Jericho Gawanab (born 21 May 1980), is a multiple award-winning Namibian

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

. He is regarded as the most successful hip hop artist in the country. He won the coveted Best Male Artist 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 ...

(2011) becoming the first hip hop artist to do so. After establishing Ghetto Child, his own record label, he rose to fame with the release of his debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Check Who's Back'' (2006). Gawanab, professionally known as Jericho, continued his success by releasing studio albums which include: ''Lights Out'' (2007); ''Street Fame'' (2010); ''Let Me Be Me'' (2014) which features major

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n rapper

Cassper Nyovest Refiloe Maele Phoolo (born 16 December 1990), professionally known as Cassper Nyovest, is a South African rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, record producer and amateur boxer. Born and raised in Mahikeng, North West, he is regarded as one of the ...

and the legendary

Hip Hop Pantsula Jabulani Tsambo (14 September 1980 – 24 October 2018), better known by his stage name Hip Hop Pantsula, later shortened to HHP, was a South African Motswako rapper (Motswakolista) who performed in several languages, mostly in Setswana. He was ...

; ''The Walls of Jericho'' (2016) and ''The Recovery'' (2020).

Early life

Jericho Jerome Gawanab was born 21 May 1980 in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

, the capital city of

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 ...

and was raised by his single mother in the city's dangerous

Katutura Katutura (Otjiherero for ''The place where people do not want to live'') is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which af ...

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

. In an article, Jericho stated that the street became his father and at the age of 18 he was sentenced to 5 years in prison. After being released in 2004, he pursued Hip Hop music even though the music industry was dominated by

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 career

2006: Check Who's Back

In 2006, Jericho established his own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, Ghetto Child and released his debut studio album Check Who's Back. He achieved major critical success with the album. His lead single, “Check Who’s Back”, was a reintroduction of himself on the scene after being incarcerated. The single was very well received and broke barriers for Hip Hop because

dominated the music industry. His second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, “Still Love You”, featuring Dixon was released and also received positive reviews.

2007: Lights Out

With the success of ''Check Who’s Back'', Jericho released his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

studio album, Lights Out. The album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, “Lights Out”, featuring Prolific Oracle was Jericho turning off the spotlight on the new rappers that emerged claiming to be the best rappers in the country. The second single, "To My Fans", was Jericho thanking his

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

for all their support and it received positive reviews. The third hit single “I’m Still Ghetto” was a reminder to everyone who claimed that Jericho changed since he became famous that he was still the same ghetto child.

2010: Street fame

Jericho's debut album sounded new and the sophomore album had the same energy and confidence. However, people were claiming that Jericho won't be able to release quality material again since it has been so long. This is when Jericho started working on a new album which he released in 2010 titled Street Fame produced by Araffath. It was critically acclaimed. The third studio album's title was to tell his

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

s that even though they try to cut him out of the music industry, he will always be famous in the streets because of the support he gets from his fans. Like in most cases with an artist's third album, it turned out to be the most ground breaking album. The lead single was “Heaven’s Missing Angel” followed by “Yabona” and then “He Ta Pa Te” featuring Tunakie and Max T which were all released with

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s shot by renowned

Ogopa Deejays Ogopa Deejays are a Kenyan music production team and record label formed in the late 1990s who gained regional fame and popularity due to standards of their production work. Background The people behind Ogopa DJs are brothers Francis and L ...

. The album was so well received that Jericho released two more singles “Helele” and “Say You Say Me” from the album. In 2011, Street Fame went on to win three awards at the 2011

including the coveted Best Male Artist which was the first ever time for a Hip Hop artist/album because the industry was dominated by Kwaito artists.

2014: Let Me Be Me

With the ground breaking success of ''Street Fame'', Jericho released his fourth major studio album, Let Me Be Me. The album received generally positive reviews. The album's lead single, “Let Me Be Me”, was Jericho telling critics to let him be. It was controversial because he had a

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with former

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Araffath. The second single, “Am I Dreaming”, was followed by “I'm Still Here” featuring Sally Boss Madam. The third single “We The Greatest” featuring Lil D, Sunny Boy and

The Dogg Martin Morocky (born 31 March 1983), known by his stage name as The Dogg (or King TeeDee), is a Namibian musician. Considered a kwaito artist, his debut album, '' Shimaliw' Osatana'', was released in 2004 to mixed reviews. The Dogg was part ...

. The fourth single Jericho released from the album “Los My Uit” was so huge because he collaborated with

and the legendary

superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

(HHP). This was followed by another monster hit “I Promise”.

2016: The Walls of Jericho

The name of the fifth studio album was inspired by the events in The Holy Bible. It has singles such as “Don't Change On Me”, it features Sunny Boy and

Exit Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange ...

on “Keep It Silent” and on “Starting All Ova” he features DJ Dozza. The album received mixed reviews.

