Following their 2021 hit, Yaba Buluku remix with Burna Boy, the Yaba Buluku trio which comprises DJ Tarico, Nelson Tivane and Preck have broken barriers and biases – both within and outside Africa.
Their latest album, “Donsa”, is a pan-African cross-continental LP that sees the band wearing the position of amapiano pioneers and global culture shapers. Yet, what’s most important for them is exporting Mozambican pop culture to the world.
“In Mozambique, it’s not easy to cross borders with music. So every day, we need to bring good news to them and show them we are growing,” said Tarico in this interview with Itty, for DigiMillennials.
This sense of responsibility seems to be what fuels the group to keep putting in work, including their latest visit to Nigeria. We catch up with the creative hard workers in this Q&A session, developed by Funmilayo Sawyerr.
You’re probably Mozambique’s biggest music export. Does this responsibility come with any sort of pressure?
Yes, it does! It’s a big responsibility to carry because in Mozambique, it’s not easy to cross borders with music. So every day, we need to bring good news to them and show them we are growing. In fact, other musicians are putting their faith in us, because not every musician does well out of the country. But, if Yababuluku boys could do well, then every other musician can do well.
How would you best describe the kind of music you make?
It’s amapiano. We are mixing amapiano with local Mozambique sounds and we sing it in our mother tongue, Shangaan. So, that’s the difference between our amapiano and South African amapiano.
Considering how you’re key players in the global promotion of Amapiano, how does it make you feel seeing how much progress the culture has made internationally?
We feel so amazing, so thankful, and so blessed to be one of the pioneers and to see that the agenda has grown, not just in Africa, but worldwide. It’s a big thing and we are happy that people see it. Nigeria too sees the need to push it because it’s Africa, from Africa.
How did that collaboration with Burna Boy happen?
Ahh, the collaboration happened when we were in South Africa. We met our manager there and he asked if we would like to do a remix with Burna Boy and we were like sure! Everyone wants to have a song with Burna Boy.
We sent the vocals to Burna Boy and he sent his vocals back. We finalized the song and came to Nigeria to shoot and that was when we met him physically for the first time. The energy on set was amazing.
What would you say is the biggest lesson you have learned about the music industry since your breakthrough in 2021?
In Mozambique, it’s not easy to become a big artiste; it’s a struggle. We have learned that Nigeria’s industry supports artistes, and it’s nice to see the people show love and know our work. We have learned more about the business of music and how hard people are working in this game.
Tell us about the album, Donsa.
The process of creating the album was normal. We are music lovers and there’s a saying in our place, ‘When you work on something you love, you’re not working, you’re enjoying’. The album took three years to complete because a lot of things had to be connected. Every year we changed the sound to make it better but, the process was very nice.
There are features with Ghanaians, Tanzanians, and Nigerians – is there a reason for this?
Our project is a Pan-African project to bring Africans together as one in the same album, give the world African energy, and show them that it’s possible to break borders. It’s to also show we are united: from music, to everything.
Are you sometimes mistaken to be South African and what’s your reaction when this happens?
Yes! Every time! We try to correct them. Mozambique is a country on its own. We are Mozambican. We also have our manager put it up on our profile, so when people read about us, they know.
“Donsa is a Pan-African project to bring Africans together as one in the same album.
If there’s one emotion you would want listeners to feel while listening to your music, what would it be?
The vibes, the energy, the positivity. We need them to wake up in the morning and have hope that everything will be alright, and have fun. We want to connect them and dance and chop life. Life is short and you need to enjoy it.
Are there any plans for a North American tour?
Yes, there are! We are working on coming to Canada for some festivals and to make it a tour, but we only have one request and don’t just want to come and do one stuff and go back. So, we are trying to find the African promoters and talk to them about parts we can assess. We definitely have plans to take the album worldwide, that’s why we had collaborations in different languages apart from English.
At the end of the day, what would be that benchmark of fulfillment for you?
To help the Mozambican industry grow and become big.
Itty can be caught studying African pop culture, writing about it or hosting a relationship podcast. When he's not doing any of these, then he's definitely at a bar, getting mocktail.
