Phyzix retraces his steps
Hip-hop artist Phyzix, real name Noel Chikoleka, has seen it all.
In his career, he has been both on the driving seat and down the cliff.
After starting off on a high, his career appeared to stall following a number of half-hearted productions that followed his chart-topping initial releases such as Cholapitsa.
But being a fierce fighter he is, the artist did not give up and instead took serious steps to reinvent himself. He has since collaborated with other artists in a bid to strike the chord one more time.
After some false starts, Phyzix seems to have done something right in 2020. From being mocked as the only famous artist without an award, Phyzix got a whopping seven nominations at the inaugural Malawi Hip Hop Awards, making him the most nominated artist.
Though he made a name as a musician of repute 14 years ago, he struggled to get proper respect as he never any recogntion for his work.
The tide seemed to have changed when the rapper got nominations for Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Gamba Season, Verse of the Year for They Will Know, Hustler of the Year and Hip Hop Live Act of the year.
His song Makofi, which features Dare Devilz, was nominated for both Song of the Year and Best Collaboration.
However, on December 13 when the awards were announced, Phyzix won three awards, making him the most decorated artist on the awards that night.
He won Album of the Year, Male Artist of the Year and Song of the Year awards.
But when did it all start going right for Phyzix in 2020?
On January 5, the hip-hop artist released his first single of the year titled Makofi. Featuring the Dare Devils, the song was aimed at trolls who had been targeting him on social media. It proved to be a top hit.
As he continued to promote the single, he ventured into charity in February when he collaborated with Galaxy Pharmaceuticals to donate blood collection tubes and laundry soap to Mangochi District Hopsital all valued at K600 000.
A few weeks later in early March, Phyzix was at it again when he released a second single titled Dododo, again featuring the Dare Devils.
“We are advocating hard work to say you can achieve anything you work hard for,” said Phyzix.
Then in April, the Makofi hitmaker announced the release of his highly acclaimed album Gamba Season.
This was his moment as people from all walks of life scrambled to buy the music.
One of the most unlikely people who bought Gamba Season was fellow hip-hop artist Fredokiss who got it a copy of the album at K100 000. Another artist Gwamba bought his copy at K50 000.
Said Fredokiss at the time: “I lead a generation of change. The outgoing generation operates from a point of view of hate and it has corrupted the society’s thinking and crippled our progress.”
On April 9, just three days after releasing the album, Phyzix admitted to have made over K1 million in sales. After two weeks, he said he had made over K2 million. He then released the project for free.
Some of the big names that bought the EP included Blantyre-based lawyer Noel Chalamanda, Epic Club owner Yollam Kawanga and Taraq Makhecha at K100 000 each while Sky Energy Africa CEO Schizzo Thomson bought it at K150 000. Several others bought it at different prices.
In May, the artist dropped yet a new project, a single featuring King Hyphen. The song titled They Will Know came out together with its video.
Phyzix said he first worked with Hyphen 14 years ago at the onset of his career on his song Cholapitsa.
In a bid to go beyond the borders, Phyzix then collaborated with Zambian rapper Stevo and Zimbabwean rapper Stunner on a joint project called The Reunion.
They together released a song titled Jealousy which tackles setbacks people encounter when they are on their path to success.
Towards the end of the year, the rapper was at it again when he collaborated with the country’s rising star Eli Njuchi on a single titled Follow. It also featured producer and musician Macia Beats.
“It is exciting as I am working with Eli Njuchi for the first time,” he said at the time.
On August 24, the rapper announced the release of yet another single Mkazi Uli Fine with artists Sypiral and Episodz.
As the artist’s level of success became more and more visible, the corporate world begun to notice.
PC Merchants subsquently appointed the rapper as its ambassador.
Making the announcement, one of PC Merchants directors Kulz Chilinjala said as a leading men’s clothes brand, they were excited to partner the artist.
“We are happy to finally sign a one-year renewable contract with Phyzix. We are hopeful that this deal will greatly benefit both parties. Phyzix is the epitome of excellence that our brand stands for,” he said.