2020: The Recovery

Jericho battled depression. He sought out GOD, decided to do away with his old life, repented and became born again. His fans supported him and encouraged him to work on his

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

. After a four-year hiatus from the music industry, Jericho made a comeback and released The Recovery. It spawned hit singles such as: "Shibobo”, “Khoeb Khoes”, “The Recovery”, “Omundu Ouandje” and “As Men We Can”. The album received positive reviews by critics and they praised Jericho's lyrical abilities.

Artistry

Style and rapping technique Critics have praised his ability of carrying a theme over his albums and his ability to

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

words in

Khoekhoe Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also '' Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 May 2018. Citing G. S. ...

his

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

. Jericho is one of the few artists who still write lyrics allowing cohesive story telling.

Feuds

Sanlam NBC Music Awards Jericho engaged in a public dispute with

Sanlam Sanlam is a South African financial services group headquartered in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. Sanlam is the largest insurance company in Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Music Awards because they allowed

who is a

artist and not a Hip Hop artist to enter the Best Rap category and win instead of a real Hip Hop artist such as himself. Black Vulcanite A rapper named Milk had beef with Jericho and released a diss track. When Jericho met Milk at a show, he got into a violent fight with Milk and Milk's friend, rapper Mark Mushiva jumped in to aid Milk. J-Black J-Black released a diss track which he claimed was aimed at rappers who haven't made a million dollars but claim to have made it in life. Jericho angrily confronted the rapper at a recording studio about the diss track. They sorted it out and squashed the beef. Araffath According to an article, after the ground breaking success of Street Fame, Jericho's third studio album, Araffath and Jericho had beef. The award-winning producer accused Jericho of failing to settle his studio fees but apparently they had a

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists distingu ...

agreement. It continues to say that the agreement was for Jericho to make a good album while Araffath gets the exposure he direly needed. Jericho raps about Araffath and other critics in the 2014

hit song A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

Let Me Be Me. Gazza Jericho engaged in another public beef with Gazza and Gazza Music Productions (GMP) artists. A deadly incident occurred which led to Jericho being hospitalised after getting into a violent fight with popular journalist and GMP employee, Chris-Paul “Krespo” Haingura. According to an article, during a GMP event where Jericho was booked to perform, he was being mistreated and when he complained about it to the organisers Krespo got into a deadly fight with Jericho and stabbed him with a broken bottle in the face and right hand. Jericho opened a case of

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

at NamPol against Krespo. Krespo however claimed that he too laid

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

charges against Jericho and said that he stabbed Jericho in

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

because Jericho hit him first. Jericho was quoted saying that he was hit by a car and then got beaten up by GMP artists known as Streetkidz as he lay on the street. According to the article, the incident happened at an event where took place in September 2010. Gazza said that GMP cannot be held responsible for running Jericho over nor for the violence against him by his employees in their individual capacity and wished Jericho a speedy recovery.

Controversies

Legal issues Jericho has

allegation In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions.

s against him that he assaulted his then girlfriend, his former business partner popularly known as “Webster”, Krespo and robbing a

Namibian Defence Force The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Namibia establ ...

soldier. According to an article, Jericho is busy clearing his name of all allegations against him.

Christianity

In 2018 Jericho decided to do away with his old life, repented and gave his life to God becoming born again. In an interview on The Tribe he stated that he moved out of Windhoek City to the town of

Karibib , nickname = , settlement_type = Town , motto = , image_skyline =Karibib aerial view.jpg , imagesize =300 , image_caption =Karibib aerial view 2017 , image_flag = , ...

Awards

• 2011 ''Best Rap/Hip-Hop (Street Fame)'' • 2011 ''Best Producer (Street Fame)'' • 2011 ''Best Male Artist (Street Fame)''

Discography

• 2006 ''Check Who’s Back'' • 2007 ''Lights Out'' • 2010 ''Street Fame'' • 2014 ''Let Me Be Me'' • 2016 ''The Walls of Jericho'' • 2020 ''The Recovery''

References

1. Gordon, J. (2013). ''Breaking Down Jericho's Walls''
Namibian Sun
2. Mupetami, L. (2014). ''Jericho Pleads 'Let Me Be Me
The Namibian
3. Kaakunga, R. (2016). ''Jericho Rebuilds 'The Walls of Jericho' to Drop a Classic''
The Namibian
4. Nakaziko, P. (2021). ''Jericho revives career with Recovery album''
The Namibian
5. Kathindi, A. (2014). ''Mark Mushiva, the black narcissist''
The Villager
6. Haingura, C. ''J-Black kisses J-Twizz''. Retrieved from https://www.thevillager.com.na/articles/521/J-Black-kisses-J-Twizz 7. Haingura, C. (2013). ''Araffath and fall of Jericho bond''
The Villager
8. Angula, C. (2010
The Namibian
9. (2020.). ''Jericho beats court case''
NAlebrity
10. Che Ulenga. (2021). The Tribe Exclusive With Jericho
The Tribe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jericho Damara people Namibian hip hop musicians 1980 births Living people Musicians from Windhoek