Volvexzshawa: Bouncing back from a difficult musical hiatus

Volvexzshawa, real name Hamisi Gift Musitwa, is a rapper and songwriter who shook off his tribulations to return to the music industry after a three-year hiatus, refusing to be silenced and starting afresh - despite his financial turmoil and managerial afflictions.

Stating that it was not a walk in the park for him, Volvexzshawa says that he had to start from zero, adding that his fans' immense support saw him jump to incredible online listenership - averaging over 197,878k monthly listeners and over 2 million streams on both Spotify and YouTube Music.

"The past three years have had a lot of difficulties with uploading my music since I still had to know rights to my name but I'm really proud of the few brands and fans who helped me get my story and voice out there to be heard," he said. 

"I'm also really glad that, through help from The Kenya Copy Right Board, I have reclaimed my stage name back and have the rights to publish music under my name," he said.

Volvexzshawa's music career suffered a crippling period after his mother got into an accident and his Dad suffered from corona virus. The same period saw him lose not just his partnership with his old record label - but his weight too.

"As a man of the family, I had to bring food to the table. The task really drained both my physical and mental health since I had no capital or even shows due to the Covid-19 restrictions," he says.

Faced with betrayal from friends and compatriots, Volvexzshawa says that at his lowest moment, everyone shunned him and ran away, leaving him to fend for himself and fight for his own space in the face of neglect from the people he once supported and held dear.

Armed with tough lessons, the rapper then embarked on educating younger artists on how to survive in the industry and also, how to avoid getting exploited by industry mercenaries.

He therefore formed an independent Record label named Blessed Hands Records which he now uses as a vehicle to not just offer free music distribution but also manage upcoming artists and also, inspire the youth.

While at the same time, Volvexzshawa started the distribution of his two albums "Stay Focused" and "Big Boys Don't Cry" via his own record label, which was an inspirational work speaking to the youth to embrace a more upright lifestyle while also paying homage to his late father.

"He struggled alot to being food to the table and make sure all his five children went to school and graduated," he states.

As his career continued to flourish, Volvexzshawa also managed to collaborate with California-based music band Dollar Boyz which he says helped generate both sales and tours at a time he was at his lowest.

While also celebrating his 25th birthday, which falls on March 2, Volvexzshawa says he is eternally grateful to God for the grace and kindness while also thanking his mother for being there for him all along.

"As I turn twenty five years, I thank God for keeping me focused and consistent with my craft.  I also wish to promise my fans that the wait will be worth it," he says.