By Brandon Tonderai Ndemera
Upcoming artiste Trevor Tasiyana, aka Axe-On-The-Beat, yesterday launched his debut, an 18-track album titled Changes in a bid to sustain his growing influence within the region’s underground music circles.
Born on the same date in 1997, the release also marked the singer’s 22nd birthday celebrations as well as a decade anniversary for his music career.
In an interview with Standard Style, Young Axe, as he is affectionately known, described the title of the project, which explores various themes, as an emphatic proclamation of the flexibility in his craft.
“A friend of mine remarked that I was too International, that I was focussing on the foreign market too much so I felt I had to prove a point, to show the range of my ability and prove to them the power of an international audience,” said Young Axe.
Rich with diversity, the mixtape contains a series of features and surprise tunes like the gospel song titled Daily Comforter that he did with Umberto from the Democratic Republic of Congo along with a female singer from Kenya.
“I was primarily focused on hip-hop as my main genre, but in this mixtape I had some changes. I did an Afro-song with Kevin from Zambia and a song with DTRCK and Terry-K trap king titled We Ball. I also worked with artistes from Botswana and South Africa, just to mention a few,” he said.
While 18 tracks may seem like a lot for an album nowadays, the young artiste described his generous offering as a “worthy treat for my deserving fans”.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“The list is so endless and I trust my fans will enjoy because it marks a very important checkpoint in my career and it is my promise of more to come,” he said, adding that it was a culmination of all he had encountered in his artistic journey.
“I started doing music at the age of 12, it was a tough journey, but I always believed in myself and that taught me to make music from my heart and the soul.”
Born and raised in Harare’s Dzivarasekwa suburb, Young Axe, who is also a music producer, composer and technical engineer, believes his music contains a unique cut-across flair poised to shift the musical paradigm beyond local borders.
“When I make music, I always try to keep things original so I do not imitate anyone’s sound and I make my own sound such that nobody sounds like me,” he said.
“African music is on the rise and it is the next frontier for hit music, I know for a fact that a lot of people around the world are accepting it.”
Young Axe works as a producer and technical engineer at Heart ‘n’ Soul tele-radio station where he has worked with artistes like Schingy Team Bhoo, Quazor,Tery-K, Trap King zw and Lamoodee bw, among many.
“I look forward to the future and hope to engage more local artistes like YoungNash in my next works,” he said.
