Patrick Sikiliza, former PDK lead singer, urges Namibian musicians to study their craft, understand their rights and unite for greater career and industry recognition.
The singer, real name Patrick Mwashindange, has dropped two albums since PDK's group members allowed each other the chance to pursue solo careers. Since then, he got married and has been a lecturer at the College of the Arts since 2024.
Sikiliza, meaning "listen" in Swahili, has been in the industry for more than 20 years.
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He has two diplomas in media arts and has obtained an honours degree in arts from the University of Namibia.
He was a part-time lecturer at Unam between 2020 and 2023.
"Everything I am today was carefully planned, because I knew exactly where I wanted to be at this stage of my life.
"It was always my dream to be a responsible role model for my fans and to society at large. That's why I got married and studied," he says.
'KNOW YOUR WORTH'
He urges fellow musicians to study their craft to be able to have a bigger say in their careers.
"Music is not only an issue of singing, but our artists must know how much they are worth, their publishing rights, the intellectual rights and how to enter a contract."
Sikiliza says most local music legends die as paupers because they never thought about getting educated on their craft.
The 2007 male singer of the year says creative artists have many opportunities since independence, and musicians can now also apply for government funding through the National Arts Council of Namibia if they present tangible projects.
Although he was born at Tsumeb, Sikiliza spent most of his youth at Oshakati, where he says he got exposed to music for the first time.
"I started off as a dancer. Dion, who would later join me to form PDK, together with Kamtonyo, used to dance with our other two schoolmates at Mwadhina wa Nembenge Primary School, which is now known as Oshakati Senior Primary School," he says.
"We used to call ourselves Action Boys, and we used to perform at the school's talent shows. By the time I went to David Sheehama I added songs of other people, like Usher and Tupac, to my profile. I was now starting to feel like a small artist."
He enrolled at Anvil College after matric, where he got his first diploma, in electrical and electronic engineering, which is now just gathering dust, he says.
"In 2005, Kamtonyo came to me with music and we decided to start a group we called Action Geez, and later Makwerekwere, which was actually Dion's idea. We then called ourselves PDK after we joined Omalaeti Music Productions," Sikiliza sayss.
STILL GIGGING TOGETHER
"PDK is derived from the first letter of our names (Patrick, Dion and Kamtonyo). What a very successful time we had and still have whenever we get the chance to perform as a group. We have so far performed over 10 times since we decided to do our own solo projects."
Sikiliza, who dropped his debut album, 'Sikiliza', in 2022, married Lindy Mwashindange in 2023 and they have three daughters.
The singer is a ceramicist, visual artist, photographer and web and graphic designer, and currently teaches visual arts at the College of the Arts at Katutura.
The best songwriter for the Namibian Choirs Olympics says he is still basking in the success of his second album, 'Victory', which was launched amid much fanfare at the Brewers Market in 2024.
He mentions his CD launch as his first big gig as Patrick Sikiliza.
"I really put my creative mind to the test for that launch. I decided to give my fans a memorable night by performing with a live band. Performing with a live band is no child's play, but fortunately I had a mentor like Tulonga Wahengo who advised me," he says.
"The rehearsals, although very challenging at first, went so well, and by the time we were done, my confidence was back. I had top supporting acts like Top Cheri, Elegant, ZYX, Tate Buti and my boys PDK. I first performed with the group and then solo at the end."
Sikiliza has collaborated with Carry K, Queen Linda and Phillip on 'Smile', Samuel Shine on 'Tuyeni', Dee'A on 'Nduuva', and Sunny Boy on 'Ngai Ngei'.
While he has performed with PDK in Angola, Sikiliza says he had the "experience of a lifetime" when he performed at a bikers club show in Mafikeng, South Africa.
The winner of seven awards with PDK, including best song of the year and best music video at the 2020 Namibian Annual Music Awards, says he is a born-again Christian.
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"I named my second album 'Victory' because the title speaks to my journey. Whatever happens, I will always come out victorious in everything I do because of Jesus Christ.
"Whatever I need comes at a time that I need it, and nothing is possible without divine intervention," he says.
The artist, who also has a clothing line, believes Namibia has "fantastic" artists.
"They just need support from stakeholders. Event organisers should start prioritising Namibian musicians for top events. It's about high time we advertise our very own for them to grow," he says.
"I think the politicians should put legislation in parliament that will enable our government to force the private sector to support our local artists.
"Why should foreign acts headline our own events while we have top-class artists?"
Sikiliza urges local artists to unite under one body that promotes artists' rights.
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