Kenyan-born and South Africa based producer, rapper and singer M. Rumbi is back with his first single of the year ‘Sunny Pt.II’. Characterized by minimal, percussive-driven production, M. Rumbi’s steady cadence, and Meghan Louise Ireland sultry vocals, this single is a breezy yet poignant reminder of the importance of self-reflection and owning your truth

Who is M. Rumbi?

M. Rumbi is a producer, sometimes singer, occasional rapper and everyday creative from Nairobi, Kenya, currently residing in Bloemfontein, South Africa. With a sound  largely shaped by “new” neo-soul, alt R’n’B, hip-hop and jazz, he considers The Roots, FKJ, Tom Misch and Uyama Hiroto as his biggest influences. He plays the guitar, keys, sings and raps and performs either by himself (livelooping) or with a backing band

What’s the story behind “Sunny Pt.II”? 

In short? Coming of age, shaking off of the shackles of childhood.

It would be a look back on 2019, making projections for 2020. A balance of both the good, the bad, the embarrassing, the happy and the not so great. The title relates more to the sound of the instrumental 

What was your inspiration whilst creating this song?

The first line, which is the way I write most of my songs. I listen to the instrumental on loop until something hits me. Whatever comes usually defines most of the song. In terms of production I’d say intentionality, whether it’s writing out the chords or layering I wanted everything to be really thought out. This song has a really shaped most of the music I made afterwards.

Who did you work with?

I work with a variety of up and coming artists in both South Africa and Kenya, I am on that “Community over Competition” tip and currently have a few tracks in the pipeline with Ms. Kemunto, Achieng, KiliHippie to name a few. Though for Sunny Pt.II I worked with Meghan Ireland (vocalist) and Kendi (songwriter).

*I have to take this space to recognize my homie Bobby Lock who let us use his studio for recording Meghan’s vocals and the mixing and mastering of the track.

What are you hoping that people will feel when listening to “Sunny Pt.II”?

A little happiness and a little sadness. When I reflect on what I wrote that’s what I get from it and I really try to push that feeling and message across. I don’t mind if it doesn’t work, it’s actually pretty cool when it doesn’t – the thing of hearing what people think: the story behind, what the lyrics mean.

Are you working on a larger project that we should be looking forward to?

I actually am I have an EP that I can never seem to finish and few projects on the way. I don’t want to say too much on them as they’re still very abstract and I’d rather not put them in a box but one of them should be coming out later this year.

When you’re not making music, what are you up to?

Listening to music, learning to music, making plans for music and studying (this degree needs to be got).