Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I don’t come from a musical family so it’s hard to pinpoint how I became so passionate about singing. But even from the age of 3 I would sing and dance all the time, like really all the time, and I’ve been told and vaguely remember that I used to create original songs, especially when I would play with my dolls.
Then when at my school in Tanzania (where I grew up), there was a music school at my school called Umoja Music School/Group, and so I began learning to sing and play ukulele there. I would perform almost every weekend with David Seng’enge as he was my ukulele teacher, so every weekend in Arusha there was some kind of performance I would sing at.
When I moved to Uganda at age 10 I continued to perform and even created an original song that I wrote and choreographed a dance for and performed in front of my whole school. In terms of my childhood, I moved around a lot as a kid as well which has made me fall in love with different genres and languages. I was born in Kenya, raised in Tanzania, Uganda and now Canada, so I love many genres and love creating music in different languages.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Elaete”?
A: Since I moved around so much in my childhood and I come from a multicultural family, I’m focused on growing a fanbase that is really borderless. I speak English, Swahili and French so I want to grow fanbases in regions that speak that language by making songs in those respective languages and marketing the music to those groups with intention. In addition to that, I began dancing at around age 6 and acting around age 10 so I want to build a fanbase that discovers me through different pathways and respects all of my various passions.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: Honestly I will always say Mariah Carey. I loved her as long as I can remember, I have always been her biggest fan. I am so inspired by her insane vocals, her songwriting and her resilience with what she has been through in the industry. I remember I read her memoir and watched her movie when I was 12. Her vocal range and mastery is something I am forever impressed by, my own range I have been told is about 4 octaves which definitely shapes how I write melodies for my own music and what songs I cover. I remember being 10 or 11 years old and hearing Emotions over the summer and all I could do was belt along to it and try all the whistle tones.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Ethereal.”?
A: I’m a very nostalgic person, I think about the past a lot, often through rose-coloured glasses and Ethereal mostly expresses that. I’m not sure how it came to me but I was in my room making the song and I just remember when I discovered the beat, I put the audio file of me talking as a kid at the beginning and it fit perfectly. Then I created the melody and the lyrics just flowed. It’s mostly reflecting on my journey and my childhood in a positive way and I feel like the song is what nostalgia feels like to me.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: One word is so hard… Maybe borderless. Borderless not just in terms of country, but also in terms of genre, style, language, message. I don’t want to pigeon-hole myself into any identity and I want to express myself in any avenue that I can.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Ethereal”?
A: The first time I released it was in 2024 when I just began Grade 11 and at the time I had only ever been to studio sessions just to get a feeling of what it was like, not actually with intention. I would constantly send the 2024 version out to people to get feedback and they would always tell me I needed to ‘mix and master’ it. At the time I genuinely had no idea what that meant so I was confused so I just continued to record more demos, but then I realised that I genuinely needed to get it ‘mixed and mastered’, and so in 2025 I would go to the studio constantly to get it done and then I had it mixed and mastered and finally released it.
Another challenge I faced was I suppose not being taken very seriously. I really started out in the music industry when I was around 15 years old so it was tremendously difficult to get people to take me seriously, especially with my unmixed and unmastered demos, my naivete and my low follow count. I would send out my music, pitch myself, do cold emails, offer volunteer work at studios, attend music industry events and it was so hard to get people around me to see my potential or take me seriously. Over time, I have learned better ways of pitching myself, presenting myself and showing up to events in a more mature and informed manner.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: My message is an expression of identity. I am a very multifaceted person and I want my music to express all those parts of me and I want others to feel empowered to embrace different parts of themselves. My goals are to build a bigger fanbase across the world and have longevity in my career. I really want to perform at a high level and create really impactful meaningful bodies of work.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: Mariah Carey and Wizkid. I have so much respect for Mariah and Wizkid is one of those people with a natural intuition for music and sounds.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: To hone in on what they are good at and continuously perfect their craft and not be afraid at all of putting themselves out there. Don’t be afraid to be seen, post all the time, perform all the time, produce all the time, release all the time. Don’t wait to be discovered and be a self-starter. Nothing can hurt you except your own fear.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: I would advise her not to be worried about what anyone thinks. Now that I am 17 I don’t feel that same burden anymore. But I remember being maybe 12 years old and having so many songs in my garageband that I had written and sometimes produced and feeling way too afraid to share them. Now that I am older, I have the courage that my 12 year old self needed so I am grateful that I have grown.
