Percy Chamburuka (born 19 February 1995), known professionally as Jafaris, is a Zimbabwean-born Irish rapper, singer and songwriter. He began his career as an actor in the comedy-drama film ''
Sing Street
''Sing Street'' is a 2016 coming-of-age musical comedy-drama film written and directed by John Carney from a story by Carney and Simon Carmody. Starring Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen, Jack Reynor, Kelly Thornton and Fe ...
'' (2016), before making his professional solo musical debut with the EP ''Velvet Cake'' (2017). Jafaris rose to prominence with his debut studio album ''Stride'' (2019), which was later nominated for the
Choice Music Prize
The Choice Music Prize (), known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to music from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish passport. ...
.
Early life
Percy Chamburuka
was born on 19 February 1995 in Zimbabwe.
At the age of six,
he moved to
Tallaght
Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.
Up to th ...
, Dublin, where he was raised and attended Old Bawn Community School. He began training as a dancer at age 10 and stopped at approximately age 16 or 17. He was already "on course for a career as a dancer" when he became interested in singing and songwriting at the age of 15.
Career
2015–2016: ''Sing Street'' and Diffusion Lab beginnings
In 2015, Chamburuka began touring with Irish rap duo
Hare Squead
Hare Squead are an Irish rap duo from Dublin.
Career
Hare Squead's music has been described as a combination of trap, rap, R&B, pop, jazz and electronic music. They formed in 2013 as a trio, singer Jessy Rose and rappers Tony Konstone and Lilo B ...
and performing under the stagename Jafaris,
which he had developed through a
random name generator application
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a ...
.
It was also during this time that he began working with and through Diffusion Labs,
which has been described as "a 'collaborative hub' which functions as a label and studio, and enlists writers, musicians and in-house producers."
Later in 2017, Jafaris would be considered "one of its core acts".
Chamburuka made his acting debut playing the role of Ngig in the musical coming-of-age comedy-drama film ''
Sing Street
''Sing Street'' is a 2016 coming-of-age musical comedy-drama film written and directed by John Carney from a story by Carney and Simon Carmody. Starring Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen, Jack Reynor, Kelly Thornton and Fe ...
'' (2016).
The film would later be an
upset nominee for the
at the
74th Golden Globe Awards
The 74th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2016, was broadcast live on January 8, 2017 from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST by NBC. ...
.
2017–2018: Solo debut with ''Velvet Cake''
Jafaris released his debut single, "Love Dies", alongside its own music video in February 2017.
The song was described as a "vocal-lead cut of hazy R&B" which was "mightily impressive". On 21 April 2017, Jafaris released his debut EP ''Velvet Cake''. To support its release, he performed at festivals such as Forbidden Fruit, and
Hard Working Class Heroes
Ireland Music Week, previously known as Hard Working Class Heroes (or HWCH), is an Irish music festival for emerging bands. It has taken place in Dublin on an annual basis in and around September of each year since 2003. ''The Irish Times
'' ...
. Jafaris also performed with the
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; previously known as Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra) is the largest professional orchestra in Ireland. Housed at the National Concert Hall, D ...
as part of the Story of Hip Hop at
Electric Picnic
Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland.
Overview
It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority sh ...
in 2017 and then again in 2018. He represented
Ireland at the Eurosonic Festival in 2018.
2019–present: ''Stride''
Jafaris independently released his debut studio album, Stride, on 8 March 2019, with support from the preceding singles "Found My Feet", "Time" and "Invisible".
It was well-received by local critics, and ended up being shortlisted for the
Choice Music Prize
The Choice Music Prize (), known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to music from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish passport. ...
which is annually awarded to the Irish Album of the Year.
Jafaris featured on British singer
Joy Crookes
Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes (born 9 October 1998) "Date of birth: October 1998" "Nationality: Irish" "Country of residence: England" is a British singer-songwriter. She incorporates details about relationships, self-reliance, her culture, her ...
' single "Early" in October 2019. The single debut atop the UK's
Asian Music Top 40 chart,
before the two artists subsequently performed it on ''
Later... with Jools Holland'' in November 2019. Jafaris released the singles "Glue" and "Haunted" in 2020, which supported his second EP ''I Love You But I'm In A Bad Mood'' which was released on 6 November 2020.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
* ''Velvet Cake'' (2017)
* ''I Love You But I'm In A Bad Mood'' (2020)
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
{{Authority control
Living people
1995 births
21st-century Irish people
Black Irish people
Irish male rappers
Musicians from Dublin (city)
Zimbabwean emigrants to Ireland