WHEN IT COMES TO MUSIC, MOOZY GOT NEXT

On our recent trip to Gaborone, Botswana, we met a young musician who has captured the country’s attention and psych.

Jordan Moozy is a multi-talented singer songwriter, born in Botswana but of Zimbabwean origin.

While still new to the business, only having released his debut EP De’Grace end of last year, Jordan Moozy lacks no talent, commitment, or ambition. He has the TAP Magazine co-sign and we’re yet to be wrong on a musician we’ve endorsed. So go ahead and find him on your favorite streaming platform or on YouTube while you familiarize yourself with his backstory. It is only a matter of time before you hear him on your local radio, or his tour bus shows up to a city near you

My name is Emmanuel Jordan Muzenda but I go by Jordan Moozy.

I’m a singer and songwriter currently based here in Gaborone.

My mom gave me the name Jordan because she’s deep in her faith. A strong Christian woman. She was saying, God, be with us, we are crossing over, you know, the Jordan River. My parents and my family are from Zimbabwe, but I was born in Botswana. I dropped out of high school in form four to pursue music, and it was hectic. At the time, my parents had financial difficulties and it was either my sister continued with school, or I did, and I volunteered. I said let my sister finish school and I’ll figure my life out. At the time, I was already obsessed with being a rapper.

You started out as a rapper, were you any good?

Yes, I am a very good rapper… (Laughs)

What were those early days starting out like?

It was a very difficult time in my career because I barely knew anyone. You find yourself in a position where everything that every person says sounds like wow, and you’re just going for it. But it was also a good learning process, you start small, and it’s humbling.

Back then, I remember recording with a few people at the start, and that wasn’t so great. None of the music from those days ever came out. Something about me, I’ve always wanted the top quality of everything.

I’m a person who values high standards when it comes to my art and I didn’t want to give people a reason to feel like, hey, he didn’t do this to his fullest capability.

When did you know you were ready to release material that you liked?

For a long period of time, I was going from here to there meeting people and doing small gigs here and there and people started to notice me and would invite me to come and collaborate, but I never did anything solid until a friend of mine who at the time was building a record label called the Douzy Brand and we started working together although he was more like a mentor in terms of my music. He refined my talent. Then there was an audition for a radio drama that wanted singers and actors to play. I went and did that, then I got a call back and they said, you know, your voice is what sold you. Once there, I met a man named Tefo Paya who also took me under his wing, and he just plugged me to a whole different world that I had no knowledge of musically.

Sounds like you’ve had solid people behind you.

Yes, I’ve been very lucky. For example, before I met Tefo Paya, I used to be shy and a very timid person. I couldn’t sing in front of people. He would always encourage me to believe in myself and to believe in my talent. Before I knew it, I was in spaces that kind of forced me out of that timid place that I was in. When you’re finally in front of people, you have no choice but to sing. You can’t go in front of people and freeze. Yeah, that would be hectic! So, I did a lot of those and grew. Then there was also a friend of mine, Dato Seiko, she was better musically than me and she also supported and pushed me and put me in spaces where people could see me sing.

I used to play guitar for her at first and then we eventually started singing together. We still sing together. Even today we’ve got a band that we play in called WHAT! Yeah, it’s an awkward name! From there I started doing these small gigs and festivals and building a brand and a name and getting people to become familiar with me.

When did you break out on your own or when did you go out there and perform by yourself?

2018 is when I took a serious leap in terms of my career. It’s when I had my first one man show at Botswana Craft. I had 300 people come in with no music out of my own, from just doing open mics and gigs here and there. It was great even though I didn’t think that was my best performance. I was scared, because I suffer from social anxiety; I still managed to get through it and people enjoyed the performance but I could have done better.

2018 is also the year when I started recording as well. I remember the first single I did was with an artist called Berry Bone and we did a song called “Need to Know”. I also did something with a deejay called Tumie BlackAce, uh, that was good. We touched number one on the local charts on Yarona Fm. Up until this point, I hadn’t put out anything of my own yet because I was at a point where I was still trying to figure out what my sound was. So, the following year I put up another single “Banyana Ke Maaka” with Veezo View. He’s a very talented rapper, one of the world’s best.

What inspired Jordan Moozy’s first song?

{Laughs} When I was writing the song, at the time, I was hurt by a girl and the way I like to write music, I write music from the perspective of when a person listens to it, I try and envision how it’s going to make them feel. And in this particular song, I was talking about the ego and how, you know, you try to protect yourself and carry yourself in a particular way in life and you never want anybody to ever catch you ‘sleeping’ but the one minute that you do actually let somebody in, they take you from your high place and show you that you’re only human at the end of the day. I wouldn’t say it was a toxic song, but like it was really just a song to say no matter what you do, I will still be the same guy.

That song got me my first nomination for an award. I was nominated for best newcomer and best R&B. It was good to see, in as much as you can feel that your music is great, it is good to see how other people react to it. That year, I’d also go on to work on a collaboration with FlyBoi Que and Luther October and we won an award for best collaboration for our song Ndeya which stayed on the charts for three months. I remember we received a plaque because we were on the chat for the longest time in Botswana. Hard work was finally starting to pay off.

Did you always want to be an artist?

Growing up I wanted to play football, but there weren’t real avenues for me to practice that. At some point, I also wanted to be a fireman like my dad. These were all serious ambitions, but I guess music eventually won because I’m an introvert and I like my own space.

My cousins used to play jazz and they had these instruments at home; one played keys, the other played guitar, and they’d always leave the instruments when they were going to do other stuff. And I’d be that naughty kid who would always go into their room to try to learn how to play and then leave it like I found it. Even though they’d always figure out that I touched the guitar, there was never anybody to teach me until there was a teacher of mine in high school in form one. He was very good, and I learned the basics.

