I remember Wavvy Flava hitting us up in our email requesting an opportunity to have us feature his newest single release, titled “Connect”, in our magazine.

Firstly, what intrigued me was the name Wavvy Flava. Something about that title gave me the impression that the sounds I could expect from the Capetonian-based virtuoso would be sounds of vibrancy, elation, and soul. After listening through his discography, all my predictions proved to be correct.

For me, an in-depth song review wouldn't cut it. It felt like my duty to reach out for an interview, and Wavvy was immediately on board.

I had the greatest time understanding his world of music, bouncing between Tanzania and Cape Town, his newest project, “WAVVY IS A BEACH”, and a whole lot more over an ice-cold brew alongside his homie.

To get things off the mark, can you tell us who Wavvy Flava is?

“First of all, the original name is Daniel. It all starts in Tanzania. There’s a different schooling system in Tanzania. From one, which is like Grade seven or eight, I started doing music rapping, rapping, and rapping.”

“But I also used to sing back in the day, you know. In the choir especially. So, when I started, I lost my voice, and I couldn’t sing anymore. What was I going to do? I started rapping, you know.”

“When I finished my secondary, I decided to hit the studio and see what I could do. From there on, I think it was 2015, we started recording and it was a group of four friends, and I was acting as a manager for them. I fell in love with organizing, you know. Here’s an artist and I’ll find a producer and we’re going to link up. There’s a whole following-up behind it. Recording, mixing, mastering, and the whole process after that. I feel like I fell in love with that.”

“That was me at first. I didn’t record too much. It was more of managing for my friends. Through all that, I was learning a lot about everything that comes with music. Once you attach all these things to everything, it all makes sense.”

“At that time, I was studying. I was in university around 2017. The group broke off, and it was left with just a Rap group. That’s when I decided to do melodic rapping. I remember the first time I heard “Astroworld” by Travis Scott. I was making music before that album, but when I listened to “Astroworld” I realized I was making music the wrong way. Now I know I can do melodic shit while focusing on the production, the drums, the fashion, and all these other things.”

“From there on, that’s when I dropped my first song. It was popping but I was also doing remixes for it. But you know, people don’t like to live off one song. That’s why I would go back and do a remix with another rapper and see where it goes from there.”

You mentioned you come from Tanzania. Could you describe to us the music environment in the Tanzanian nation?

“Ah, it’s big man, it’s big. South Africa and Nigeria have been competing, and Nigeria has been on top for a long time. But, Tanzania has always been up there, in like second place or even first. We’ve always been competing.”

“But there’s a language barrier. People are performing in Swahili, so it’s hard for people outside to understand. But, in East Africa, Kenya, Burundi, and Uganda, Tanzanian artists are the best. It’s a big industry. But people are not getting paid, so it’s hard. You can be a big star, but you’re not making money from radio, TV, or shows. As much as it’s big, it still is a tough industry.”

“It’s much better here though. South Africa is the only place where you can actually make money from music. If you have a nice label or publisher that can put your songs on stores or radio, you get paid bro. Nigeria is not as advanced but because of the bigger artists like Wizkid, people go there and invest in music. But South Africa is crazy.”

Who were some of your earlier music inspirations?

“I mean my family is very musical. My mom and dad listen to choir music all the time, and we have local genres that we listen to. I grew up on a lot of Cris Brown, and from 2012, I started getting into J Cole.”

“And imagine, I didn’t listen to Kanye West all that time. It was just R&B. I was never really into the Trap sound. I never got into Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, and all that. I missed that whole era. I only started listening to Trap around 2017. I was a late bloomer. Of course, I started going back to listening to those artists.”

“I know my music history, but it used to always be R&B I was listening to. But after listening to Travis, I realized I could do R&B with some Trap elements. Melodic Trap basically.”

Trying to make it big as an artist in Cape Town, how has the whole experience been like for you?

“When I was coming to Cape Town, I didn’t think Cape Town, as a city, had its own game, you know. I now know that you first have to show people in Cape Town that you can do it.”

“I’m trying to navigate South African Hip Hop, African Hip Hop. We have to take it to the next level. We need to make the most of it. We should cherish whatever we have.”

I really enjoyed the visuals you released for “new life”. Tell us about how that whole shoot went down?

