My Curriculum Vitae in English

Freunde hatten mich gebeten meinen Lebenslauf auch mal in englischer Sprache einzustellen. Hier ist mein CV für alle die, die mich vielleicht auf internationalen Bühnen sehen wollen.

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Ayanda has chosen a new stage name. He is now to be known as „Lil' A-Jay“.

Lil' A-Jay grew up in Swaziland and in Germany. His first experiences of rhythm
and the beat were at home in Swaziland drumming on pots and pans when he was two years old.

Then he heard the band Rhumba Stars and was astounded. At the age of seven he joined them on
stage and became the smallest ever supporting band. The audiences loved him.

He started listening to the music of Sipho Hotstix Mabuse. After one drumming lesson Hotstix Mabuse told the boy: “You are going to be famous, Ayanda!”

A lot of public performances followed mostly with the Rhumba Stars in Swaziland. He also loved to
dance the Congolese Kwasa-Kwasa on stage.

It was not until Ayanda returned to Germany in 1998 that he had his first encounter with Hip Hop. At the same time his cousin, Zanele, introduced him to rap. Lil' A-Jay was so enthralled by these new sounds that he practised all day and all night.

Lil' A-Jay’s first track was in German: “Alone I am
weak, together we are strong.” A number of other songs followed and eventually
his mother decided to seek professional help to record his
first album.

Lil' A-Jay’s up-bringing in two different cultures is reflected in his own hip hop style and his rapport on stage with his audience. In an interview on Radio Berg he told the interviewer that he feels at home exactly where he is – at that moment.

He has played at the Kulturbunker in Köln with the Hip Hop Band “B.S.1 N. (Black Soldiers
Innocent)” in 2006. This was followed by a series of performances in 2007 at a number of African music Festivals.

Currently Lil' A-Jay is recording tracks for his new album. He has also enrolled in the Pop Akademie in Köln to deepen his technical knowledge of music. As well as being a wonderful musician, Lil' A-Jay is also a gifted actor and entertainer.