Have you always known you wanted to be an artist?

Yes. I have always known that music was my chosen path; and I am incredibly blessed by God to still continue doing what I do best.

I’ve come a long way from recording mixtapes and covers in my college studio in Brooklands from the age of 16, to being able to travel around the UK performing in different cities and being a part of a lot of festivals.

I got discovered by AudioActive back in 2017. My music career has just taken off and I’ve been able to work with so many people outside of BIMM and AudioActive.

When did you start playing?

I was six years old when I first discovered music and the first CD I ever listened to was “Kiese mu Yesu” by Matou Samuel.

Gospel music, or Congolese music in general, was what became extremely prominent growing up and thanks to the exposure I had to it, that was what made me so interested and infatuated by what music was.

When I became a teenager, I developed my own taste by listening to a lot of music that was popular at the time.

My father has also played a huge part in my artistry and musicianship, because he used to be a guitarist in his local band when he was back in Congo.

He has been extremely supportive in my career.

I cannot thank him enough for believing in me and that gave me the confidence to fully invest in my musical dreams; and I’ve become all the more better for it.

How important is Hip-Hop for you?

I wouldn’t limit my career to just being a rapper. I have done a lot of things in-between other genres and have been able to successfully crossover just by experimenting.

I started becoming a rapper at the age of 14. I used to go by the name “CM17 Sho Sho”, which was the alter-ego inspired by listening to a lot of angry rap; and I would later go on and make a lot of projects under that alias.

During the seven years of being CM17 Sho Sho, I rapped on a lot of well-known covers and I also experimented with different rap beats before finding my true love, which was Grime. Being “Marshall Mandiangu” was more of a reinvention of both my career and my artistry; which has allowed me more freedom to explore with different genres and my own musical influences without being restricted of my creative choices.

Is it easy for you to write and rap about personal stuff like you used to?

Yes. It definitely is now because I’m simply writing about personal things.

The content within my music can be inspired by a whole number of things: romance, heartbreak, extremely personal things that I now feel confident to talk about both in personally and within my music, death and a lot of happy things in my life.

Which rappers are you influenced by?

I like rappers such as Eminem, Down South, Sam Bador and also Jake Humm aka Resilient J. First of all, rest in peace to him.

He was one of the best grime rappers I had the greatest pleasure of becoming close friends with, and during the time that he was alive; I had the honour of seeing him rap over grime beats.

I am so grateful for his friendship that he was here for.

There isn’t a day where he’s not on my mind and I miss him so very much, but I know that his legacy lives on through all of us who worked with him and felt inspired by him.

What do you feel through your music?

I feel a variety of different emotions.

My music displays an emotional palette of happiness, sadness, anxiety, romance, heartbreak, anger, death and self-empowerment.

I make music to inspire, aspire, create my own world and feel safe in, but more importantly I make music to inspire children to pursue their passion.

Music is the global language of the soul; and it always speaks when words fail to. Always be open with how the creativity comes out or comes in, don’t force it.

What’s next for you?

Lots of things. I have an EP with Jack Kingslake coming out very soon. I will be doing some more songs with Adam Turner. And also, I’ve been doing a lot of writing and I’ve been creating new projects.