Eventually at some point, I started using YouTube as well and that was very helpful. But I don’t like seeing things digitally. Then, I remember there was a gentleman, his name was Rahman, he had a book of chords and stuff, and he gave it to me, and he was like, go learn how to play guitar. That was super dope, may the almighty bless Mr. Rahman.

Do you remember the first time you told your parents you wanted to be an artist?

(Laughs). They looked at me like I was crazy, and I think to some extent, they still think I’m crazy, they really didn’t want to take me seriously. I think there was a time my father even told me they were disappointed in me. It was just very hectic because I was like, oh, I’ve become that child. But when they started to see that it wasn’t a quick fast thing and that every year you keep pushing, even when it’s not giving as much, they became more tolerant. Because of the passion and the effort I was putting in, they were like; we’re not fine with it, but it’s not like we can force you to do anything else.

The only thing is they want me to sing gospel. That’s the thing! That’s a big challenge because they’re like; why aren’t you singing in churches?

Should we expect a gospel song from Jordan Moozy?

Well, if you listen to River, I wouldn’t say it’s gospel, but that’s as much gospel as I’m giving (I’m joking!). We’ll see. We’ll see what happens in the future.

How would you describe your music and sound currently?

In terms of my music and my sound currently, I like pop and I like hip hop as well because I wanted to be a rapper, so I had to find a way to fuse the two worlds. At the same time, I’m an African and I wanted that to show in my music as well. As a Zimbabwean, I listened a lot to Oliver Mtukudzi growing up and is someone I look up to and there’s a way that he plays his guitar that almost sounds like it’s on the Mbira. So, I infused these worlds that have influenced me. There was a time when I was working with my producer Flex the Ninja on a song, and we were able to crack that code in terms of what I want my sound to sound like.

In short, I’d say my music is hip hop influenced, in terms of how I flow and how I write but I’m not rapping, I’m singing. I’m creating melody because when you sing something, it always feels better than when you’re speaking it. My approach on the beats is pop, but with African influences. I wouldn’t say it’s Afropop, It’s really its own thing. I wish there was something I could use to describe it, but I’m also glad that it’s something that I’m figuring out as I go.

Tell us about your EP and what inspired it

I’ve got a new E.P. titled De’Grace. I wrote many of the songs during Covid when there was a lot of time to work on stuff. It was like a blessing in disguise because it was just like, oh, there’s nothing to do, might as well write some music. My thought process of the EP was thinking along the lines of the non-duality of life. I’m a person that believes there’s not a good or bad thing because a bad thing can happen for you to realize that there’s something that you need to deal with in your life. Which is a good thing! During this time, I was introspecting, this whole project is a project of introspecting oneself and just telling yourself that, you know, I really do need to work on myself as an individual.

The way I tell the stories on the EP, I sort of romanticize the stories, so sometimes it sounds like I’m talking about a girl, but I’m not talking about a girl. I’m talking to myself. The EP is called De’Grace because grace is an unmerited favor. And I felt that many of us, myself included, were living with unmerited grace, and needed to really reflect and change our ways.

What is your favorite Jordan Moozy song?

My favorite Jordan song is River. River is influenced by Fela Kuti’s approach to music. There was a time I was listening to Fela on repeat during Covid. There was this Broadway album that they put out and there was a choir singing and it was lit, and I was just saying, how do I replicate this? But also make it urban, make it Jordan Moozy, make it very pop. Because I like to appeal to my market, I’m a very vibey and groovy guy.

In the making of the song, I thought, as much as I’m from Zimbabwe, Botswana is also home, and I wanted to include some Botswana traditional rhythm that I was digging, but I didn’t want to sound like I’m now making traditional music. So, I was like, how do I fuse this traditional rhythm with this Fela Kuti I have been listening to? Essentially, fusing Fela Kuti with this traditional tempo while also making it groovy and appealing to a younger audience.

When I fused all these worlds together and found the pocket I was looking for, it was pure fire. The song now even sounds like you’re going to a river, like you’re going to war. If you listen to it properly, it sounds like we’re going to do something. I also talk about corruption in “River”, you know, Fela Kuti used to talk a lot about corruption and stuff. So, I added that inside, and it’s like yeah, we’re trying to beat corruption. The best moment was when I found the groove, when it clicks and you’re in your element. I also love how the song starts… (‘singing’ going to the river!)

Five, ten years from now, where do you see Jordan Moozy?

I think I wouldn’t want to give myself that time because you know, God’s timing is always the best. But, five years from now, I want to be the greatest artist in the world. I want to be the best at everything I do. If you’re the best in the world, everybody’s listening. And not for anything vain but also because of the impact that I would have and how I want to change lives. You need to have a certain position of power if you want to make things happen. That’s genuinely why I would definitely want to be the best because people hear you when you are the best at what you do.

If you get the platform you want, what are the things you would like to do outside of music?

I want to do philanthropy. I want to change people’s lives because I believe that’s my purpose on this earth. To make life better for as many people as I possibly can. There’s no joy in reaching the top and just being there alone. Just being able to say; God has given me, I should give to others. I want to do my bit to contribute positively to the world.

What’s the one thing that you’d like to do that you haven’t had an opportunity to do yet?

I’m into extreme sports. I’ve never done them because I can’t afford them. But it’s a route I want to explore. I want to go snowboarding, surfing, and tandem jumping. I want to do all of it. I like physical activity; I like that a lot and would like to do more of it.

Last words to your new and old fans?

I’m generally not a person of many words, but I guess the only thing I can ever encourage people to do is to be the best version of themselves. Don’t give up on your dreams. Live large, don’t do it small. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t shoot for the stars.