MAUIMØON On His Pursuit Of Becoming The Alte-R&B Music King

Ugandan singer Donald Otim, popularly known as MAUIMØON, is different. His sound is characterized by a distinctly laid-back vibe and smooth vocals. It is influenced by his East African roots and incorporates elements of R&B, Afro-pop, and Hip-hop from his multicultural experiences of growing up in Rwanda, Uganda, the UK, and Canada. 

MAUIMØON gracefully glides over enchanting melodies. He has established himself as an artist through dedication to his craft and collaborations with peers. His ever-growing and devoted fan base has faith in his creative direction and appreciates his flawless execution. Since the release of his Alté single "Sweeta" in 2022, MAUIMØON's music has evolved and he has gained significant recognition in the Alte-R&B genre. Additionally, MAUIMØON has released other noteworthy singles like "We Can Go Again", "Here They Come", and "Leaving Summer" among other music projects. 

Following the success of his 2021 EP, "Pleasure," MAUIMØON's 2022 lead single "Cherry Sweet" from his recently released album, "From Uganda With Love", is now a top fan favourite. While he has spent several years showcasing his skills as a music producer under the alias La Soülchyld, the “Sweeta” singer is now directing his attention toward creating a lasting impact through performing his music. We spoke to this fast-rising Ugandan star to get insights into his music and future plans.

How did you get into music?

When I was younger, I used to be in the choir. Even though I was quite active in other areas such as drawing, singing is what I really enjoyed. I then went from performing in the choir to doing little performances of specific songs at my school. That's what started the interest, and it grew over time. As soon as I started producing, that's when everything blended together and it all aligned.

Your music is rather different from Uganda’s most popular genres, what has kept you committed to pursuing the Alternative sound? 

I think it's because I was studying production. I studied in London and then moved to Canada. While away from Uganda, I was already making R&B and Hip-Hop music. So, when I finally came back, slowly got into the Afrobeat scene. I wanted to blend all this R7B and Hip Hop knowledge that I had built up and see how I could infuse that with genres such as Afrobeats, Alte, and Afrofusion.

How would you describe your creative process?

I always want to start off with a beat. I know a lot of songwriters who like to first start with lyrics but I try to let the beat guide me first. After making the beat and it feels demo-ish, then I get down a few ideas, I listen to it, and I think, what does this sound like? What does this remind me of? I also like to think in colors as well. If I listen to a track, I'll think, what color does this remind me of? That in itself makes me think about artwork. So, I'm not only thinking about the lyrics, melody, sound, and theme, I'm also thinking about artwork and visuals.

What inspires your signature durag look? 

I don't really have a big inspiration for my sense of style. It's not an area that I've really fully delved into. It's definitely a place I'd like to explore because I would like, to create music about all these things - theme, concept visuals, and how that would also entail me to look in those visuals. I'm inspired by artists Tyler, the creator. He's able to literally create a world by bringing fashion and props to life. I want to find a way to infuse my sound with art, work with different East African designers, and come up with a look and rock a brand and help the culture in that type of way.

Why the stage names MAUIMØON, and, La Soülchyld? What inspired those aliases?

In the beginning, when I was releasing my music on SoundCloud, I went through multiple names as an artist. When I wanted to move to the DSPs and everything like that, I saw the need for having a brand name. At that time, I also wanted to take my music in a different direction as well. 

One day, I went to sleep and had a vivid dream in which I was watching a music video of an artist called MAUIMØON. As soon as I woke up, I went to Google to type in the artist’s name … I remembered the name because it was like those weird MTV music videos. After finding that the artist was non-existent, I decided that MAUIMØON would be my stage name. 

As for La Soülchyld, it was because a lot of people in my school, already knew I liked to sing soulful songs. So, they would kind of indirectly call me a ‘soulful child’ and that’s how I coined La Soülchyld. I spell it that way so that I don’t get confused for the American singer Music Soulchild. 

