Talking to: Czafari.
©Ellie Koepke
Introducing Czafari.; a British Black female singer songwriter, with a force and voice to be reckoned with. She started out making music and performing professionally at the age of seventeen in 2016, releasing her first EP ‘Human Legitimization’ and making strides in the local and national jazz, soul and r&b music scenes, including performing at the Cheltenham Jazz festival in 2018.
In 2019 she put her music career on hold to concentrate on motherhood after having her daughter Caim. But now she is back, more determined than ever, and with so much to share with the world.
We caught up with her recently and talked about her music, her past and current influences, and the effect motherhood has had on her as a person, as a singer-songwriter, and the creative process.
Firstly, can you tell us a little more about your music, and how it is returning to the music scene after having a baby?
I took a two year break from music and performing to have my daughter Caim, who is 18 months old; she is a little superstar! She is getting a lot more independent now and she doesn’t need me as much as she did maybe a year ago, so it’s given me the opportunity to get back into music again and start doing what I love again.
I think it was last year when she was about nine months old, I kind of felt myself feeling really deflated, and didn’t know why. I think the core of it, for me and for other mums, was the fact that mums often stop doing what they love, and put all of their energy and all of their time into looking after their baby; they kind of don’t really think about themselves.
I totally get you!
So I was going down that route and I had to pull myself out of it and be like, “Stop! Soon Caim will be a lot more independent, she won’t need you as much, and you’ll be able to shape yourself into the person that you want to be again”. I had to get myself into the mindset that I wasn’t going to be exactly the same person as I was pre-baby; I am going to be something completely different and I am going to have to get used to that person. So, I got myself into the mindset that I could get back into doing music again, and kind of manifest that person who I want to be through making music step by step.
I think that’s really common isn't it? For mothers to get lost in motherhood and float away from who they are and what they are into. I know I did that. I think it is an important lesson for our children, especially our daughters, for them to see us creating and being the best person we can. I think that's really good for them as well.
I think that’s very true. There have been moments in the last few months when I have doubted myself and thought this is too difficult, I can’t balance it. And I just thought that if I am going to give up on my dreams that easily, my daughter will see that and pick up on that mentality, because kids learn from us.
I want her to have drive and enthusiasm and learn that from me. So as she grows and I am growing with my music as well, she will be able to see that and say “Ohhhh, Mummy’s doing this, Mummy’s doing that, I’m going to do this”. She doesn’t have to pursue music, she can pursue whatever she wants; I think parenthood is teaching me to lead by example. What do I want to see my daughter doing? So whatever I want to see her doing I should be doing as well.
So how is it making music now you are a parent? Has it changed your approach to making music, your view of parenting? How are you fitting the two in?
It’s definitely changed me; it’s shifted me, kind of given me a bit of a shake up as well. It’s kind of a test. I feel like my mind keeps asking me “Do you really want this? Do you really want to make music?” because the balance is extremely difficult. It’s making sure that I have time for my daughter, creative time, time for my family, time for my friends as well; I have to break it up a lot.
Sometimes I plan to get things done creatively, and they don’t get done because my daughter needs attention. It's not as easy as just deciding to write a song and sitting down and doing it. I have to plan it, set aside time, write it in my diary or on my calendar, make sure that I am more organised. So it’s a bit of a test of ‘if you really want it you can do it’. I am a firm believer that if you really want something you have to keep pushing it, and affirm it as much as you can.
Have you always been into music and performing?
Always! For as long as I can remember! When I was really young, probably about four, we used to go to church every Sunday and there was a choir at the church. I remember my Mum pushing me to go and sing in the choir. It was a confidence boost, and I picked up the words quite quickly, and all of my family just started telling people I was really into music. I used to dance as well; dance competitions, performances. I have just always been singing and dancing.
That’s why I felt so deflated after I had Caim; it was the longest time I hadn’t done any music or anything associated with music. It’s a big part of my life.
©Ellie Koepke
Tell us a bit about what you write about; what issues and themes you come back to in your music, and why they are important to you.
So, to go back to the beginning of my music, I wanted to talk about my feelings, to get in touch with my feelings, so I would talk about love and attraction and things that made me feel essentially. But on my first EP there was one song that stuck out because I wrote it about police brutality, after hearing about a particular case of a Black man being shot in America. I wrote it about how the media dehumanises Black males after they have been shot by the police. It is the police who have done wrong, but the person who has been shot is turned into the bigger criminal, when they haven’t actually done anything that bad.
