Namibia’s ‘Lovly’ R&B King On a Roll

Two-TIME Namibia Annual Music Awards winner and R&B star Ian Lovly, real name Ian Brendell, is loving the direction his promising music career is taking.

Inspired by the mighty Chris Brown and his own father, Lovly says: “Life for an R&B artist in Namibia isn’t a bed of roses, but for the past three years, I’ve been riding high.

“Life as an R&B artist is the most challenging and highly rewarding experience for me. You just have to learn to be patient in this game. Winning an award doesn’t make you the best,” he says.

Lovly’s career was honed in the Waldorf School Windhoek choir and singing solos in church alongside his father, whom he describes as one of the best tenors around.

“My song ‘Tatted Up’, featuring Yeezir, is the biggest R&B record released in Namibia to date. It ended up on Channel O with all 800 000 streams,” he says, adding it was undoubtedly his breakthrough hit.

Lovly says he was introduced to the international stage while touring to Germany frequently with the school choir, following that up with solo appearance in Berlin.

“My two best gigs to date were in Cape Town and at Walvis Bay. The one in Cape Town was with YoungstaCPT and Rowlene, two of South Africa’s hottest R&B stars now.

“Youngster, who is based in Cape Town, joined me for another great show at Walvis Bay. YoungstaCPT and Rowlene are also featuring on my hit song ‘French Tips Part 2’.”

Lovly describes the track, which is his most recent single, as “an R&B concoction evoking sheer nostalgia, bouncing between English and Afrikaans finding just the right pocket”.

The artist brings to life his music with a technique of sampling old and new to create nostalgia.

Being in the industry for 11 years, ‘Eiffel Tower Dreams’, his debut single, was released in 2021, followed by his second single titled ‘Have It All’ in 2021.

Born and raised in Windhoek, Lovly made his initial entrance to the industry as Jaleel, which is his second name, with Ogopa Butterfly.

He won the best newcomer award at the Namibian Annual Music Awards in 2017.

In 2019, Lovly clinched the best R&B award – an accolade that was first bestowed on singers like the late Roger Itewa and Berthold Mbinda, whom he describes as his role models.

Tomorrow, Lovly will officially drop his debut six-track R&B EP, titled ‘I Would Date Me’.

He says accompanying the release will be the first music video for ‘Fyn Shiii’.

“Sometimes, a woman deserves to be reminded that she’s that girl. With ‘Fyn Shiii’ I’m doing exactly that,” he says.

“Celebrating a woman’s beauty through a feel-good R&B anthem that blends the warmth of old-school soul with the language of today’s generation.”

He says the title draws inspiration from modern slang used to describe someone exceptionally attractive.

“I gave it my own spelling to retain its playful, contemporary feel while making it distinctly mine,” Lovly says.

“At its heart, the song is about appreciating a beautiful woman and making sure she knows just how beautiful she is.”

He says he has always been drawn to the instrumentation and drums that defined classic R&B.

Lovly, who works at a big telecommunications company’s marketing and corporate affairs department, says language and cultural identity also play an important role in the record.