SHOKO FESTIVAL’s PEACE IN THE HOOD concert was literally lit. Headlined by the hottest artists at the moment Poptain, Jah Master, R.Peels, Blackperl and hip hop’s newest find Holy Ten, the event which took place online left a big statement “We are here and we aint going nowhere”

By Argus Mepo

The artists did not disappoint as they delivered charged and groovy tracks. Anyone who had doubts about Holy Ten’s stay in the game iam sure they got the memo that the young man is on a mission.

His impressive act came on the backdrop of constant backlash against Zim Hip Hop artists for portraying a lavish lifestyle in their music yet the vice versa is true in their real lives which has led many Zim Hip Hop artists to be labeled as wannabes.

Holy Ten is standing above the waters and has been making hard hitting but very relatable music which is inevitably going to contribute to his rise to stardom. His selection to perform at Zimbabwe’s biggest urban culture festival SHOKO is a sign that no one should ignore.

Zimdancehall has remained dominant for some years now as the biggest youth and pop culture in Zimbabwe. Zim hip hop is genre that struggles to shake of the “fake / wannabe tag”, were most artists borrow clothes for a video shoot, some even put water in Ciroc bottles to flex on videos and were most artists always brag about making cash and trapping, Holy Ten has chosen to remain real.

The 22 year old music star in the making has been releasing hard hitting music which resonates with the lives of many Zimbabweans both from the uptown where hip hop has a lot of fanbase to downtown which is a core of Zimdancehall and this has helped him in widening and broadening his audience.

His recent releases have proved that he is a talented lyrical wordsmith. Ndaremerwa a joint he released early last month which was a song expressing the fraustrations of the ordinary people amongst them poverty, the ailing economy and corruption was well thought. The song trended well on social media and it also dovetailed well with the #ZimLivesMatters movement which also proved that as a musician he mastered the art of timing.

Furthermore, he has also recently released visuals for his song titled Amai. The song is contextual especially in the lives of the young people and in the song he tackled problems that young people face amongst them the unaffordability of school fees, drug abuse and crimes, to mention just a few.

His lyrical content is rich and fertile. The way he package his music is superb so is his style and art.

He is a polished musical magnet from Zim Hip Hop who’s well gifted and has been tackling real issues that are affecting both the young and the old across the length and breath of the country.

Holy Ten will feature on a track with Takura that is dropping on the latter’s album this year.

Holy Ten is a major player who might be critical in spreading the wings of Zim Hip Hop to areas were it has not managed to successfully penetrate because of the diversity and the inclusivity of his music release featuring ProBeatz titled Murder confirms the artist has more great music coming.

[additional text by Plot Mhako]