Zelous The Superstar

 By Onica Dick aka Neki

I am thankful for the opportunity to continue to put out articles on this Blog page. I am thankful to the artistes and other individuals who give of their busy time to sit and have a conversation with me. I recently met with the young, rising talented Tobago artiste Zelous. The article below gives some details about our conversation.

The 6th of four boys and three girls, Shakir ‘Zelous’ John is extremely gifted and intelligent.  Zelous is making his mark in the music industry in Tobago and beyond. He spent his formative years in Canaan/Bon Accord and is still a resident of the area. His days growing up were favourable and his best childhood memory is that of visiting England in 2014 and seeing how large the airplanes were compared to Caribbean Airlines.

The 21-year-old is a past pupil of the Bon Accord Government Primary School and the Scarborough Secondary School. He remembers Sir Smart as his favourite teacher at primary school and Ms. Thompson Williams who taught Human and Social Biology at secondary school.

He comes from a family where he is no stranger to entertainment and music because his mother is local reggae artiste Karen Gad. However, his interest in being an artiste peaked closer to 2018 while he was a high school pupil. “We used to engage in musical clashes at lunchtime and each day we would have to go home and write a verse to come back the next day. Also, what used to happen is that fellow classmates and pupils would rate our lyrics and how fast we created.”

Shakir 'Zelous' John

When he first started singing his stage name was Plats Da General but then he felt that that name was not very marketable so he chose a new name. His mom suggested Mr. Zelous but he just decided to go with ‘Zelous’. He says he chose to spell it a bit differently because of copyright.

His first ever recorded song titled ‘Sharp Shooter’ in 2021 was recorded by Gemini Records. The song falls into the category of “badness and dancehall”. He even added, “One fun fact about this song is that it was recorded on a phone, without the use of mikes.”  Some of the other songs that he has recorded include ‘Vibes’ and ‘Spaceship’.

He has recorded over 50 songs and counting thus far. Sometimes he may use the method of freestyling to catch a flow, but he is mainly a writer because his preference is to “take time to compose and structure”.

The artiste who has no management declares that for now he is an independent artiste. However, when asked about the impact that he wants to create with his music he mentioned, “Locally and globally, I just want people to be more appreciative of creativity where music is concerned. I also want that the efforts being put into the creation will have an appeal to a diverse audience.”

He shares his live performances experience. “With each performance, I feel a bit braver. It paved and still is paving the way for me to know what to do the next time. I am very grateful for every opportunity which helps me to understand how to improve stage presence, breath control and presentation.”

He is fully aware of the challenges of the music industry. “As an artiste, one just wants to be noticed. We have the skill to do music in a certain style but nowadays to catch the demographic, it is necessary to alter one’s approach to appeal to a certain crowd, certain types of ears.”

He has had many ‘feel good moments’ as an artiste which he states are continuous. “I’ve had the experience where random people recognize me from certain song releases. For instance, some time ago, some ladies saw me and called out to me by saying “sexy chef” and that is because of one of my newest releases titled ‘Restaurant’. He shares some of the song’s lyrics, “Mi wah open a restaurant fi di bad freak dem, So dem cah come check me pon di weekend, Have di fresh food fuh deh body feel well, She dem wah protein and  di nutrients, De dawg smooth,  dem call me di new blends, Nuh want soup, dem wah de food dem, Mi have all de all natural ingredients, I bet yuh wah know when mi ah feed dem

Buddy sandwich, buddy wings, buddy black cake, weh yuh tink, she seh that’s great, weh di drink; she wah cocktail, she know di link, she want everything di buddy come with, Ask wah type ah meat, baby ah nuh drumstick, me ah grease out yuh pan, hope seh ah nonstick, Yuh must open up oven, have one mit…”

Video 1: Zelous shares some of the lyrics from his popular hit 'Restaurant'

Another good experience which he discloses occurred earlier this year (2024) is when, “I shared a story on Instagram (IG) and I got responses from Uptop Teejay, DJ Mack and Kraff.”

He is of the view that he is not yet the best. “I have a few things to improve. In my approach to writing, I don’t want to be hesitant. I want to get open conceptualization to be a bit more free in the writing process.”

Artistes such as Kiprich, Vybz Kartel and Lil Wayne are some of his favourites that provide him with inspiration. If given the opportunity he would like to collaborate with local artiste Zerimar from Arima,  dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel and hip-hop artiste Nicki Minaj.

Video 2 - Zelous wants the ladies to 'Bruk Out' 

Zelous also reveals, “In 5 years, I see myself as an entrepreneur with multiple businesses, companies. I see myself also as a superstar on my way to stardom and I want to continue thinking of stuff people never thought of before both lyrically and visually. I want peace of mind and freedom to create without dictatorship.”

He also has advice for upcoming artistes. “I would say, just maintain your authenticity. It is cool to try to know things but ensure you maintain your image and why you are unique. His additional thoughts on the music industry are that he “wants them to give more attention and honour to more authentic artistes and to be more supportive of their own.”

He also wants his supporters to “stay tuned”. “I have lots of ideas, lots of stuff I am working on now. I want you all to continue to be appreciative of the work I put out. I go hard behind it. It is me alone doing everything.”

I am pleased that this artiste agreed to be interviewed.   He also mentions, “As a child I wanted to be a lawyer, chef or teacher but because I ended up experiencing the role in some way, it made me change my mind. That happened for a reason because I am now following the true path of who I am supposed to be. I am thankful for that and, here is another interesting fact, the actual meaning of my name Shakir is being thankful.”

Video 3: Thank You Zelous for 'Bloggin With Neki'

He can be found on social media on Instagram at zelous_musiq, YouTube at Zelous Official and his music is also streaming as ZELOUS on Spotify, Apple Music and I Tunes.