“Yeah, I shot it with my friend. He studies filming. However, he’s also into Trap music. His name is Glen Matjaka. And it’s crazy because he has like twenty playlists of just Trap music.”

“I learned so much from him, and we started shooting music videos. We shot the video in Observatory. There’s another video coming soon which we shot.”

“I want to connect more with directors in the future, you know.”

So, talk to us about your upcoming tape, “WAVVY IS A BEACH”. What can we expect from it?

“All in all, I was always working on a tape. I dropped a tape in 2022, called “SUNSET DRIVE”. I dropped that and I came to AFDA, and I started studying music. That’s where I learned some things and met new people.”

“My next tape, “WAVVY IS A BEACH” was an idea from my late friend who passed in 2021. He’d always ask if “Wavvy is a bitch, or Wavvy is a beach?”. In the end, though, Wavvy is a beach, music is endless. I can limit myself to Trap music only. But I want to enjoy that project for myself.” 

“So, this tape has seven songs, so I can do seven different songs. I can do Trap, I can do melodic, I can do Afro, and I can do East African stuff. There’s a rapper called Brian Simba on the tape. I have a song called “shake 4u”, it’s an R&B song with a little rapping on it. There’s also an artist called Lukhona on that track, a very talented artist.” 

“On all seven songs, you’ll find how Wavvy is a beach. You can find everything on a beach bro.”

What was the whole creation process like behind crafting the project?

“In Tanzania, I always had a studio. And I always had friends that made rap music so I would always help them out. It’s a whole process of me living in my safe zone in Tanzania.”

“When I came to SA, Cape Town, I didn’t have anything. Until April is when I was able to start recording and it felt like a whole new process. For seven years I was going to the studio every day, and when I came here it was four months where I wasn’t making music.” 

“When I came here, I thought I was going to study music, but when I came to AFDA, they told me I had to study filming for six months. That’s when I met all the homies. So, when I got a new mic, the first song I recorded was “new life”.

“I put in the beats, I started mumbling and it went from there. That’s how I make my music. It’s melodic. Then the writing and the lyrics were clean and then it made sense. Then I made many songs after that and went back to Tanzania.” 

“That’s where we started mixing and whatever and said we finally had a song. I had a friend called Fin (fin mastering), and he mastered everything. I wanted someone to master, and I found him and it was easy. The first time I sent him the songs it came back and sent it to my friends. They had never heard of anything like that. So, after that, it was easy.”

“Sometimes I’d record in Tanzania, sometimes I’d record here in Cape Town. We get the vocals, we mix then we master. After that, it’s already fifty percent of the process. We then take pictures for the music and do everything that comes with the music.”

What’s the best part about being a creative?

“I think it’s bringing life to things. I don’t know.”

“In the end, it’s all about that, you know. Bringing life to an idea. At some point, music saved me. I used to play proper football and tried making it in the footballing world, but we grew up and realised it wasn’t going to be easy.” 

“But I started to listen to music in a different way. And that’s when I started to create music. I knew I could make music, and from maybe making music, I realized that my music could also be saving somebody else in the world so let me keep going.” 

“Growing up, I felt like people failed to understand me at first. People would maybe look at me and think I’m entitled. But once you get to know me, bro, you’ll find that everything about me is down to earth.”

This interview opened my eyes to a unique perspective of the local music scene, talking to an artist from a whole different music nation who has been enjoying his journey as a musician in the Mother City.

I was notified about the eventual release of “WAVVY IS A BEACH”, and I was heavily anticipating what sounds I’d be receiving from the gifted creative on his newest offering.

What I loved about the album was Wavvy’s ability to dominate every different sound or genre, dominating sweet Afrobeats while also gracing tracks with Hip Hop elements.

Wavvy used this album to also narrate just the ups and downs in his everyday life, exploring themes of love, struggle, heartbreak, and ascension from all his troubles, reflecting on his past while striving to prosper more in his future.

The instrumentals were also an absolute joy to experience, with every track utilizing a range of mellow sounds (mostly guitar riffing in the background) over impressive beats. Shoutout to the entire production team.

Overall, this was a lovely album to experience, with our standout tracks being “connect”, “one day”, and “shake 4u”. We also need to give credit to the cameo appearances from Lukhona, Madtune, Danger, Tuphy, and Brian Simba, who all put in a fantastic performance.

Check out the new album, now available on multiple streaming platforms.