Shingie-Lee: North West’s brightest prodigy
The North West province has birthed some of the biggest names in the South African music sphere, with the likes of Boity Thulo, Luna Florentino, Khuli Chana, and Cassper Nyovest originating from this region.
We were fortunate enough to link up with the talented Shingie-Lee, a rising lyricist who resides in the province and is on the grind to make his name known in Mzansi.
In this interview we were able to understand the world from his point of view, his next moves in the rap game, and anything else that may have interested us.
Firstly, what’s the story behind Shingie-Lee?
All we knew about the talented virtuoso was he came from the North West and he made brilliant music.
We felt it’d only be fair we understood a bit more about his origin story.
“Umm, early background. I was born in Harare and that's where I spent the formative years of my life being raised between a couple of family members.”
“I grew up between the Southside slums of Mbare, GV and Klerksdorp, where I would occasionally visit my pops during school holidays before making a permanent move in the 10th grade.”
Why’d you choose to become a rapper?
Pursuing a music career is a tough challenge, especially in the condensed world of Hip-Hop, but once an artist finds their calling, it’s hard for them to ignore the call. We wanted to know what pulled Shingie into the world of music.
“Becoming a musician, I don't think it's something you wake up one day and consciously choose to do.”
“It's one of those things where you're really interested in something, so you casually get better at and fall in love with it without actually realising, and then after a while when it's now assimilated into your routine or being, you're like oh shit, I'm actually doing this.”
Wanting to become a musician and pursuing that dream are two different things, so we wanted to know when Shingie started having motion with his pen game.
“I started writing raps early on, but wasn't actually interested in rapping myself, I just loved writing music.”
“I only started rapping, and recorded my first song late 2018, after making my first couple of beats and not having anybody to rap on them.”
How did you decide on titling yourself as Shingie-Lee?
“The name Shingie-Lee is quite literally my first and second names, Leroy Shingai, shortened.”
“The first person I remember calling me that is my moms, but she says a nanny I had as a baby gave me the nickname and it just stuck, shoutout to her haha.”
“I just always knew I wanted an artist name that was personal and authentic like some of my favourites, and I couldn't think of anything more authentic than my childhood nickname.”
What’s it like being an aspiring artist from the North West?
We’ve interacted with many musicians representing regions like the Western Cape, Kwa Zulu Natal, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape.
However, Shingie was the first talent we’d linked with from the North West, so we were interested to find out what that kind of experience must be like.
“Well, the North West province is still a relatively small audience for hip-hop and rap, especially the underground or abstract hip-hop that I and a few of the homies make, so it's definitely hard to get your name out there.”
“Nevertheless, we all down for the challenge.”
What’s the story behind your latest single “FAIL FORWARD!”?
Shingie’s latest single, titled “FAIL FORWARD!” released at the end of June, having the young poet team up with Thapelo Omny, showcasing his brilliant lyrical talents over dark and menacing instrumentals.
We wanted to know the story behind how that track was born.
“The track was in Thapelo Omny's vault for a while.”
“I don't know if it's because he wasn't feeling it or if he was waiting for someone to hop on it, but the homie Don played it for me and, I really liked the dark, Alchemist type instrumental and the subject matter of Omny's verse so I put a verse on it, and we put it out.”
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in your music journey?
Navigating the world of music is no easy task (trust us, we’ve spoken to many artists about their experiences), so we were interested to find out what’s been Shingie’s toughest struggle.
“I think the hardest part of my journey as an upcoming artist has been cultivating an audience of people who genuinely care about my art and want to support it.”
“I feel like that's the hardest part mainly because a strong 'fanbase' is the only thing that stands between you and a successful career in music, regardless of your musical skills or even the quality of your music in today's world.”
“It's just something I'm constantly trying to do, and it seems like a never ending task, but again, I'm forever down for the challenge.”
What’s the next moves for the rest of your 2024?
“I've already started writing verses and jotting down ideas and concepts for my debut album.”
“I can already tell it's gonna be a lengthy and tiring process for me, but there's this one producer called slowsleepwaves that I really want to work with, and I hope to have a project with him ready by early 2025”.
To close off our interview we have a final question? If you had the chance to trade places with any musician in the world, who would that be and why?
“Hmmm. I'm gonna go with two options.”
“Two of my favourite musicians alive right now, MIKE aaaaand Yeat.”
“MIKE, because to me he's just that quintessential, once in a lifetime artist that every rap nerd aspires to be, very reminiscent of MF DOOM, Rest in Peace.”
“Yeat, because he makes therapy music for the homies across all genders, races and geographies man. That's literally all I'm tryna do with my own music.”
Interesting choices from an interesting individual.
It seems like Shingie is more than prepared for the Hip-Hop world, and we had a lot of fun having this interaction.
Check out his music, available now on streaming platforms.
