Unleashing M-Gee: Rundu’s Prodigy Revolutionising Namibian Music

Thomas Lucas, better known by his stage name M-Gee Ndumbaking or just M-Gee, is a rapper, singer, actor, philosopher and pioneer of music who lives at Rundu and started making music in 2011.

M-Gee, who was born at Mupini village in Kavango West, in 2009 moved to Walvis Bay, where other musicians introduced him to Mtufu Records. Since then, his love and enthusiasm for music have grown significantly.

He has released five albums and numerous hit songs like ‘Pay Day’, ‘Ncinci’, ‘Tjokola’, ‘Dedication’, ‘Kumorora’ and ‘Kulira’.

His debut single, ‘Okay It’s Alright’, was distributed by Mtufu Records and was a preview to his debut album, ‘First Page’, which was produced by DJ Namupala. The album highlighted his entry into the music industry.

M-Gee relocated to Rundu in 2015, where he worked with MIG Studio to record his albums, including ‘Moments of Life’.

He also launched his greatest album, ‘God Son’, which, according to him, “exhibited transformation and maturity in music with smash songs like ‘Kanhunhwagona’ and ‘Vanapirura Kulirapa’. I also collaborated with Lil D on one of the projects.”

ASCENDING TO FAME

After releasing his fourth 17-track album, ‘Esimbi’, in 2019, M-Gee became well-known throughout Namibia and its neighbours South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. JB Scoof of Rundu produced the album.

San community members are the actors in the much-anticipated music video of the song ‘Tamburenimo’ from the album ‘Esimbi’.

“However, due to the death of one of the actors, the video was never released. We had to wait for some time before we released the visuals, and we’re excited we will do it early next month,” says M-Gee.

He adds that the song’s video is spot-on, complete with appropriate attire and acting and makes him an integral piece of Namibia’s music industry.

He says: “I always write songs that have good content, even the visuals illustrate the completeness of the artist. My music gave the Kavango region life and hope.”

It revived the passion for music in the area and established a standard that presently motivates all musicians there to produce good music.

Despite competition in the music business and having been in the game for a while, M-Gee stands out due to the style of music he creates.

He performs up-tempo trap music with a Kavango-style rhythm, which he feels is distinctive and easy for listeners to get into.

M-Gees’ fifth album, ‘Ndjikiti’, which means “standing firm on his ground”, was released at the end of 2021. He hailed it as a good album with good hit songs like ‘Dedication’, which was produced by M-Gee and Cotlam.

“This song touched so many people’s hearts and brought tears to many people’s eyes, especially the day the music video debuted. Many people’s eyes were opened about how to live life as someone’s child as well as parent.”

M-Gee also collaborated with DJ Vuyo on ‘Kulira’, one of the best love songs from Ndjikiti, which talks about the difficulties of long-distance relationships.

Besides being a teacher, father and entertainer, M-Gee is a guy of many abilities.

“So often my fans and friends tell me to move to the city for easy access to, for instance, the media spotlight and gigs, but we live a life that comes with many responsibilities,” he says.

Despite living at Rundu, M-Gee always makes sure his art is out and it is worth listening to.

He says he put a lot of effort into developing his brand so that he can be recognised and signed a contract to serve as an ambassador for Betbita, one of the betting companies in Namibia.

“It was a good experience even though the contract ended later on, but it gave me exposure and I found myself signing another contract with Pom Couture as a brand ambassador, as well as with Feshil Gospel Competition as an event promoter.”

In addition, he was given the position of NAWA brand promoter at Luka Optics.

He has been booked for the next Nkurenkuru Expo and will be performing alongside other top Namibian musicians, including King TeeDee, DJ Vuyo, TKB, Zhondie and House Guru Gang.

A few days ago, M-Gee released his most recent song, ‘Judge Me’, which was produced by Whale from Kavango.

“Whale recognised my style and the assignment, which required a country song, and we were able to get it set as a piece of well-executed art. Since we tend to ‘judge’ more even when we don’t know much about people’s circumstances, I believe this to be the first country song from Namibia. It also offers lessons and will help shed light on the causes of suicide in society,” according to M-Gee.

He says the song is taken from his next album, ‘Gentlemen’, which features a sound that is entirely different from what is typically heard. The lion king is unique in this regard, he added.

“I’m versatile and I aim big because my thoughts are way too loud, and sometimes I do songs that only life lessons can explain,” the performer said.

He believes that ‘Gentlemen’ has maturity, stability, and maintenance compared to his previous albums and that Willy from Tsumeb and most of the local musicians located at Rundu contributed to it.

On top of that, M-Gee founded M-Gee Records, which he states was started as a result of his struggles with producers losing his music projects. “I decided to purchase my tools and start the production learning process.”

The singer said that even though he is still working to get things just right, it has helped lower the expense of paying for studio time and night travel.