KENAN Chansa is a Livingstone based music artiste.
In truth, Kenan, whose stage name is K9ine has been in the game for quite a while – in fact, ten years to be precise. But like any other up comer, the challenge has always been in penetrating and making an impact in the game.
But that hasn’t stopped him from going again and again, nonetheless.
K9ine released his first single in 2010 – that was ten years ago. It was titled Imfa and in the song, he was somehow paying tribute to the country's fallen icons such as former Republican President Levy Mwanawasa, and musicians Levins and Lilly T.
Unlike others, K9ine is not very proud of his first production. “It didn’t do very well. I was young and very new in the game so the production was not as great. I didn’t even market it well enough. It was mostly local and given a chance, I would have done a better job on it had I recorded it at such a time when I have grown in the game.”
Moving on from his first blushes, he went on to record Monga Mpepo with a producer known as Shaker, who at the time was a producer at what was at the time, one of the most happening music studios in the land, Digital X.
According to K9ine, the song which he went a step further and shot a music video for is what made him known – in Livingstone anyway.
“We recorded the song sometime in 2011 at Upper Gate studios right here in Livingstone and it did quite well, I must admit. People knew me because of the song and I am utterly proud of it up to this day,” he says.
In the same year, he recorded and released another song titled Nikuli Imwe Jehovah and featured Tobby Zambiano the other half of the Kamaflage musical duo. Other songs that followed were Prepaid featuring Kapansa and produced by Shenky Sugar, then Niwe Weka featuring P Jay.
“I recorded the song with P Jay three months before he died. I knew him from way back through Shaker and working together on the song was very nice because we collaborated so well both on the audio and the video. He was a very good guy,” he adds. “The song was recorded at Cabin Studios by Bishop.”
Other songs to his name include Mafi ya Mpombo (Nibambili) produced by Jerry D at Cabin Studios, and also Napeza Wanga featuring Shenky and co-produced by Jazzy Boy and Shenky Sugar.
On boxing day last year, the relatively towering artiste released a social commentary song titled Smartphone which seems to have been received well by fans, if the airplay it is currently enjoying on radio stations is anything to go by.
The song which is actually on a DJ Pooh sampled beat was produced by Jazzy Boy.
He says he decided to record the song to try and educate the people on responsible use of a smartphone.
“What I am basically telling people is to be careful with these smartphones. I just decided to record something that everyone can relate to. In courts today, we hear of how marriages are ending because of a smartphone, accidents happen because of talking and texting while driving and we have also heard how people have lost jobs and opportunities over something that had to do with a smartphone,” he says.
K9ine was born and raised in Livingstone. He was born as Kenan Chansa in the late 1980’s to Stephen Chisenga and Julia Kachuzu who are both late.
He attended Holy Cross primary and David Livingstone Secondary school. “I completed my Grade 12 in 2005,” he says.
Besides music, he has a side hustle of selling shoes and advises other musicians to take up entrepreneurial skills to supplement their music careers.
“Last year taught many musicians a lesson. We need to have many sources of income, even the Garden of Eden had four rivers to keep the vegetation green in case one ran dry. It should be the same with us, we cannot just depend on music. What happens if you are not getting shows?” he says.
Other than that, he has also done a course in Information Technology. He says his music is largely influenced by the likes of Eminem, Dr Dre and the late Notorious B.I.G. “On top of advising people on the responsible usage of smartphones, let us also remember to stay safe and mask up in this coronavirus era,” he says.
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