Damara DikDing

Born on 8 December 1980, Damara DikDing is a singer, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer from Namibia. He was raised in Windhoek by a single mother. Here he witnessed the growth of Namibian urban music. His life as a musician began when learnt to play the keyboard with the help of his cousin Piet. It didn’t take much time for him to grasp the skills of playing the instrument. Alongside his cousin, Damara started playing the piano at party gigs. He later established a kwaito group called Matongo Family. He assisted the group with composing, arranging, producing and recording two albums. The albums earned him respect and the chance to share a stage with artists such as Arthur Mofokate, TKZee and Malaika.

In 2006, Damara’s music gained momentum. This saw him winning at the Sanlam-NBC Music Awards. In that same year, Damara Dikding went solo and established a record label called Chessta Records. In 2007, he released a debut single, 'Bakuten', featuring Trowizazz. The video for ‘Bakuten’ was nominated at the 2009 Channel O Music Video Awards. The nomination was followed by a performance at the ‘Big Brother Africa’ reality show in Johannesburg, South Africa. ‘Bakuten’ was nominated for Best Collaboration, Best Kwaito, Best Music Video and Best Song of the Year at the 2009 Sanlam-NBC Music Awards.

Damara DikDing has managed to maintain a position as one of Namibia’s top producers and has lent his production skills to artists such as Jericho and Dixon. In 2013 and 2014 he was working on his third studio album, entitled ‘Damalokie’.