Tkinzy

The only child of his parents of the Igbo extraction in southeastern Nigeria, T'Kinzy was born in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. When he was two, his mother died in an auto crash and he moved to Aba with his father.[2] There, he began his primary school education at St Joseph Nursery and Primary School, then moved to Benin City for his secondary school education. Not long after, he again relocated with his father to the commercial capital of Lagos where he was enrolled in the prestigious Muson School of Music and Theatre Arts for talented artists in Lagos. He left Muson after few months due to financial challenges. In 2010, his father died and the young orphan moved to South Africa with his paternal uncle who assumed care and supervision of the youngster.

He began singing as a child attending church. After moving to South Africa with his uncle, his musical talent became noticeable and that was the start of a burgeoning career. In Johannesburg, he got a licensing and distribution deal with Soul Candi Records. He released two singles under Soul Candi and did a collaboration with a top South African artiste called Ntando Bangani, "That’s The Way".[3] The song brought him to the attention of Gallo Records, with whom he signed in 2012[4], becoming the first Nigerian artist to sign a full record deal with a South African record company.[5] He released a single, "Shake Ikebe", which featured fellow Nigerian rapper Emmy Gee[6] co-produced by South African rapper and producer Emtee. Other notable T'kinzy tracks include "Wozaza" featuring AB Crazy.[7] He then embarked on a musical hiatus after exiting Gallo Records,[8] returning to the music industry in 2020.[9]

He considers Lucky Dube, Usher Raymond and Michael Jackson his musical influences.[10]

In 2020, T'Kinzy signed to Johannesburg-based arts consultancy World Arts Agency, playing the lead role in filmmaker Onyeka Nwelue's A Day's Journey, shot on the streets of both Johannesburg and Lagos.[11] and will make his film debut[12][13]