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Millicent Dube, Showbiz Reporter

Bulawayo has a lot of rising talent and one Tphraze, a rapper, has successfully built a name for himself in the city through his singing talent.

Real name Thembinkosi Junior, he started pursuing music at the age of 15 at Mpopoma High School where he joined the music class and drama club. That was when he realised his love for music and began to write his songs.

Tphraze

Interestingly, he has released one album with 14 tracks called Nu-Era and 16 singles. Nu-Era, TikTok Ex, No monkey business and Barman are songs that are giving his name more recognition as they are receiving airplay.

“My best experience as a musician was when I got to perform in Victoria Falls. I actually did a freestyle which blew people’s minds away and got them asking for more, including some of my songs,” said Tphraze.

“My breakthrough was after I released my first album, Nu-Era in 2019. It got people like DJ Mzoe talking about it and sold many copies, of which other CDs went to South Africa and were sold there,” he said.

The skills he acquired through rap battles and freestyles in his hood allowed him to gain more confidence and build on his talent. As an independent rapper, those skills came in handy in perfecting his rap game and also being able to keep up with the new trends.

“Internationally, I’ve worked with South African female rapper Rose Ree on the track called ‘Haters shut up’. We came up with the name based on our personal encounters as we were both facing negative critics hence, we decided to spread the message, telling them to keep quiet and let us do our thing,” Tphraze said.

The young rapper shows how excited he is with his musical journey and fans have shown him the much-needed support.  

“I’m fully invested in my music career. However, I’d taken a gap period as I’ve been working on my A-level finals this year. Despite the urge to be a well-known rapper, I still want to further my studies and become a lawyer.

“Passion drives me, especially when it comes to music. I love creativity, having my voice heard and reaching heights that I thought I would never reach,” he said.