Zunguzunguguzunguzeng enters the apparel market

If you saw King Yellowman’s appearance at Rebel Salute on Saturday night, you would have also caught an eyeful of the international dancehall star’s branded apparel. 

Militant as ever, the dancehall superstar, his daughter, K’reema, and his brother-in-law, reggae singer Abijah, were outfitted in matching camouflage outfits – emblazoned with his undying popular phrase – ‘zunguzunguguzunguzeng’.

It has been printed on apparel such as hoodies, T-shirts, leggings and sweat pants.

“That’s my daughter’s brand. I gave that to her,” Yellowman told The Gleaner.

K’reema is Yellowman’s eldest daughter. She has been handed the responsibility of sustaining the living legend’s legacy. A versatile performer in her own right, K’reema demonstrated her skills in dancehall, reggae and R&B – taking on international stages at music festivals like Reggae on the River and Sierra Nevada World Reggae Festival in California, or Reggae in the Desert in Las Vegas, Nevada. With a growing repertoire, she has headlined full-length shows in New York, complete with a five-piece band at popular performance venues like The Shrine, Silvana and the legendary B.B. King Blues Club.

MAINTAINING THE LEGACY

But as K’reema works to develop her own musical career, her preoccupations also involve maintaining the legacy, but in other sustainable ways.

“We’re making Daddy’s whole movement a brand. We’re creating apparel and everything for him. We just started with ZunguZungu,” she said, hinting that this is just the beginning.

Considered by some as the best dancehall song in the world, Zunguzunguguzunguzeng has been sampled by both local and international music stars, including the late Tupac; Queen Latifa, Buju Banton and Vybz Kartel. In a recent interview withThe Gleaner, Yellowman revealed that he has lost count of how many dubplates he has recorded for the song – claiming it is the favourite all over the world.

“I can’t put a number on how much I’ve done, but it passed the hundreds long time,” he said.

‘We’re making Daddy’s whole movement a brand. We’re creating apparel and everything for him. We just started with ZunguZungu.’