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Simba Jemwa, Showbiz Correspondent
BULAWAYO rapper, singer and songwriter, Dee Moses (real name Moses Ngwenya) who is nominated for the Zimbabwe Hip Hop Award for Best Gospel Act is not your typical rapper.

He is a battle rapper who openly rhymes about his relationship with God and his faith in Jesus.

Until now, Dee Moses was generally known in the underground circles by his previous stage name “Trysis” as a battle MC.

Dee Moses began battling when he was still in school engaging and participating in raw street battle raps with every MC in the city that he came across or approached him. He has competed on lots of stages, battling some of the most skilled emcees in Bulawayo.

Do not be fooled, Dee Moses is no corny Christian on the mic. He has won a few battles in his time!

Battle rap is aggressive and the goal is to tear up the person standing across you as badly as possible with punchlines and lyrical skill.

“Of course, in a battle, your opponent looks for an angle to attack you,” said Dee Moses.
These days, Dee Moses has made it a point to show everyone he comes into contact with on the battle scene, who he ultimately serves.

“They see that I’m constantly rappin’ Christ and use that as their angle to win the battle,” said Dee Moses.

The lyrical volleying between rappers provides Dee Moses with the chance to bring glory to God by illustrating with metaphors, how women, drugs, and money will not bring happiness, but the loving God will. He speaks with skill and efficiency in a language that everyone can understand, utilising a unique platform for the Gospel.

Winning this award and battling brings new opportunities for Dee Moses to show off his skills and the message of Jesus Christ.

The Zim Hip Hop Awards nominee discovered his love for music at the age of eight, inspired by West and East Coast Rap and artists like Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre, Kurupt, Mobb Deep, Jay Z, Method Man and Redman, and later on Cassidy, Sean Paul and Busta Rhymes to name but a few.

At school from Milton Jnr to Gifford High, his friends would play a beat by tapping the school desks in a rhythmic manner to amp him up to start rapping. During this period, he engaged and participated in raw street battle raps with every MC from the city that he came across or approached him.

Due to the great reception of his freestyling skills, the MC was encouraged by his now late friend to go into the studio and start recording music which he did and continued after witnessing the excitement that listeners showed when they heard his music.

He released a series of mixtapes with an average of 12 tracks entitled “Rydin Deep”, “Streets is calling”, “The Real Deal” and “Steady Raps” with songs like “The 411”, “Kol up di shot”, “Dropping Aces” and “Ring the alarm” among other tracks that enjoyed airplay on local radio.

After the release of his 12-track project, “No Love Lost” which was recorded in Bulawayo, Johannesburg and Cape Town featuring producers like MC Tytoh, Eazee SA, Techno Fresh Beatz, Bobz, Sound Boi Haze and Cape Town rapper HD and producer IG Flexcy, he rededicated his life to the Lord and began to pursue the word of God.

This was because he felt a strong desire, calling and need to use his music, not just for mere entertainment, but to minister to the young and old for the purpose of winning souls and drawing them closer to God.

Dee Moses has released tracks “Made Clean”, “Relo”, “Time and Chance” and has been featured on songs like “Glory” by American Christian rapper, Brick Face who has shared the stage with rappers like Twista, Afro Man and Tech N9ne.

The rapper has also been featured on a song that was dedicated to orphanages around the world by Nigerian, Ireland-based singer Liz Day Spring who is part of the group Gospel Creatives. He has also worked with South African Christian Rapper MdeeCBM, Shawn V and South African based female rapper Phlo Girl.

Locally, he has worked with T1nda, The Cypher, Pastor Classic, Dorothy Chipo, Alvern and Stones Moyo.With multiple freestyle visuals released online and a continuous release of new material, his music has enjoyed airplay on radio stations and podcasts in Florida, New Orleans, Jamaica and the United States of America.

With skilful and well-thought out bars, verses, hooks and inspirational lyrics, the Christian rapper who is working on his forthcoming LP titled “Free Unleashed” is an artist with a bright future ahead of him in his chosen genre.  — @RealSimbaJemwa