Tony Cummings searched out a grassroots rapper with a turntable hit, THA DQC

Tha DQC
Tha DQC

One of the unusual and certainly more exhilarating turntable hits on Cross Rhythms is "Thumbs Up!" by Tha DQC. Ftg Bertha. When it was reviewed we enthused, ". . . no doubt [you] have already been wrenched out of your comfort zone by this bombastic piece of ragga rap from a Brit of whom we currently know so little. Some of the fastest rapping heard since T-Bone coupled with a sung hook from the equally mysterious Bertha makes for a gem of a download single." In view of the mystery surrounding Tha DQC. we made a special effort to track down the Uxbridge-based emcee, real name Clarence Kasinganeti. He began by telling us about his background.

"I was born in Zimbabwe and that's where l grew up. l came to the UK at a later stage in my life and that's where l am now settled and obviously working and studying. My mom was a proper housewife and small time businesswoman dealing in import and export. My dad was an accounting officer. They worked really hard to send their children to good schools."

The rapper spoke about his spiritual journey. "I grew up in a Christian environment from when l was young. My Christian life has been punctuated by relapses from early on - l guess l was always a person with a plan B. I became serious a few years after l came to the UK around 2002. The trips and failings have been there but there has been a more serious approach to my Christian walk than before."

It was at high school that Clarence began to make music. He said, "I began singing in high school using rulers and desks as instrumentation during or before lessons. Mainly it was dancehall music then. My interest in rapping came around the time when 2Pac died and l would listen to his music. I have to admit that l never went far with music then coz l felt that having a career was a better option so l chose to study then. It seemed to me that l could not have both. However, l also think l did not really try to record coz l thought it was worth it knowing that so many tried but so few succeeded. l guess becoming a Christian gave me a good reason to do it since it became a way of sharing my message and gift plus l am now doing it for a higher purpose."

Tha DQC. spoke about his stage name. "l wanted to express the process l felt best represented what l wanted from life. Simply it means Tha Desiring and Questing for Christ! I pray that the sum total of my life can be best summarized by that sentence. It's sort of a God chaser mentality."

His first studio activity was what he referred to as "a mini mixtape", 'The Four Lepers', which Cross Rhythms described as "a four-track EP of varied tracks, mixing rap, ragga rap and a real Africa meets UK flavour." The videos of three of the tracks gained quite a few views and that set the emcee up for "Thumbs Up!". Amazingly, the ultrafast rapping heard on the track was the first time he'd tried it. So who is the mysterious Bertha? "Bertha is my wife, my friend and my love. She and me met and bonded around music and encouraging each other on life issues. When we got married l would write my songs at home so she had to drop a hook or two. However she is a phenomenal songwriter and l believe her songs can be very touching. My next song, called 'I Find Myself', was actually her song and l asked if l could mix it up and do one or two verses and l'm glad she agreed."

The rapper closed by talking about the reason for recording and performing. "Whilst the only true home of a man's soul is in Christ, anyone can fall. Even our leaders and public figures. My music is really meant to encourage a person to get closer to God and as l release more songs one will notice that l actually center most songs around Christ being the ultimate desire in life. However, l also acknowledge in some of the songs the failings and trippings of me and us as a people because it's the unfortunate truth." CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.