African Singers

"From day one, I wanted my crowd to accept me the way I was. If I did what they asked me, I wouldn't be doing this music. When I was 15 and 16, [older musicians] said 'Look, you have a great voice – just stop messing around and improvising. Just do it properly, the way we do it, the traditional way.' You have the right to try things, and you have to be humble enough to understand that each album is a portrait of a moment. This is all I can give, today. Tomorrow I will have more to give, but it will be different."

"In 2022, I was still on tour for my previous album Manga, and I was pregnant with my daughter. I started feeling the need to be in a more intimate set-up, because my tour was with a full band and I was singing and dancing in high heels. It was a really beautiful moment of my career, but there came the need to look inside and have something that would connect me with my audience in a much deeper way."

"I don’t know if I can give lessons, to be honest, but maybe advice would be, for those who want to do music, is that the world will change. People around you will change, so it is really important that you stop and listen to who you really are. And no matter what the genre or the things that you wanna try in your music or creative field, just make sure that your essence is protected, because this is what will ensure that in two decades, or five decades, or when you’ve gone, people will listen to your music. Maybe not everybody will like your music, but those who like it, will feel that that was you. We live in a world where it’s very difficult for people to hear their inner voice and actually remember who they are. I think musicians have a responsibility to talk to people’s hearts and people’s own consciousness; to unify people and to inspire them — to build a better world."

"I remember playing music in my room when I was three years old. When I was four I asked for my guitar. I remember as a child going to the countryside with my family and having all the batucaderas around us, playing batuko and funana. It's part of me. [But] I had my parallel world: I would go and look for CDs and vinyls from Brazilian artists, 'cause I was more attracted to that openness."

"Cape Verde is like ten small rocks lost in the middle of the ocean. Everything could go wrong here, but my people . . . We made this country out of nothing. I always say our only resource is the human resource. I'm very proud to be part of a nation that is mostly known for its music. In that sense, what I do with my music is very important because it impacts the way people see this country."

"“The first song I ever learnt to sing was Maxwell’s ‘This Woman’s Work’ when I was in Standard One. He’s one of the artists who’ve taught me how to always put all my emotions into my performances."

"“I couldn’t be happier to be the first live performing artist from Botswana to grace their main stage. Thank you to MultiChoice Botswana for always making way for creatives in Botswana outside of the country.”"

"“I’ve always wanted to put out my own body of work because I felt like I have a lot to say through my music. I am a genre fluid musician, who just makes all kinds of music and I don’t believe in categories.”"

"“I started singing since my consciousness, and I haven’t stopped since. Music has always been a vital part of my life, mainly because I come from a musical family. It has always been my way of expressing myself. I was always the child that never talked about emotions, so I used Music as a way of me communicating how I feel.”"

"“it took me 5 years and I was born on the 5th, hence the title Grace, because biblically 5 is the number of Grace. The theme is Yin and Yang, if you notice my dress code is mostly black and white. The EP tells a story of the ups and downs of so many love stories.”"