TickuTalk.com is proud to feature a new track by Cameroonian reggae artist Lion Boy, along with an exclusive interview! Â Recently, a Cameroonian reggae artist who goes by the name of Lion Boy (also known as One Zeal) contacted me and asked if I could share a new song on which he had collaborated with an artist named Adolf Fayaman. Â Lion Boy is currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa which is also where this music video was filmed. Â Of course, I am happy to oblige and quite thrilled that within a few short months, TickuTalk.com is reaching a global audience 🙂 Â I hope all the TickuTalk.com massive check out this track and support these artists.
During our email correspondence, I asked Lion Boy if he would mind answering some questions so that I could give readers some more background about him.
Q: Tell us more about yourself and your career.
A: Greetings in the name of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I the First. Thanks for the interview Ajay and the TickuTalk.com crew. I am Lion Boy also known as One Zeal; a Reggae, Dancehall and Hip Hop artist from Cameroon, currently based in Johannesburg SA.  I started my musical career as a hip hop rapper/singer with the name One Zeal or Zealous.  I’ve always loved writing songs of my own, and my goal was to have a career in the entertainment industry as a song writer someday.  In 2005, back in secondary school we formed a duo group called AVOW together with Adah Sings and recorded our first songs.  The duo had to go separate ways due to distance and change of residential locations.  I decided to take a hiatus and in 2009 I recorded my first track as a singer titled “Face of Africa†which was produced by Adah Sings.  In 2010 I moved to SA to study creative writing and became exposed to the Rastafarian way of life and beliefs.  I slowly understood and related more to the music and the message which spoke about the socio-economic problems that we faced every day in our society.
Q: When did you start writing and playing music?
A: It very much started with my sisters at home.  I come from a family of 6 and I have 5 sisters and growing up we would always sing songs at home and at church.  I remember writing my first song for my elder sister titled “Sleeping On The Sky†and she had a beautiful voice and at home she’d sing the song always, that made me realized my love for song writing and singing.
Q: Did you always want to become a singer?
A: No, growing up I wanted to be a writer; I wanted to be the one behind the scene rather than standing in front of the cameras.  I loved playing with words and wanted to share my thoughts through writing.  I started with poetry and then started rapping.  As a rapper I sounded very much like Jay Z, and many people referred to me as “Le Jay Z Camerounais†which in English means “The Cameroonian Jay Zâ€.  Personally to me it was a great compliment but I wanted a name of mine own that would sound similar to that, and my elder sister came up with the name “One Zealâ€.  “One†because she felt my sound was unique and “Zeal†as she believed my music was surely devoted for a cause.  As a rapper I met up with singer Adah and we recorded my first song titled “Backsideâ€.
Q: Describe your music.
A: I call it ReHop Music. ReHop Music is the fusion of Reggae and Hip Hop. It is also the title of my next project coming out sometime this year.
Q: Who inspires you?
A: I am inspired by a lot of different genre and artists; firstly I’ll say 2Face Idibia from Nigeria. His music is exceptional. I love Protoje, from Jamaica; I like his music, the message and the energy it brings.
Q: What do you hope to achieve through music?
I would love to continue making music that gives people hope and has a positive message that can impact someone’s life in a positive way.  That to me, would be my greatest achievement.
I want to personally thank Lion Boy for reaching out and sharing his music and passion with TickuTalk.com and I`m very much looking forward to his future releases.