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The Afro Beats artist Ice Prince or going by his real name Panshak Zamani, you couldn't really say has had it all his own way. Starting as a musician in 2004, the Nigeria born artist only released his debut album last year to which he has received many plaudits for. With D'banj tasting top ten success in the UK, Ice Prince hopes to follow suit very soon. MOBO.com talk to Ice Prince about his love of the UK after performing at this years Hackney Weekend festival. 

1. Hi Ice Prince welcome back to the UK. What have you been up to since you was last featured on MOBO.com?

Ice Prince: I’ve been travelling a lot, performing all over Africa, I’ve been recording in the studio as well doing collaborations with other artists and getting news of award nominations. I’ve been tweeting as well!!!

2. How excited was you performing at the Hackney Weekend?

Ice Prince: I was totally excited. It was a big honour to have Afro Beats music represented at the Hackney Big Weekend. I think it’s a very big platform for African music and the whole Afro Beat movement. I’m honoured to have been a part of it.

3. Who was you most looking forward to see preform?

Ice Prince: Urrrm! Myself (laughs) because it was the 1st time I was playing on that sort of stage. Nas was really good. I watched him in 2010 at The Rock The Bells concert in New York it was totally awesome and I wanted to see him again. Thank God for this opportunity to watch him again.

4. It’s been a big year for Nigerian Afro Beats, D’banj & Wizkid have both signed to major labels. What’s up with the girls?

Ice Prince: The ladies are doing their thing they’re really coming up fast big shout out to women like Twia Savage & Becca it’s only a matter of time until people start to pay attention to the females.

5. What other countries in Africa do you believe produces the best Afro Beats music?

Ice Prince: It’s all over Africa. When you go to South Africa, you get a different vibe and a different sound. The music is awesome the people are loving it. When you go to Botswana, it’s a different ball game. The people out there love Afro Beat Hip Hop so much. When you go to Sierra Leone it’s different, when you go to Nigeria it’s different….It’s all pretty exciting!

6. Tell us a little about your new track ‘Magician’ which features Reggae artist Gyptian – How did the collaboration come about?

Ice Prince: It was put together by a company called Spinlet, an online media store. Basically what they do is try to put African music on the map. My album came out last October and I have a track on the album called Magician with a very reggae influenced vibe. They thought it would be good to have a Jamaican artist jump on it. They contacted Gyptian and me. I was supposed to go over to Jamaica to the recording. I was looking forward for that but then I was in South Africa at the time so we couldn’t make it happen. I waited for Gyptian to come over to Nigeria - he did a show in December called the Calabar Carnival. When he came down we hooked up in Lagos, went to the studio recorded the song, recorded the video all in the space of 6-7 hours.

7. Are there any other artists you plan on hooking up with or want to collaborate with?

Ice Prince: Yeah definitely. One of my dreams is to expand and make sure African music and Afro Beats music is really on the map. I would like to be a contribution to that success. I want to work with artists like Chip, I’m a big fan of Chip right now. Recently I worked with Donae’o, Mohombi & Sway. I’m recording with Skepta at the moment and I’m also speaking to Tinchy & Lethal B about a possible collaboration.

8. Can you Azonto? (Show me your Azonto)

Ice Prince: I get asked that question everywhere I go. I actually can’t Azonto ….lol

9. These next questions I want you to answer them within 3 secs! This method has been used to check whether someone is telling the truth or not.

a. Whats your real name? - Panshak Zamani

b. What’s favourite Nigerian Dish? – Jollof Rice

c. Football or Basketball? – Football

d. Beyoncé or Kelly Rowland? – Beyoncé

e. Wizkid or Ice Prince? – Ice Prince

10. When you come to London what do you like doing?

Ice Prince: I love going to West End & Nandos!

11. Do you play sports?

Ice Prince: Pool

12. What is a typical day like in the life of Ice Prince?

Ice Prince: I wake up in the morning, brush my teeth and have my bath then I’ll wait for my manager to tell me what’s going on that day. If there is not that much going on then I’ll go into the studio (I have a home studio) to listen to stuff I recorded the night before and I’ll see if I can work on something new. Come back to my room, probably ask some girls to come over and hang out with my boys.

13. What advice do you have for young people that want to enter the music industry?

Ice Prince: I always say one thing… Look at me as an example. I don’t have the best education or the best looks. Where I’m from in Nigeria is not entertainment driven, it’s the northern part of Nigeria and over there they hardly pay attention to entertainment. I came out of that place to attain this level of success. I always say if I can get here with all of these imperfections then no one has the excuse to fail in life.

14. Finally what’s next for you?

Ice Prince: Take the MOBO Awards!!! On a real I’m recording right now there are more singles to come out. The single Magician drops officially in the UK in less than 2 months. It will be available on iTunes and for people to share. There are more music videos coming out, more concerts and tours coming your way. I’m doing a tour in America from the 28th of July till August. I will be in the states doing my thing.

Interview by: Ponciano Junior

Watch Ice Prince perform Okelu on MOBO TV below: