BY FREEMAN MAKOPA UP-AND-COMING hip-hop artiste Daytona Jackson, who is currently riding high with her latest offering, Mbuya Nehanda, which features Natasha Muz, has disclosed that working with veteran musicians such as Trevor Dongo and Ngoni Kambarami has helped shape her career. She speaks to NewsDay Weekender Life & Style: Career I am looking forward to reaching greater heights such as those of the late music icon Oliver Mtukudzi, although I am doing a different genre, but he was the one that inspired me more to venture into music and I owe this to him. One of the greatest highlights of my music career is that I get to work and meet some of the legends I dreamt of emulating like, and it’s so amazing. Music journey Right now, I am not concentrating on an album, but I have got a few single tracks I dropped recently: Ghetto, Kutsvaga Bag, featuring K9 and Drama, featuring Tamika. I have archived three awesome tracks with three legends Trevor Dongo and Ngoni Kambarami and Natasha Muzz. Setbacks One of my major setbacks is sponsorship, especially in these difficult times where the nation has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we have been seeking sponsorship in our projects and I’m confident that if we have that we will be able release more interesting projects for our fans. Its every artiste’s dream to produce quality music for his or her fans and I think its my calling to entertain fans with the best music and be ranked among some of the best entertainers in the country. Best kept secret One thing my fans don’t know about me is that I am a free spirit, I do what I feel makes me happy. Impacts of COVID-19 COVID-19 has posed serious threats to my music in the sense that it set me back some steps because at the moment due to lockdown restrictions I can’t get into town because they asking for letters and the police officers won’t take it serious if I say I have a recording to do, they just tell me to stay indoors. But besides that on the other hand it has benefited me as it enabled me to engage other artists and I am also using this time to write more songs. Collaborations I have done a number of collaborations and these include the one featuring Trevor Dongo on the song Chidamoyo, Mbuya Nehanda featuring Natasha Muzz, African Queen featuring Ngoni Kambarami and lastly Bhawa Kudai featuring Stunner. So, yes, I have been there. Financial rewards Right now, music is not paying off, but I believe it will soon.