CANADA-BASED Zimbabwean singer-cum-producer Michael “Micyunging” Matewe is happy to be living his music dream. Speaking to NewsDay Weekender from his Toronto base, an information technology engineer by profession, Micyunging claims he has no role model and that there will never be anyone who can do things better than him.
Venturing into music
I have always been passionate about music from a tender age. Singing has always been part of history as I grew up in church participating in choirs. Thank God my parents were always very supportive after they noticed my love for music from the age of 10 and they nurtured the me.
Music is therapeutic, there are so many broken hearts, memories and life experiences that some people bottle up. So, I found it necessary to address those things in a melodious way, hence why 80% of my songs are all about emotions. And as of now, my greatest inspiration in music is my daughter Yannah.
Productions
I released my first album titled Sub-Saharan in 2022. The album is available on all digital streaming platforms.
On this album, the track Nyeredzi received favourable airplay on Zimbabwean radio stations. This song was inspired by my daughter Yannah, who is always with me in the studio on my free time.
The song Ngetani talks about the situations people are experiencing on a daily basis, mostly the black child of Africa. This song was produced by award-winning sound engineer cum-producer Tari G Fingers.
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All of my music was done in foreign countries, the United States and Canada, though I worked closely with my music directors Welly Graphix and Team Nosa from Zimbabwe.
Writing songs
I write most of my music and a few is written by my childhood friend Ephraim Satande whom I work with remotely because of different geographical locations.
Most of my songs and melodies come as dreams and I believe God communicates with me that way. This makes my music unique and touching.
Sound, collaborations
My music is very versatile, although I am a musician who mostly sings about love. I also love cultural music and I add that feel to my songs.
I believe in unity among artistes, I have collaborated with hip-hop singer Noble Stylz on the song Ndipei Nguva that was produced by multi-award-winning producer QuaZor under Young Gamez Entertainment.
I have another collaboration with Ti Gonzi titled Unondida Here? which was also produced by QuaZor.
Keeping up with my home roots has been the major inspiration to my collaborations. I have always been a huge fan and supporter of urban contemporary music and working with big names like Ti Gonzi and Noble Stylz, among others has always been a dream.
Role model
I am my own role model, this is because there will never be anyone who is going to do things I do better than me. Even though I got inspiration from American singers and actors Chris Brown and Bow Wow.
I have always believed in building my brand without imitating anyone else. To some extent, I learn from those who have experience in the path that I am taking.
Daughter’s love
The love for my daughter Yannah has inspired me to work on more projects so that one day if she is to choose that career path, she will have a good foundation or guidance from her father.
Challenges
The main challenges I face or that new musicians are facing is recognition, most Zimbabweans only pay attention to the names that they know, ignoring the content that other undergrounds are producing. Yes, I know people have their favourites, but we all deserve to be given a chance for fair listenership.
In store
This year I am going to do visuals for songs fans loved the most. I am therefore inviting them to get in touch on my social media platforms and let me know which songs they want for videos.
I have joined forces with an international Zimbabwean producer KanaBoy, the one who produced hip-hop singer Takura’s Goosebumps, who is now doing my beats. I have collaborated on new singles with KayC Pricosh, a very talented newcomer in the music industry, well known for doing open verses for hit songs like People by Labianca just to name a few.
I am also working on visuals in Dubai and the United Kingdom for all of my songs now and one of them features my daughter Yannah. The song that is yet to be released is called Daddy is Your Superhero. The song is about me apologising to my daughter for breaking up with her mother, telling her that it was a decision that was not caused by her existence, but other reasons and no matter what i will always love and cherish her.
Moving to Canada
Before I moved to Canada, I was working for Walt Disney World in Florida. So, when COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism industry I decided to move to Canada where I was able to work remotely.
Off the stage
Although I love music, I am an information technology (IT) engineer.
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