By: Hallie Horton
Nashville artist Grizzy Grey’s newly released track “Favorite Regular” was presented to me through Instagram earlier this week and now I’m dreaming of paying a visit to Music City for a little live hip hop action. While I dream, I will be here in Denver letting Grizzy’s music pulse through me as I swing my hips and tap my feet and flail my arms in my kitchen when no one else is home.
21-year-old Mukai Masunungure’s musical career began long before Grizzy Grey. Masunungure began playing the guitar in fifth grade. His practice was on and off until he moved from Delaware to Nashville, where his guitar broke (Divine intervention?) and he found his new love: the piano. To this day, piano is his instrument of choice. Masunungure says everything really fell together in musical theatre in high school, where he realized the stage was his true home, no matter if he was acting, singing, or playing instruments.
Masunungure has always loved music. There came a point when he realized if he was truly in it to win it, he’d need to drop the people pleasing and live his life for himself. He dropped out of school and made the wise, adult decision to do what he needed to do to breathe life into his dreams. He wrote Baby’s Corner, recorded it, and immediately knew he’d found a worthwhile path on which to continue traveling. Baby’s Corner was finally released just this Sunday, February 2.
Masunungure’s music technically lands at the intersection of pop, electropop, funk, hip-hop, and R&B, though Masunungure prefers his music be described as “soul candy,” sweet and powerful to its core. Like most other artists, Masunungure finds it tough to place his music in a neat little box. Likewise, he doesn’t want his influence to be confined to one particular audience.
Masunungure’s mission is simple: to inspire. “I just want to do me and provide for my team and myself. If that inspires people, that’s beyond beautiful, but I want to push authenticity above all else. My goal is to be The Pink Starburst of music!” Not only is Masunungure’s music soul candy; it’s pink starburst soul candy. Above all, he wants his discography to represent the full spectrum of emotion. Happy? Sad? Fighting? High? Getting loud? “I got a song for that.” He wants people to feel his music in the deepest crevasses of their souls. He wants his music to be genuine – full of life and personality – and man, is he on the right track.
Masunungure knows the artist’s secret (less talking, more doing) which is why, much to my dismay, he’s withholding his specific plans for the future of Grizzy Grey from the public, but I rest assured knowing the wine is always worth the wait. Everything in due time. Despite my major sleuthing disappointment, Masunungure did let me in on the more vague details of his visions. He’s focusing for the next few years on releasing singles and mini EP’s, with a full album to be expected much further down the road, when his fanbase has grown and people have a good idea of what to expect from him.
For the time being, he’s a man on a mission to bring the gift of hip hop to Nashville, so while he does his thing there, we’ll be here, patiently awaiting the day when Grizzy Grey pumps our souls full of more Pink Starburst Magic. He’s aiming high, working to join the likes of influential artists such as Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, and Masego, and there is no doubt he’ll make his way up. Masunungure has all the determination and talent necessary to fly as far and as high as his wings will take him. He wants us to know that he’s completely stoked about the future and that we should be too. He’s not slowing down or stopping anytime soon and boy, are we here for the ride.