Tiggs Da Author aka Adam Muhabwa has discovered himself in his rising fame, best known for his song ‘Run’ which was played on the Rugby World Cup 2015 advert.
Tiggs talks about his life before music and what inspired him to take on such a challenging career.
Can you tell our readers about yourself?
I have been living by myself for ages, my mum moved back to Tanzania and then I lived with my older sister before she moved back to Tanzania. I had to move out and live by myself. I hate living by myself because I love being around company in general but I am adapting now but to be fair I am always out so I do not feel it too much. My mum brought me here because she thought I was not concentrating enough in Tanzania. She thought I was just going to turn out to be this super bad kid because I used to skip school all the time with my friends and just spent time at the beach so that got me in trouble a lot. I lived in South London, New Cross. It was a funny area and at the time there were gangs and it was a bit hard to avoid that type of life.
What influenced you to create your own music?
I started to get into garage and grime because of my best friend DJ Fingaz and as I grew up I liked it more and started writing 8 bars. After I finished school I started going back and forth to Tanzania to see my family and when I went back my uncle would take me to jazz clubs. I started listening to a lot of East African jazz music and I thought when I get back to the UK I will get a band together.
Can you tell us more about your band?
My guitarist George was down for it from time. I think he just had nothing to do really so that is why he got involved I guess. Once we met and did a few rehearsals and he saw that I had a singing style then it kind of gave him the conviction to become part of my plans to create this band. To get the others it was a bit harder but eventually I was able to get a band together.
What would you like to achieve in the music industry?
My vision is still just to have the best live show ever, bigger gigs and touring around the world. I would like to tour for a really long time and of course I want to win awards!
How did it feel to perform on Jools Holland?
Performing on Jools Holland was so nerve-racking at first particularly when you look at the audience and Sir Tom Jones is siting there but then I just thought I would just do my thing.
Can you tell us what you’re working on at the moment?
Of course at the moment I am working on my album and the first song we have released is ‘Georgia’. The concept of the track is a girl who is high maintenance but the guy still wants her. The track has influence from Motown and East African jazz and a little bit of witty lyricism and that was produced by Show n Prove.
What was it like to have your song played in an advert?
We have our song ‘Run’ on the Fifa 16 soundtrack and it is also on the Rugby World Cup 2015 advert. When I heard it was on the advert it was unreal. I basically got a text saying that I should watch ITV at 7.30pm after Emmerdale and in my head I was like, no because I knew that the text had to be related to something like that but I was very excited.
Your working with the producer Show n Prove how did that come about?
Show and I actually hooked up through Sway. I told Sway what stuff I wanted to do and he just said that I would be great with a producer called ‘Show n Prove’. We hooked up and it really just worked and so currently we have a lot of stuff stacked up that I personally cannot wait to get out there really.
Where did the Name Tiggs da author come from?
When I was at school I used to wear all this Tigga clothing (at the time it was really cool to wear). People then just started calling me Tigga and when I finished school I started writing poetry so I added the ‘author’ bit to it.
How does your family feel about your music?
My mum loves it, at first she didn’t even know that I made music until one of my aunties messaged her, so when we spoke she said ‘who is Tiggs Da Author?’ even though she knew it was me she was so shocked that I was a singer and that my music was out there. I think when I got my first email from and A and R and I was so happy. That same day I went to the studio to lay down some tracks and I started writing tons of stuff-so that was the first time that I thought yes I think I can really make a career of my talent in music.
Follow @TiggsDaAuthor on twitter
