POLOKO MOKHELE He has been rejected by many who did not have confidence in him, probably due to his tender age, but that has not brought teen rapper King Kris (born Fusi Maoeng) down. Instead, it emboldened King Kris to keep on pushing to this date when he is planning to host his one-man show. In an interview with Metro earlier this week, King Kris said he started rapping in late 2016, when he released his maiden song called “Lems Chick,” which was dedicated to his former schoolmates at Leribe English Medium High School. “I was raised under Sotho Clique, a crew which helped me grow after a lot of rejection from people who were already in the music industry. Sotho Clique helped him secure a recording deal which is how he managed to develop some of his skills in rapping. “Since then, I never stopped rapping. I kept my head high because all I wanted was to succeed in the industry,” King Kris said. When asked what persuaded him to think of hosting his one-man show, King Kris, 19, noted that, “as I mentioned earlier, I have been a victim of rejection many times over the years, but that did not remove the fact that I am an outstanding artiste with intellect. I know I am destined to shine and can make a difference because I am not the kind of person who listens to what people say I can and cannot do. In the end these to me are just baseless opinions”. “I am in this (rapping industry) to effect change not fame since fame comes and goes. It is against this background that I decided to host a show called ‘Lesotho Don’t Deserve Us’ (LDDU) which I hope will be an annual show. “I want to help upcoming artistes like me because I know many good artistes and deejays that are never given an opportunity to showcase their talents. It is my greatest belief that there are many young people in this country that are worth more than they are granted. The only problem is that some people don’t want to see that. I aim to change that and show them that we deserve to be in a better place,” said King Kris. King Kris told Metro that the show will be in Leribe on May 25 (Africa Day), with a variety of acts expected to take place. The show will be headlined by the likes of DJ Sohnique and DJ Pascal, among others. The outspoken King Kris also took a swipe at some of the event organisers in Maseru saying: “In Maseru it is very hard to secure a booking as an upcoming artiste and I want to believe it is because of nepotism! “You have to know someone influential in order to appear in the line-up and I am a living example of that. Every month different shows always have the same people on the line-ups and it is becoming monotonous. This is one of the main reasons why LDDU will be held in Leribe and not Maseru,” King Kris. Asked how he got the name King Kris, Maoeng explained that he discovered the name way before he started rapping from his late mother, who had “always assured me that everything in the world is mine. Saying that, I just need to have the courage and grasp everything at my disposal because anything is possible.” King Kris has performed at various events like Miss NUL, BOLESWA Intervarsity Open Mic Concert, Mr & Miss Football, Miss Teen Leribe and Keys to the City in April this year, alongside LuSrenk. Among some of his achievements, he mentioned that he is currently working on his first international collaboration with Russian producer, 4th Coast, from Vladivostok.