That was the first time I wrote a song about something that touched me when I heard about it at the time. [Police brutality] still continues to this day, which is very unfortunate, but it has also shifted a lot of mindsets to bring racial injustice to the forefront of everyone’s minds and make everyone more aware of it, which is really, really good.
I like to put messages out there with my lyrics. I have one song where I tell people to wake up and listen to themselves; follow their dreams. Now, with this new chapter of my music, I think my aim is to keep on putting messages out there, to educate people in a sense.
My new single ‘Your Biggest Fan’ is to educate people that motherhood is hard and it's tiring, sometimes you don’t want to do it. It's more than just cute pictures and cute clothing, there is more depth to it. I wanted to let people know that I am in this new chapter of my life. I was a bit sceptical at first, because not everyone is a mother, not everyone would be able to relate, but I think you can interpret the song in many different ways.
Yes, and I think if you are considering audiences for any kind of creative messaging you can’t just think ‘Oh, I need to make sure this relates to everyone who may stumble across it’ because then it isn’t genuine.
Tell us about the music scene in Birmingham. What is it like as a Black woman especially; is it easy to get into, how do you fit into it?
In Birmingham, in the West Midlands area in general, there is so much going on. It's a really noisy music scene, full of many different genres. It's great because there is definitely talent in Birmingham. I think it's changed a lot from when I first started in music back in 2016. It wasn’t as noisy as it is now, there were less gigs, less opportunities, and it was a very quiet place.
People from Birmingham are getting known, people are starting to rise up. There are loads of different identities now within the music scene in the West Midlands; there’s the indie scene, the r & b scene, which I kind of resonate with, there’s the soul and jazz scene, and it's great, there's just so much out there.
For a Black woman I think it’s extremely difficult, but at the same time that is a good thing. It means Black women are being creative, they are challenging views. We can be creative, we can be a bit different, we can be quirky. I think it's changing for the better. The scene is small compared to the scale of London for example; there are a lot more opportunities and help for artists in London. Here there is not so much, but I don’t think that matters. We have the talent, we have the resources.
So you write your own music, you are a solo artist, but are you completely DIY or do you work with other musicians or producers?
I have worked with loads of different producers over the years because I can’t physically produce music. I have tried but it's not really my forte, I am more the songwriter. Recently I have been working with a producer called Reece Hayden, he has produced my latest single. He is a really creative guy who produces loads of different types of music, so he has been good.
With the new project I am working on now I am trying to work with a wide range of producers, just to kind of co-lab and get to know more people as well. My new EP will be a mixture of new producers I have worked with. Getting different kinds of sounds but having it still fit my brand; I think that is going to be really interesting.
And who are your influences?
This is always the toughest question! Growing up I listened to all different kinds of music. I remember being young and flicking through all the different music channels; going to MTV base for R & B, then going over to Kerrang! and listening to 70s and 80s music on Magic, so I have never been able to really place myself.
But in terms of the music I create, it’s like Lauryn HIll, Jenhe Aiko, Mahalia... oh! there's so much! But also, sometimes I kind of feel like the tone of music I make goes back to stuff I used to listen to; it's like a fusion of different kinds of artists I have listened to over the years. For example, I love Kate Nash, she is so particular with her lyrics, the things she talks about, she is fearless, and that has influenced me to talk about the things I want to in my music, to get those things out there.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I am listening to a lot of Joy Crooks, she is absolutely amazing. She is young, so about the same age as me, she’s one of my favourite artists ever! Also a girl called Josie Man. Again, she is one of those artists who kind of just does what she wants, she is fearless, and she is quite poppy but she is not on the pop music scene.
You have just released ‘Your Biggest Fan’ this month; what is coming up next? I know it’s really hard to plan ahead in lock down, but what do you see coming up for you this year as a musician?
More live gigs, fingers crossed! As long as all the music venues open up again, I will definitely perform again, getting out of my comfort zone and getting on stage again. I am hoping to release another single in April or May and after that, later this year, the EP.
I just feel like my music has bought me so many opportunities so far, and I am doing what I love. I don’t really have too many expectations of it, I just want to make music, put it out there, and if people like what I am doing, that is all good!