Jafaris

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 (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.

Jafaris
Background information
Birth namePercy Chamburuka
Born (1995-02-19) 19 February 1995
Zimbabwe
OriginTallaght, Dublin, Ireland
GenresIrish hip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Years active2016–present
LabelsDiffusion Labs
Associated acts
Websitejafarismusic.com

Early life

Percy Chamburuka[1] was born on 19 February 1995[2] in Zimbabwe.[1] At the age of six,[3] he moved to Tallaght, Dublin, where he was raised and attended Old Bawn Community School.[4] He began training as a dancer at age 10 and stopped at approximately age 16 or 17.[5] He was already "on course for a career as a dancer" when he became interested in singing and songwriting at the age of 15.[6]

Career

2015–2016: Sing Street and Diffusion Lab beginnings

In 2015, Chamburuka began touring with Irish rap duo Hare Squead and performing under the stagename Jafaris,[7] which he had developed through a random name generator application.[3] It was also during this time that he began working with and through Diffusion Labs,[7] which has been described as "a 'collaborative hub' which functions as a label and studio, and enlists writers, musicians and in-house producers."[8] Later in 2017, Jafaris would be considered "one of its core acts".[8] Chamburuka made his acting debut playing the role of Ngig in the musical coming-of-age comedy-drama film Sing Street (2016).[9] The film would later be an upset nominee for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 74th Golden Globe Awards.[10][11]

2017–2018: Solo debut with Velvet Cake

Jafaris released his debut single, "Love Dies", alongside its own music video in February 2017.[12][9] The song was described as a "vocal-lead cut of hazy R&B" which was "mightily impressive".[13] On 21 April 2017, Jafaris released his debut EP Velvet Cake.[14][15] To support its release, he performed at festivals such as Forbidden Fruit,[16] and Hard Working Class Heroes.[17] Jafaris also performed with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra as part of the Story of Hip Hop at Electric Picnic in 2017 and then again in 2018.[18] He represented Ireland at the Eurosonic Festival in 2018.[19]

2019–present: Stride

Jafaris independently released his debut studio album, Stride, on 8 March 2019, with support from the preceding singles "Found My Feet",[20] "Time"[21] and "Invisible".[1] It was well-received by local critics,[22][23] and ended up being shortlisted for the Choice Music Prize which is annually awarded to the Irish Album of the Year.[24] Jafaris featured on British singer Joy Crookes' single "Early" in October 2019.[25] The single debut atop the UK's Asian Music Top 40 chart,[26] before the two artists subsequently performed it on Later... with Jools Holland in November 2019.[27][28] Jafaris released the singles "Glue"[29] and "Haunted"[30] in 2020, which supported his second EP I Love You But I'm In A Bad Mood which was released on 6 November 2020.[31]

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with release date and label shown
Title Details Peak chart positions
IRL
[32]
Stride[33] 76

Extended plays
  • Velvet Cake (2017)[35]
  • I Love You But I'm In A Bad Mood (2020)[31]

As lead artist
Title Year Album
"Love Dies" 2017 Non-album single
"Found My Feet" 2018 Stride
"Time" 2019
"Invisible"
"Glue" 2020 I Love You But I'm In A Bad Mood
"Haunted"
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
Asian
[26]
"Early"
(Joy Crookes featuring Jafaris)		 2019 1 TBA

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Sing Street Ngig
2017 One Bite Jake Fleetwood Short film; lead role

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2019 Later... with Jools Holland Himself Episode dated 7 November 2019

Awards and nominations
Organization Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
Choice Music Prize 2019 Irish Album of the Year Stride Nominated [24]

