Manxebe bags international feature for ‘On to the Top’

Namibian musician Manxebe is back with a bang, dropping a sizzling banger with South African hip-hop artist Emtee and his label signee Lolli Native.

The three minute 27 second track is a slight deviation from the local artist’s typical sound, in which he blends his usual kwaito flow with a soft hip-hop beat and elements trap.

The music video – with close to 20 000 views on its first day – mixes well with the song, as the three go back and forth on their verse.

The catchy hook undeniably brings the symphony together.

Manxebe says working with Emtee and his crew was easy. The two connected when he came to Namibia to promote the release of his album ‘Logan’ in 2021.

From there, they performed together at the coast, were seen hanging out and were rumoured to be working on music together.

After hopping on a plane to South Africa in June earlier this year to shoot visual content, their fate was sealed.

“It was smooth, no bad vibes. We worked as brothers,” he tells us, adding that it doesn’t stop there.

More music is on the way as not only has Manxebe recorded more songs with the South African label, he is also in preparation mode for dropping his next project.

“I’m still dropping another music video with the Emtee Records crew in October,” he says of working with Lolli Native, who is also steadily rising as a musician in his home country.

And though Manxebe cannot give us a date yet for the release of his upcoming album, he tells us he is hard at work collaborating with local and international artists on his journey of making music.

Manxebe’s career has seen massive growth since his appearance in the industry as the driving force of new-age Namibian kwaito music.

From being Sunny Boy’s backup dancer, to picking the microphone up himself and working with mates like King Tee Dee and One Blood, the vocalist has a proven track record as a hitmaker and an artist who understands what his audience wants to hear.

The artist regularly expresses gratitude to his fans and has a message for them: “Music inspires, and music can heal!”

– Anne Hambuda is a poet, writer and commentator.