She’s got the full package. The talent, looks, stage presence and an ability to have fans eating out of the palm of her hand with every single that she drops.
Born some 20-odd years ago at the coastal town of Walvis Bay, Top Cheri came to Windhoek to study at the College of the Arts (Cota). “I was studying TV production at Cota. I finished first and second year and then my sister died,” she said, explaining why she dropped out of her studies after losing her only source of support.
She soon found herself in the media world when she landed a job as a journalist at a local weekly newspaper where she worked for two years. “After that, I went to Nawazone and after two years, I had to leave because I moved back to Walvis Bay. My mother got sick after my sister died, so I had to look after her.” She soon returned to Windhoek and quickly landed her first gig in the music industry when she became Mushe’s manager.
“I used to perform The Dogg’s songs, that’s where Monica Morocky came from,” the singer said with a chuckle. This was when she was still in high school and imitating her favourite singers at school concerts. Little did she know that she would herself become a musician one day.
An actress, writer and all-round creative, Top Cheri has certainly found her calling in music. “When I came to the industry, I was already a writer, an actor, and I used to manage artists. But I always say that there’s a right time for everything and right now, it’s time for that,” she said of her decision to focus more on the music. Recently signed to Blvcboxx Entertainment, Top Cheri is currently enjoying the success of her latest banger, ‘Hangover’, a collaboration with Athawise and King Elegant.
From ‘Victoria’ to ‘Goodman’ and now ‘Hangover’, there’s no single genre that one can box Top Cheri in, and being a true artist at heart, she refuses to box her music. She does admit to leaning to dancehall with an infusion of Afro-pop.
One of the things that is propelling Top Cheri in the music business is her ability to aggressively market herself and her music. The singer uses social media amongst other marketing tools to make sure that everyone pays attention to her and her every move. “Besides everything else, I’m a marketer. Everything that I put out, I know how I’ll put it out. I know the ways to do it, I know people I can use to do it. I have strategies, and before I put anything out, I talk to my team and we discuss what will work and what won’t,” she said confidently. What many are not getting right, she said, is how they push their music. “Just because a song is good, people expect it to blow up by itself but Namibia is so small that you need to do something extra.”
For her fans, Top Cheri promised that an album is in the pipeline and an early 2018 release can be expected. She’s determined to keep working harder not only with her music, but on her merchandise like ‘Zuzu Fur’.
With her background, she’s intent on continuing to make her mother proud and also giving her fans the best of her.
“My inbox is crazy, I have kids from all over the country who talk to me and I know that if I don’t give my all, I’m going to disappoint a lot of people.”
This singer’s star is fast rising and with her album on the way, there’s no telling what else we can expect from her.
