Musician Andreas Andreas (20), popularly known as Shax Champion, says he had a following before he even released one single song.

The artist, who recently walked away with the song of the year award at the MTC Content Creator Awards, says he wants to "bring Namibia to the world".

Shax's producer, JoJo, says: "I'm proud. And this is just the beginning."

Shax himself says his sound is inspired "by myself", and he won't reference international icons or legendary musicians.

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For him, authenticity isn't just an empty slogan but a working method.

Shax and JoJo have collaborated with South African artists like EQ, Zuma and Scotts.

"We're thinking internationally," Shax explains.

For now, he has paused most local collaborations as part of his strategy.

He believes the Namibian sound deserves a wider footprint before it loops back home.

After school, Shax took a gap year to focus on music, but encourages young people to finish their education.

He says he was once a choir boy and wants to turn one of his singles into a full choral arrangement.

Shax says he gets calls from children as young as 10 wanting to make songs with him.

"I'm like . . . you won't handle this," he says, not to be patronising, but realistic.

"If there is something that truly fuels me, it's not money or being famous. It's numbers," he says as he talks about YouTube metrics.

Most of his tracks sit comfortably above half a million views, with several crossing the million mark.

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