LOCAL upcoming artistes have struggled to penetrate the music industry due to lack of airplay and resources but a few have been fortunate enough to acquire popularity via social media platforms.
A 23-year-old local artiste has hailed the power of social media in his rise to fame after he won the hearts of local music lovers through a social media post by ZimCelebs.
Describing his musical journey as hard at the beginning, Bagga WeRagga born Nigel Nyagato told Standard Style that his recent EP has been flourishing because he released it at a time when music lovers had tested his talent on a post that went viral on Instagram.
“Social media is the backbone of my career, because if you look at it I got all this fame because of an Instagram post from Zimcelebs,” he said.
Zimcelebs is a Zimbabwean celebrity news social media-based blog.
The platform has in the past few years contributed to a larger extent to the success of artistes through its posts discovery of new talent in the local music industry.
Although Nyagato gained the hearts of many music lovers through social media, he pointed out that it was important for him to learn professionalism and maintain his brand’s vision despite the fame.
“I consider myself an artist present in the modern day to deliver music for healing people’s souls,” he said.
- Mafiyosi set to quench fans’ thirst
- DJ Madeherbelieve’s Untamed uplifts budding artistes
- In the groove: How the Nigerian Afro-beats has increasingly become popular world-wide
- Bagga hails power of social media as EP gets traction
Keep Reading
“Having gained the fame, I had to make sure that I maintain my goals and visions and deliver that which is dear to my heart and to my fans.”
The artiste described his music as a mixture of Trap, Hip Hop and Afro-fusion aimed at healing people.
“I consider myself an artiste present in the modern day to deliver music for healing people’s souls," he said.
Nyagato said he had been steadily achieving his goals through mentorship from reputable people in the industry whom he also met via social media.
“ I am grateful that the video posted on Zim Celebs got me the fame and attention I had longed for, but most importantly it opened doors for me to meet Dj Tamuka and that really boosted my professional musical journey,” said the artiste.
“Meeting Dj Tamuka was a miracle to me. I thank God for where I am today.”
The two worked together on Nyagato’s EP3 Stripes released last month.
One of the hit songs Nyarara was produced by DJ Tamuka and the visuals released three weeks ago have gained a good number of views on Youtube.
“The hit song in my EP is Nyarara and it basically tells the story of a struggling youth who is getting comfort through prayer,” he said.
“Nyarara is almost a reality for everyone in the country right now. We are all struggling one way or the other, but God says, don't worry Nyarara kuchema, I will protect you."
The artiste described his EP as a collection of singles solely aimed at healing people's souls.
He revealed that he has encountered many of the struggles faced by an average Zimbabwean youth.
Nyagoto said he will ensure that the fame and popularity he has gained through his God -given talent will be a source of inspiration to his fans and mainly the youths.
“I know for a fact that every individual out there is fighting their demons one way or the other and I made my EP to let everyone know that it is normal to have down moments in life,” he said.
“I also go through the same life experiences as everyone else but at the end of the day we should never give up on ourselves and most importantly we should always chase our dreams at all costs.”
With the local Zim Hip Hop genre gaining traction and growing, Nyagato said he had a rough path trying to get his music out and known.
Just like many other artistes , social media built him but his was of no exception to online bullying and criticism.
“A lot of people used to criticise my music,” he said.
“Some who did not understand where I was coming from would tell me that I was wasting my time.”
Many upcoming artists often complain that getting recognised in the industry was difficult because of the monetary requests demanded by some media companies and radio stations for airplay and publicity.
Nyagoto said he faced the same challenge to get airplay in his early days.
“We had to pay for visuals, studio time and marketing of my music. It was really hard,” he said.
“My management team worked really hard and we made a lot of financial sacrifices.”
Nyagato, who is seemingly unstoppable now , has taken it upon himself to market his music almost on a daily basis on all his social media platforms.
