Quincy Rapando: I Dropped Out of Electrical Engineering Degree Course
In this article, we take a look at the career of Quincy Rapando who features on Zora as Kwame and on Maria as Thomas, the gardener.
File image of Quincy Rapando. |Photo| Courtesy|
Rapando is multi-talented and can be described as a jack of all trades. He is also a singer/songwriter and a rapper. He has released a number of songs, both audio and video.
He was thrust into the limelight when he featured on Maria as Thomas, initially a house manager before he was demoted to the role of a gardener.
“I do a lot of research before we shoot. I go over my lines in the script and practice them for hours to make sure I am at my best. Also when shooting each character brings something,” he said during an interview with a local daily in 2020.
He had initially auditioned for the role of Luwi which was later played by Brian Ogana. He was selected to play the role of Thomas by a panel that included Rashid Abdala.
“Landing the role has been my big break in T.V after a few minor roles including working as a presenter at Switch TV,” he stated.
Rapando dropped out of college where he was pursuing an electrical engineering degree. He ventured into rapping, but the music industry is not as easy as one may think.
“I did not finish the course because I wanted to pursue music. My parents were disappointed in me when I dropped out but I knew I wanted to make music,” he recalled.
File image of Quincy Rapando. |Photo| Courtesy|
He recounted an incident where he had to walk home at night after losing a rap battle.
“I had once been invited for a rap battle at the Alchemist in Westlands. I didn’t win and to make matters worse it ended at 2 a.m. Finding a way back home was not easy and I was only dressed in a T-shirt because I was thinking I’d impress with muscles,” he stated.
He at one point was forced to work construction jobs so as to raise money to attend music gigs.
He has released a number of songs and some of them are shared on his YouTube channel. They include; Narcos, Hype, Execution and Dance for Me.
From the experience he has had, juggling careers and fighting to earn a living through his talent, Rapando urges young people to never give up on what they believe in and are good at.
“At the end of the day, always respect yourself enough to tell yourself not to give up and you are selfish if you deny people your talent,” he said.
For his music, he goes by the stage name Quincy Ando.
Rapando now features on Zora as Kwame, and has also featured in a number of commercials since then.
