By Kudumo Bernhold
RUNDU, July 7 – MUSIC artist Ortmann Yousef Ipinge, also known his stage name OYI was born and raised in a village 11km east of Rundu in Kavango East.
He grew up in a Christian family where attending church was a must and soon joined the church choir where his musical journey started.
“As a kid, I always admired my uncle who sang for us Angolan and Malawian songs that have stuck with me,” he said.
OYI says by the time he was in high school at 13, he was composing songs. At 15 he was already going to studios to familiarize himself with how music is made and it paid off as he learnt a lot about music.
He then started singing with a cousin known as YSM, mainly doing HIP-HOP and RNB.
“We made our hit song Butterfly Queen which was produced by sensational producer BSquare. After we shared the stage with big names such as Tequila, Allen Jonathan and others, we established a following,” he said.
“At 19, we were invited to Ongwediva trade fair, one of the most prestigious events in Namibia and we performed for consecutive years from 2009 to 2012.
He said due to different career paths, they could not do music together as they lived in different regions.
“In 2019, I went solo and I started venturing into different genres concentrating on African sound, afro-pop, house and dance music. My first single was titled Ter NoBadi followed by Kakambe(horsepower)which is a current hit on local radio and the community.
OYI works from his own studio at Rundu, and most of his songs are produced S.Drumm Kid, Sean Blizzy and Sausa (The hitmaker).
