ONE ON ONE : ‘The German Juice’ hit star Cynthia Morgan

25-year-old Cynthia Ikponmwenosa Morgan aka Cynthia Morgan aka Madrina, who describes herself as “an African artiste from Nigeria”, was in Nairobi for a Coke Studio Africa recording session. PHOTO| COURTESY

25-year-old Cynthia Ikponmwenosa Morgan aka Cynthia Morgan aka Madrina, who describes herself as “an African artiste from Nigeria”, was in Nairobi for a Coke Studio Africa recording session.

The dancehall artiste is locally known for her 2015 monster jam "German Juice" – that’s still a club hit as well as her first hit, "Don’t Break My Heart" and "I’m Taken". She spoke to Thomas Rajula.

First time in Kenya?

Yes.

 

What’s been your experience so far?

Oh, it’s been an amazing experience. The people are really warm and very welcoming, and lovely environment for creativity. I definitely love this place.

 

Why did you decide to do dancehall music?

I’ve always been the type of person who likes challenges – I don’t like things that come easy to me. I know Afro-beats (the Nigerian kind), I can watch Americans and do R&B, and I can sing and do everything. I had a bunch of uncles who used to listen to a lot of dancehall when I was growing up, and that influenced me. Afro-beats influenced me a lot too, but I decided to go with dancehall because, I thought, not a lot of people were representing it like rap and Afro-beats.

 

What challenges do you face as a dancehall artiste?

First of all, if you do dancehall music, people presume you’re poor, from the ghetto. A lot of people tried to discourage me when I was starting out, telling me, “Oh, you’re not gonna do dancehall and make it. You’re gonna have to do what everyone else is doing.”

 

What motivated you to keep on this path?

The fact that I didn’t want to do what everybody else is doing. I had to prove to people that I can do dancehall and still be successful. I knew that if I were to pick dancehall and be successful at it, I’m going to be happier with myself for the fact that I stood for something I believed in.

 

You started out in Benin City?

I did start recording in Benin City, but moved to Lagos because, obviously, I knew what I wanted for myself and I wanted everybody to hear me at that point. I knew I had something different – a different sound.

 

What do you mean ‘a different sound’?

I’m not typically a dancehall artiste: I do reggae, Afro-beats, rap; I call it the ‘Madrina’ (godmother) sound. I appreciate that people acknowledge me as simply a dancehall artiste, because that was my origin, but I purely do music right now. That is, I can relate with any type of music – even rock – and still put my sound in it. I just have influence from dancehall and Afro-beats. It even helps me better because I have different influences from different kinds of music, backgrounds, and cultures.

 

Which artistes did you look up to that sparked the musical interest in you?

I looked up to pretty much a lot of influences from a range of artistes: Brenda Fassie, 2Baba (formerly 2Face) Idibia, Mavado, Sizzla Kalonji, Beenie Man, among others. I even had one of my favourite artistes coming from Kenya; it’s a guy…

 

Wyre?

Thank you. I used to watch him on MTV all the time; way back (between 2004 and 2006). I loved him so much.

 

Speaking of which, are there Kenyan artistes you would want to collaborate with or feature on your works?

It would only be Wyre, for now.

 

You have a few love songs in your musical arsenal, are these personal confessions? Are you in a romantic commitment?

I’m in a relationship, yes, with my fans, my music and I’m happy. I pretty much write about my environment, my kind of person – what I think, what I see – and my culture. So sometimes I feel like writing about love, which Africa and my culture stands for. There’s a stage, when you grow, you want to get married, you love somebody and you don’t want to get hurt, you want to celebrate love. That’s how I come up with songs like "Don’t Break My Heart" and "Lead Me On".

 

What made you go ahead with Coke Studio Africa?

As an artiste, we work together to get appreciated and at the same time to trade our music. That Kenyans appreciate my music, I wanted to come out here and get to know more about Kenya, and in return have Kenyans get to know more about my music and me – as a person and artiste.

What Coke Studio stands for – to celebrate African artistes, to merge artistes that never would have met in life – that unity; that’s what Africa should stand for. I thought it would be nice to come out here and celebrate with my fellow African brothers and sisters.

 

How does Cynthia Morgan differ as a person and as an artiste?

Being an artiste, that’s my business. I don’t think I sleep with ‘I’m a superstar’ in my head. I sleep as a normal person. I differentiate it very well. I’m a very homely person: I’m the type of person that cooks, I call my mum four times a day and also speak to my grandmother – I got here and first thing I asked for was a phone, because I needed to speak to them, and everyone looked at me weirdly. I’m very super-tuned about entertainment; it’s an act. Bankers don’t sleep in their suits.

 

What other hobbies do you have besides cooking?

I love to play basketball and shooting pool. I’m also a humanitarian; caring for people gives me joy and I’m even looking to do some charity work here in Kenya before I go back. My foundation is called Cynthia Morgan Foundation.

 

Advise to artistes – upcoming or otherwise – on what to do to stand out

Two things, lack of fear and consistency. When you put your mind to something, pray hard and work hard; trust me it works out. Also dream big that even you might be scared by them.

 

Should we be expecting new songs, may be a new album, any time soon?

Yes. I’m dropping a new single soon, featuring Stonebwoy from Ghana, and that’s going to be my first collaboration ever. I mean having someone else featuring on my track. And then my album is going to be out, by the grace of God, before the end of September.