Breathe Music Like Your Air – Sunny Boy

Sunny Boy has become a household name in the Namibian music industry.

Born at Oshakati and baptised Pendukeni Shipushu, Sunny Boy moved with his parents to Ongwediva, where he lived until moving to Windhoek in his teens.

The rapper was influenced by the likes of American funk and soul group Commodores, rapper Tupac Shakur, South African kwaito star Brown Dash and the godfather of Namibian rap, Shikololo.

But how did he start?

“I started singing from a young age, for as far back as I can remember. I remember singing with my mother at the church choir. My mama loves to sing so every time she is at home cleaning or doing whatever she is doing, she’s singing,” Sunny Boy says.

“When I went to high school, we formed a group. It was the era of Boyz II Men. Everybody wanted to be in a boy band that can sing to impress the girls … My passion for singing really hit me when I moved to Windhoek.”

He says he started building a wider knowledge of music, becoming intrigued by the whole concept. He started writing other people’s lyrics, and eventually started writing his own songs.

He says when he saw local artists singing, especially Shikololo, he felt that he wanted to be like them. He started going to shows and would freestyle at parties.

People took a liking to him and encouraged him to start doing music.

“Little did they know that was exactly what I wanted to do. I was just singing at parties to see if my abilities had an impact on them,” he says.

“I started singing about everything. I sing about life as it happens. I sing about crime. I sing about poverty. I sing about peer pressure. I sing about love. I sing about parties, I love parties. I just basically sing about everything that I or other people go through in life.”

The ‘Summertime’ hit-maker says music is not bound by anything because music reflects the realities happening in our daily lives.

The singer is quick to add that during the time he started to take music seriously, there was significant hype around South African super kwaito group TKZee.

“It was the music I loved. We even had a group in Grade 11 and 12 in high school called the Campos Boys. It was the three of us and we used to dance at school events. In Windhoek I got introduced to hip-hop, which was so fascinating,” he says.

“I love hip-hop because some beats are fast and others slow. As for kwaito, most beats are just up-tempo; it’s more about dancing. In hip-hop you can find a slow jam but it is so wonderfully made and the artists would rap expressing their emotions.”

Because of his love for both genres, Sunny Boy, who gave Namibia his super hit ‘Balance’, started his own genre, which he calls hikwa.

The multiple award winner, who has released seven studio albums so far, is currently in the studio brewing up new songs for his upcoming album, ‘The Kingdom of Yaziza’, his first recording in five years.

Sunny Boy, who believes any gig is big as long as it makes people happy, says he values performing at the Namibian Annual Music Awards highly, as he never performed live on television before.

The Yaziza Music Production owner has performed outside Namibia, including several shows in South Africa – at an Independence Bash in Cape Town, Big Brother Africa and for Channel O.

“The mission now is to take my music all over the world with this new album. I am focusing on big gigs around the world, especially maybe Canada, the United Kingdom, hopefully Nigeria, Ghana and again South Africa,” he adds.

“We are getting older in the industry. The music is still there but there are a lot of upcoming artists that need support, especially financially and mentally.”

Sunny Boy says he is now at a stage where he wants to grow his label and sign artists, adding that he has recently attended many shows where he noticed several talented artists who don’t yet know where to take their careers.

Asked if Namibian artists can compete beyond our borders, Sunny Boy says yes, highlighting that TopCheri won the best star artist category for southern Africa at the 2025/26 Shining Stars Africa Awards in Kigali, Rwanda, on Saturday.

The former kwaito artist of the year, who says he wants to be remembered as one of the most talented lyricists from Namibia, has some advice for upcoming artists.

“You are not wrong to dream and get excited when you think of yourself on the stage, or producing, or in a meeting signing contracts for endorsements. You are not wrong; your dreams are valid. It’s a calling, so when you get that call, answer it – go for it,” he says.

“You only live once. You never want to live a life that you never wanted, and at the end of the day, you will be so regretful that you have never done it. Please go for it.

“Just do one thing for me, though: you need to make sure that’s the right thing. Be patient about it; it must become your air – you must breathe it,” Sunny Boy says.

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