References
  1. Andrews, Kernan (2 May 2019). "Jafaris - rising star of Irish hip-hop in Galway". Galway Advertiser. OCLC 298562118. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. "Watch Jafaris celebrate his birthday with a brand new music video". RTÉ 2fm. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  3. Meagher, John (25 January 2020). "'The last time someone used the N-word, he wasn't even Irish... It just didn't affect me' - Jafaris". Irish Independent. ISSN 0021-1222. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  4. O'Flaherty, Aideen (12 January 2018). "Jafaris blazes his own trail". The Echo. ISSN 1649-9611. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  5. McGoran, Peter (4 March 2019). "Jafaris: On rap, religion, and the making of Stride". Hot Press. ISSN 0332-0847. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  6. Kelly, Aoife (4 July 2018). "'I was super shy, super reserved and music took me out of that' – rising Dublin hip hop star Jafaris". Irish Independent. ISSN 0021-1222. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  7. Jonet, Emeline (18 February 2015). "Jafaris and Hare Squead - bands' live concerts". EmelineJonet.com. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  8. Gibsone, Harriet (22 September 2017). "'People are vibing off each other's cultures': Hare Squead and the rise of Irish rap". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  9. Byrne, Niall (9 February 2019). "New Artist of the Week: Jafaris". The Irish Times. ISSN 0791-5144. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  10. Rich, Katey (12 December 2016). "Everything You Need to Know About Surprise Golden Globes Nominee Sing Street". Vanity Fair. ISSN 0733-8899. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  11. Guerrasio, Jason (8 January 2017). "The biggest surprise Golden Globe nominee is on Netflix, and you need to see it". Business Insider. OCLC 1035078743. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  12. Phillips, Aimee (19 August 2019). "Jafaris Is Hitting His Stride". Notion. ISSN 1745-1760. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  13. Byrne, Niall (13 February 2017). "Jafaris impresses with new track 'Love Dies'". Nialler9. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  14. Morgan Britton, Luke (4 March 2019). "Jafaris: the new Irish hip-hop star just hitting his 'Stride'". NME. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  15. Parsons, Ruby (1 May 2017). "Jafaris - Velvet Cake (EP Review)". VultureHound. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  16. Keegan, Stephen (4 June 2017). "Forbidden Fruit 2017: Saturday review". Hot Press. ISSN 0332-0847. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  17. Byrne, Niall (28 September 2017). "Hard Working Class Heroes festival: eight new bands to catch". The Irish Times. ISSN 0791-5144. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  18. Hanratty, Dave (6 July 2018). "After stealing the show at Electric Picnic, The Story of Hip Hop is coming to Longitude". Joe. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  19. Maguire, Jack (7 November 2017). "Four More Irish Acts Confirmed for Eurosonic 2018". Hot Press. ISSN 0332-0847. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  20. Odutola, Tayo (11 July 2018). "Jafaris is living his best life on "Found My Feet"". Earmilk. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  21. MacLean, Ellie (25 January 2019). "Jafaris Releases New Single 'Time'". Hot Press. ISSN 0332-0847. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  22. Van Nguyen, Dean (7 March 2019). "Jafaris: Stride review – Irish rapper brings his own spiritual message". The Irish Times. ISSN 0791-5144. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  23. Dean, Lucas (8 March 2019). "Album Review: Jafaris, Stride". Hot Press. ISSN 0332-0847. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  24. Kelly, Aoife (8 January 2020). "RTE Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2019 shortlist announced". Irish Independent. ISSN 0021-1222. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  25. Milca P. (6 October 2019). "Joy Crookes & Jafaris Put On For The Emerald Isle On "Early"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 24 October 2020.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  27. "Joy Crookes - Early feat. Jafaris (Later ... with Jools Holland)". BBC. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  28. "BBC - Even Later…with Jools Holland and Jamie Cullum - Media Centre". BBC. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  29. Gillespie, Thomas (26 June 2020). "Jafaris once again proves he is the "Glue" that holds Ireland together". Earmilk. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  30. "Jafaris unveils new single 'Haunted'". Hot Press. 25 September 2020. ISSN 0332-0847. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  31. White, Jack (21 October 2020). "Jafaris announces new EP". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  32. "Dsicography Jafaris". irish-charts.com. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  33. "Stride - Album by Jafaris". Apple Music. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  34. "STRIDE, by JAFARIS". Bandcamp. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  35. "Velvet Cake - EP by Jafaris". Apple Music. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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