By The South African——

Zimbabwean reggae-dancehall artist Winky D is one of the guest artists at the star-studded Africa Unplugged concert at Wembley Arena in London on Monday 27 August.

Africa Unplugged, which also features Nigerian legend Femi Kuti and the South Africans Zakes Bantwini and Zahara, is billed as Europe’s biggest African concert.

The 29-year-old Winky D (aka Wallace Chirumiko) was born on 1 February 1983 in Harare’s ghetto Kambuzuma.

He started his music career in the Ghetto Lane Clashes, and his victories in these contests earned him great respect among fans who gave him the nickname Winky D from Wicked Deejay.

With the help of Bartholomew Vera of BlackLab Records, Winky D went into the recording studio. His performances of his first songs such as ‘Rasta’ and ‘Head Inna War’ set the dance floors alight – and he hasn’t looked back since. He has now released five albums with many chart hits which have made him fans across the world, as evidenced by successful tours in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Winky D has become a new icon for Zimbabwean urban/reggae music with nicknames like “King of Dancehall”, “Di Bigman” (The Big Man), “The Prophet”, “Mutumwa”, “Truthsayer” being attached to him by fans.