Smokey

Lavrenty “Smokey” Repin is a Namibian artist who was born in Russia. The artist spent the first part of his childhood in Russia before moving to Namibia with his parents when he was nine. At six, young Smokey wrote his first song and did his debut performance at the age of seven. He developed a passion for rap music at the age of 11 while living in Usakos, a small, remote town in Namibia. His passion for music further developed when he was a teenager writing songs. The artist made a number of performances while in Usakos and managed to record a song for an HIV awareness concert.

In December 2009, one of Namibia’s dancehall pioneers, Faizel MC, recognized Smokey’s talent. In 2010, Smokey became part of Faizel MC’s Ruff n Tuff label and released his debut song featuring Gazza and Faizel MC. The ‘Ron Things’ music video was a huge success for Smokey. After the success of his first hit, Smokey left Swakopmund and decided to create his own genre which he calls AfroRap, a mix of Afro-pop, dancehall, kwaito and rap. The song caught the attention of Antonio, founder of Deal Done records, which have since signed Smokey to the label.