It’s new, it’s hot, and it is literally sizzling up the airwaves right about now! Talented South African-born Qwade Dunn is bringing it all to this summer with his new single, titled ‘Girlfriend’.
Listening to the track, it’s easy to think of this up-and-comer as an overnight success but Qwade has been in the industry for over a decade, and he confesses that “success in any shape or form requires hard work, focus and a little bit of luck”.
Featuring a rather playful interpretation of lust, the track – written by Dunn, Jazz Purple and ManCub (who recently collaborated with Ray J and Rich The Kid) – is a feel-good pop song that fuses Dunn’s signature South African sound with international flair. But what sets Dunn apart lies less in the music and more in the person behind it.
“My material is brutally honest; it is a quality I’ve tried to keep throughout my body of work and in life, in general. I wear my heart on my sleeve, good or bad,” explains Qwade.
He grew up in a small town in KwaZulu-Natal, called Eshowe. As a teen, the South-African born singer relocated to New Zealand to study. With a passion and desire to make it in the music industry, he self-funded his first music demo and video, which caught the attention of British manager, Johnathan (Jay) Jules. After being scouted by Sony Music, Dunn released his debut single, We Are, produced by British producer James Reynolds, in 2012. It featured as song of the week on New Zealand’s ZM Radio, making Dunn the first African artist to achieve that status in Australasia – quite an achievement for a developing act!
In 2013, Dunn returned to South Africa where he continued to pursue music, albeit in a different way. In terms of his musical career this ambitious artist – he describes himself as 90% business – believes that he has hardly scratched the surface of what can be achieved. “You’ve got to set unobtainable goals and keep working” – wise words from a kid who started out as a DJ at school events and now not only runs his own successful company, but who also writes and produces his own music.
While Dunn often writes his own material, he is an advocate for the power of collaboration. “I’m all for collaborating with songwriters and producers,” he says. “I think too many artists make the mistake of keeping things too close to their chest, when really, the magic comes from having several people with different perspectives working towards the same goal.”
Check out Qwade’s single Girlfriend right here…
