj Shoza, and a clothing line. 2009 saw him launching a range of nine different flavoured sparkling

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

branded "G-fresh". His twelfth full-length album, ''Misunderstood'', was set for release in November 2018.

Discography

*''Tanauka'' (2004) *''Zula to Survive'' (2004) *''Stof-Lap Chikapute'' (2005) *''467/GMP Till I Die'' (2007) *''Still The King'' (2008) *''Cosa Nostra: Lafamilia'' (2009) *''Seelima'' (2011) *''Boss'' (2011) *''Blood, Sweat and Tears'' (2013) *''Ondjila'' (Long journey) (2015) *''Pumumu'' (2016) *''Misunderstood'' (2018) *''Road to Messiah'' (2021)

Awards

Gazza won an award for best Kwaito Music Video at the Channel O Spirit of Africa Music Awards held in Johannesburg. JCC Namibia also honoured him with the most outstanding young Namibian Award shortly after his return from South Africa. His 2005 album ''Stof-Lap Chikapute'' saw him receive a total of 10 musical awards in one year - six Sanlam NBC Music Awards, three Namibia music awards, and a best performance award by the city of Windhoek in 2006. This is the most awards received by a Namibian artist in one year. In 2006 he received six awards at the Sanlam NBC Music Awards 2006, including Artist of the Year. He also won three awards at the Namibia Music Awards (NAMAS). He won a

Channel O Channel O is a South African-based music channel which first started transmission in 1997. Its main concept is African music in Africa and the diaspora. Channel O can be accessed via DStv, a satellite pay TV service for pan-African households. T ...

African Music Award for Best Kwaito for his hit song "Mokasie" in 2007. ''Cosa Nostra: Lafamilia''won three awards at the

Namibian Annual Music Awards The Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMA) ceremony was the biggest awards ceremony in Namibia. It was established in 2011 by MTC Namibia and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). They would award a NAMA trophy to musicians in recognition ...

(NAMAs) with "Shukusha" from the album winning 'Best Music Video of the year 2011'. ''The Boss'' album won three NAMAs in 2013, best house, best music video and best collaboration with Cho Cho, L'vovo, Bah,

Big Nuz Big Nuz was a South African Kwaito trio from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, founded in 2002. The group was composed of three members known by their stage names Mampintsha, R Mashesha, and Danger. History 2003–2006: Early years The founding membe ...

and Shota. The album ''

Blood Sweat and Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura Ny ...

'' saw him win two awards at the Namibian Music Awards (NAMAS), including Male Artist of the Year and Best Video for the song "Kwateni Omnona". In 2017, he won four Namibia Annual Music Awards (NAMA) - Male Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Album of the Year (for ''Pumumu''), and a Special Recognition Award for his contribution to the Namibian Music industry over the past 15 years.Gazza sweeps at 2017 NAMAs
", lelamobile.com, 30 April 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2018

References

fia(2022) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gazza 20th-century Namibian male singers Living people 1977 births Kwaito musicians People from Oshana Region 21st-century Namibian male singers