Today we’d like to introduce you to Shungudzo.
Hi Shungudzo, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Zimbabwean-American artist/activist Shungudzo has announced the release of her debut album, I’m not a mother but I have children (Svikiro Records/Young Forever/BMG) out June 18, 2021. Pre-orders are available now. Written and produced primarily on her own, the 16-track (13 songs and 3 poems) album is a testimony to her life both growing up in Zimbabwe and now living in America, and her talent in making songs and poems that uplift, excavate and enlighten. The album is a proclamation, asking the listener to look inside themselves, embrace their good, analyze their intentions, and rethink life’s priorities. Here is our interview with this rising musician and Los Angeles resident.
I spent most of my formative years in Zimbabwe, where my father’s side of the family is from. I had the privilege of education and, as a result, parents who expected me to do the most I possibly could with it. Although I was always artistically inclined — I wrote poems and danced ballet from grade one until I finished high school — I grew up believing that education was the only “guaranteed” way for me to break myself and my family out of the poverty cycle. I also grew up believing that pleasing my parents was more important than my own happiness, which meant that at every crossroad that required me to choose school over art, I chose school. Discovering my own happiness was difficult at first. It involved learning to discern between what I was good at and what was good for me. At first, I felt a lot of shame for putting my desires first. Then there were the years of attempting but feeling like I was failing at reprogramming myself to prioritize my wants and needs. And then it all started to click — the notion that my life is my life. With that realization came the permission I needed to give myself to wholeheartedly pursue the arts. Many years, ups and downs later, I’m turning poems into songs for a living. I’m so grateful to be here, making music, alive and growing more and more self-aware and self-satisfied over time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
If I’ve missed a road sign and there’s actually such a thing as the “smooth road” to take, in music and in life, someone please let me know! My journey to the present has been anything but smooth. But trying to learn from the hard times so that they become lessons rather than regrets — that’s made it all worth it. My greatest struggle in life — which affects all things, including my music — has been trying to break myself out of certain internal and external cycles that have plagued my family for too long. Burdens that have been passed down for generations. It takes so much work to recognize the parts of ourselves that aren’t our own, keep the beneficial ones and either transform or let go of everything else. Sometimes the best and only thing you can do is create boundaries. I’m pretty sure it’s nearly impossible to complete the work, but it’s work I’m willing to do, for the rest of my life, for the sake of future generations.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a musician (singer, songwriter) and poet. I got started in music the day I said, “Fuck it” to what society deemed the “right” path and took that scary leap into the unknown. I think that anyone who knows the path they’re on isn’t for them should feel the freedom to try another. That’s part of what we’re fighting for when we talk about equality — because not everyone has the privilege of risk-taking. But very few great things are achieved without great risks. The system isn’t built for us to do anything other than serve it, which is why we have to reprogram our thinking, restructure our values and assist each other in deconstructing and rebuilding the norm. I’m most proud of the fact that I’m alive today — thanks to therapy and a heart stronger than I give it credit for. I guess I’m giving it credit right now! GO HEART!! I’m also proud to have learned the power of standing up for myself and the power of standing up as a community. There is nothing we can’t achieve via individual and collective empowerment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shungudzo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shungudzo/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shungudzo/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/shungudzo?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB01Qg-GbI6-UCurpNpfFvg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/shungudzo
Image Credits:
Yazz Alali Press photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0lqa506qempw3kw/AABnIVz6dM-oFMfBIxba_uVra?dl=0
