From ghetto to stardom

November 20 2021 will remain a historic day in the life and music career of 26-year-old hip hop sensation Mike Mkhaya alias Achina Gattah Ase.

It was a day when he filled the gigantic 3 000 plus seater Robin’s Park hall in Blantyre during his concert dubbed King Wa Street.

“What a wonderful feeling for the artist, whom at one point was rejected, to fill the Robin’s Park. Indeed, God has own ways of doing things. He can uplift you to the level where nobody expected,” said Achina Gattah Ase.

Born and raised in Blantyre, Achina Gattah Ase said he faced challenges as an up-and-coming rapper, as such his rise to the top is a big testimony.

He recalled: “As a budding rapper, I faced real challenges during my musical journey. The most painful thing was that some people never believed in me to the extent that they were preventing me from showcasing my talent on big platforms.”

Achina Gattah Ase said as a young artist from the Ghetto, he was too broke to record music.

“Worse still, some artists were refusing to work with me. But today, they are all over me asking for collaborations. That’s the power of God,” he said.

Achina Gattah Ase disclosed that his lowest moment was in 2017 when his music suffered a big blow due to lack of financial muscle to sustain it. In the process, he lost most of his friends. Only a few stood by him.

Inspired by American rapper Lil Wayne, Achina Gattah Ase began music is 2009. He started with freestyle battles with other youthful rappers until his friend Ceyo, now deceased, asked him to record a song with him.

Later on, he met another friend Contiec who offered to record his music for free at his studio in Chitawira.

Since then Achina Gattah Ase started recording music seriously. Some of his popular songs are Gangster Azime released in 2019. It was produced by Ben Kay and MOD. Sukudya Nafe was released in 2020 and produced by Jillz and MOD.

He dropped his debut extended play (EP) Dead Hommies in 2020 which catapulted him into fame. This year, he released a single Street which became an anthem among hip hop enthusiasts.

Apart from releasing music, Achina Gattah Ase has been partaking in live shows. He was one of the local acts that supported South African rapper Nasty C’s show at Mingle Complex in Lilongwe.

Trademarks or stage names are synonymous with several artists both on the local and international scenes.

But what does Gattah or Achina Gattah Ase really means?

“Basically, Gattah means to conquer. I used to do freestyle battles and when I win my opponents used to say ‘wamu Gatta’, meaning a conqueror.

“They later started calling me Gattah because I used to win many hip hop battles in the hood.

“Achina Gattah Ase stands for conquerors and with me being their representative in the music game,” said the rapper who comes from Dedza.

Currently, he is working on a new album which officially drops next year.

The rapper said he sees himself as Malawi’s next big thing.

“I am not called the king of street concert for games, but serious business.

“I see myself being the biggest brand in the country in the next few years. I want my fellow artists to be inspired by my career,” said Gattah.

He said he also wants to take music as a business which can change his life.

“When I see myself in the mirror, I now see a walking bag of money.”

One of the country’s established rappers Noel Chikoleka alias Phyzix described Achina Gattah Ase as one the promising talents on the Hip Hop bloc.

“I see a lot of potential in Achina Gattah Ase. What I want him is to maintain the style and even go further,” said Phyzix.

According to Phyzix, the country’s music industry is growing tremendously with the emergence of new artists.

“There is positive energy in these up-and-coming artists in the country. What I would love to see is progression. For example, they should be able to transcend from certain type of issues to another in order to appeal to a general audience,” said Phyzix.