Shungudzo

A woman of many talents, Shungudzo is a Zimbabwean-American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, gymnast, and television personality. Prominently featuring socially conscious lyrics and themes of female empowerment, her music is an eclectic cocktail of R&B, hip hop, and dance-pop. She was born Alexandra Shungudzo Govere on May 12, 1987, in Laie, Hawaii, and was raised in a rural village in Zimbabwe. At age 9, she became the first Black female gymnast to represent Zimbabwe at the 1999 All-Africa Games. A precocious student, Shungudzo graduated high school at the age of 14 and later attended Stanford University to study civil engineering. After being discovered by producer Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, known for his award-winning work with Alicia Keys, she released the mixtape Love is 4 Suckaz/I'm a Sucka 4 Love in 2010. A year later, Shungudzo was cast on MTV’s The Real World: San Diego, which considerably raised her public profile. In the following years, Shungudzo co-wrote songs with Louisa Johnson and Little Mix and featured on Jim James’ Eternally Even (2016). “Long Live the Billionaire,” her debut single, arrived in 2017 while her 2018 track “Come on Back” was included in the soundtrack for the feature film Fifty Shades Freed. Preceded by the 2020 single “It’s a Good Day (To Fight the System),” her studio debut, the sprawling I’m Not a Mother But I Have Children saw the light in 2021.