MoYah is a Mozambican born Afro-fusion Hip Hop artist, award winning creative producer and Educator.
How did you get into music?
It was already embedded in my DNA, my father was a singer and had a band back in Mozambique. Also I grew up listening to my father sing and whistle his favourite songs. My mother would regularly play music and dance around the house whilst she was cooking and tidying the house.
I come from a community where we would regularly have house parties and everyone would dance together, cousins, aunties, grandparents and friends. I think I set up my first Hip Hop group when I was around 14 years old.
Who are your music influences?
I have so many and they are so varied, I’m literally listening to MPB (Popular Brazilian Music) as I type this interview. I actually grew up listening to my father play a lot of Brazilian Music, social political artists such as Bezerra da Silva, but also a lot of Afro Portuguese musicals such as Bonga. Growing up I absolutely loved Michael Jackson and his ability to create mainstream catchy songs with such positive messages addressing powerful topics relating to race, environmentalism and social injustices.
I’m also heavily inspired by old school Hip Hop artists such as Common, Black Star, Wu Tang, 2Pac and more contemporary artists like Kendrick Lamar, J Cole and UK artists like Stormy, Little Simz, Che Lingo, Ghetts, Wretch 32 and I also absolutely love Reggae, Jazz, Amapiano and AfroBeats.
How did your work with youth in underrepresented communities come to be?
I started off working with a lot of young offenders in semi independent placements on a 1-2-1 basis. Then I started supervising and managing some children’s homes and then eventually started running my own workshops with different refugee youth groups, delivering programmes across the UK, Sudan and other parts of the world.
I also co-run a programme with my friend Ian Solomon Kawall called ‘ Hip Hop Gardens’ and our aim is to encourage underrepresented and marginalised communities to reconnect with nature and document their experiences using Hip Hop and creative writing.
What inspires your songs?
My songs are inspired initially by life experiences, things I see and what people go through.
What do you want people to feel when they listen to your music?
I want people to feel empowered, hopeful, and joyful. I want to convey the message of resilience, love and strength.
For someone new to your music, which 3 songs would you recommend they start with?
I feel like a lot of the new music I’m currently creating is by far the best music I’ve done. A lot of it hasn’t been released, but it will be sometime this year. As for music that is out at the moment I’d say: Too much Sauce, Gallery of Dreams and Ke Ke Passa.
What challenges have you faced that you would warn a new artist about?
Not understanding the music industry and the business side of things, it’s great to be creative and master all the creative elements, but equally it’s important to know what to do with your hit once you’ve recorded it.
What have been the highlights of your music career so far?
Being able to pour across 17 countries around the world, connect with so many hearts and to hear directly from my listeners how my music has impacted them, whether it was going through a really difficult period in their life or empowering them in a way that has inspired them to chase their dreams.
Are there any venues that were most memorable for you?
There are a few, performing to 5,000 people in Sudan right by the Red Sea was an extremely precious moment, Mexico was also a very special country to perform in, and of course whenever I perform back home in Mozambique it is a memorable experience.
Where else in the world do you wish to perform?
I’d love to perform across Asia, more of Latin America and a few more countries in Africa.
Who have been your favourite artists/producers to work with?
I absolutely loved working with M1 from the infamous group Dead Prez, the late Sean Price from Boot Camp clik/ Heltah Skeltah and a lot of the people I’m working with now like my brother Don Jaga.
Who would you like to work with in the future?
Man, there are so many. I’d love to work with Ye, Burna Boy, Stormzy, Chronixx, Protoje, Killer Mike, Richie Campbell, Julinho KSD, Plutonio, and June Freedom.
What is the soundtrack to your life?
Lets Get Free by Dead Prez.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Never allow your fears to stop you striving for every dream you have regardless of how big they seem to you, if you can dream it, you can achieve it.
What are the top 5 songs in your playlist right now?
Not in any order:
Ghetts ft Sampha – Double standards
Thee sacred Souls – Can I call you rose?
Gilsons – Varias Queixas
MoYah – Tabonga
Adekunle Gold – More than enough
How can people get in touch with you?
Instagram: @IamMoYah
YouTube: @MoYah TV
Bookings: moyahbookings@gmail.com
How would you like to be remembered?
An artist that used his music and his platform to empower people, connect hearts and amplify the voices of marginalised and underrepresented communities, encouraging listeners to manifest the highest version of themselves.
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