The Zanku singer said in an interview with Nandi Madida on Apple Music 1 that his motivation for his new album, “Symbol of Hope,” stems from his wish to uplift people from challenging situations.
Even before I realized I would become a musician, I enjoyed listening to music. I already admired a lot of artists and viewed them as symbols—people whose lives took a drastic turn for the better. Now that I’m in this situation myself, I can see how my music encourages people to persevere. I receive a ton of messages from people telling me that my songs inspire them. I chose to title the album “Symbol of Hope” for this reason. It’s how I express, “If I can do it,
The rapper, whose real name is Omoniyi Temidayo, added that his journey into music started out of the blue after he was rejected from college because of his subpar accounting and arithmetic scores.
“In 2011 or 2012, I was meant to attend university, but I lacked my whole set of paperwork. I used to play drums in church and my dad is a pastor, but I never imagined that I would become an artist. I began going to the studio with a friend after I failed my exam. When I played my first recorded song for my siblings, they made me feel like Jay-Z that day, even though it was garbage,” he said.
Despite treating music as a hobby at first, Zlatan continued to make songs with the support of his friends and family. He competed and won a rap competition during his first semester of college, which was his big break.
“I didn’t even think that music could win someone a car.” I won out of 140 contestants. It was just three weeks into school, and I was only 19. At that point, I began to take rap seriously. Every day and every night, I was writing. My life was altered by that moment.
Zlatan also thought back on the creation of his well-known dance routine, Zanku, which stands for Zlatan Abeg No Kill Us. “That’s Africa to the world,” he remarked. The fact that I put my name on it is the most intriguing aspect. You can’t bring up Zanku without also bringing up Zlatan. I always wanted to have my own dance move as a child, and when I did, it went viral all over the world.
