A star on the rise!

Msimisi Sithole is a Swati musician who was one of the 11 winners of the Red Bull "Lift As You Rise" Project in South Africa last year and got to work with some of the most well renowned musicians in the industry including Nasty C and Tellaman. He recently released a track with one of Eswatini’s amazing artists, Sands, titled Zumbu and he just graduated from the University of Botswana with a degree in Industrial Engineering. I know…he’s got brains too.

He is the second born of six incredible children. All of whom really have strong and diverse personalities. They were all raised in Big Bend, where they spent a significant portion of their lives until they moved to Mbabane.

He says he started singing in Primary school. His sister used to be in the school choir but he was too young to join. So after her rehearsals she would come home and teach him what they learnt, a process he thoroughly enjoyed. By the time he was old enough to join the choir, he was excited because he knew nearly everything.

Msimisi says he fell in love with music after his first CD purchase, which was a Westlife album. He was young and didn't understand the lyrics but they made him feel some type of way. He was thoroughly moved by that power and he fell in love with music there and there.

When I ask him if he is from a musical family, he says “My parents believe they are”. With a giggle. “But all of my siblings can sing...well, at least hold a note". And one of his brothers is a guitarist while Msimisi is still in the works of learning to play a musical instrument.

He says that being one of the winners of the Red Bull “Lift As You Rise” Project in South Africa was an incredible experience. “Firstly, the fact that I was selected from a pool of 25,000 entries silenced any doubts that I had about my abilities. Then to be surrounded by such a high level of talent was exhilarating and inspiring. I grew in my understanding of the industry, in my skill and self-confidence” He explains.

He furthermore excitedly mentions, “We were privileged to not only be able to mingle with and grow from Nasty, Gemini Major, Tellaman, Rowlene and Lastee, but their entire team was well informed as we constantly asked as many questions as we could. There was a day where the Universal Africa MD joined us and we used that opportunity to ask as many questions as we could as well. It was, overall, an incredibly enriching experience.”

Msimisi says we can expect more music from him. "I'm currently working on an EP to be released before the end of this year. A few singles from the EP will drop before then." While he is also trying to figure out how best to use his social media platforms to push other upcoming artists which he will do soon as well.

He wraps it up and says that in all Eternity, there'll never be anyone like him. One with his knowledge, experiences and capability of doing the things he does. “So it's up to me to give the world the best of this version of myself because it will never be seen again” He concludes.