How do you find a balance between being a music producer and a singer?

At the moment, I'm yet to really find that balance because I've not really been performing live as much. That's given me a lot more time to focus on my production and also help out others in the community to find their own sounds and this is of big interest to me. I am really inspired by producers like Pharrell and Timbaland and how they were able to really create a sound for a huge group of artists and really take over a lot of R&B and Hip-Hop. I've yet to find that balance, but I'm sure I'll be able to.

What do you love the most about being a producer?

So much. I guess, in the same way, that a writer would enjoy writing a fiction book. They're creating a world, kind of birthing something. That's how I see it in production as well. I'm creating a theme, a concept that I can really bring to life. The most exciting thing about it is the endless possibilities to where you can go to with the creation.

You've mentioned Pharrell and Timbaland as some of the producers that you admire. Are there African producers that inspire you as well?

I admire Chxf Barry, he's a producer who I'm really inspired by every time he releases new projects. Also, I love Axon’s work, he is doing great work with artists like Joshua Baraka and Kohen Jaycee. 

Do you listen to your own music? 

Yeah, because I spend so much time beforehand listening to the song, but then once it's finally out, I just never want to hear that song again. At times, I might listen to a song after release a couple of times but then be on to the next.

Having worked with artists such as Joshua Baraka and Akeine, what do you look for before agreeing to collaborate with an artist?

Most of the time, like in my collaborations with Joshua Baraka, Mau From Nowhere, and Akeine, it's been me who has pitched the idea. Mainly because I love their voice and sound, and I have an idea of how I want them to be on my track. So, I'd have the verse done, an idea of what the chorus would be, and then I'd hit them up and offer them a verse. For example, with Akeine, I wanted to have her voice in the chorus.

The most important thing is as soon as I listen to the song, I get an idea of what the song is about and how I can fit inside that song, that world, and the theme that I’m trying to create.

What don’t your fans don’t know about you?

That I don't really listen to a lot of music. This is because most of the time I am trying to work on my own stuff and try to come up with different ideas. However, there are times when despite working on songs, I still want to check out a couple of songs from my favorite artists.

Also, I like to draw a lot. At a certain point, I was actually going to consider becoming a comic illustrator instead of a musician. As I started paying more attention to music, my drawing ability got worse. Nowadays though, I draw during my free time just to keep that muscle strong.

If you could go open a show for any artist, who would it be?

There are many different artists I'd love to open for. I'd be honored to open for Wizkid. This is because I really like a lot of his music and production. It's such a great blend of Afro-fusion and Afrobeats. The other artist would be London-based R&B singer Tamera. I love her music, she is dope.

Have you performed live before, and if so, what was it like?

Yeah. A year ago, around the time I released “Sweeta,” I performed live at Xpressions UG alongside Mau From Nowhere and Joshua Baraka. It was a great experience to introduce myself to the community. I got to meet the underground people and understand what artists in different circles are doing. I like what underground artists are doing because they take more risks and try to do different things.

Away from live shows, you've gotten recognition from top DSPs like Apple Music and Spotify. How has that impacted your career as a producer and also as an artist?

It's really, it's impacted me in a great way because it has validated a lot of things about my own production and my own sound. For a long time, I was really trying to get on to some of those DSPs and, wondering if my sound or lyrics were not correct. I then reached the point where I just started focusing on trying to find new, like a different sound, a different vibe, but still having that framework or that skeleton of like, you know, Afro, of R&B, and kind of building with those building blocks. That helped me identify a sound and really get more focused on how I like to do things with my beats. Seeing that being picked up by DSPs and everything like that helped me understand that I should just keep going and trying to find newer ways to do things.

What would you tell artists who probably don't see the value of DSPs?

I think they definitely could be missing out. I used to be very much on SoundCloud and this was so easy for me as I could create a song today and then release it on SoundCloud literally in the next couple of hours. Once I went through the whole DSP process of uploading all the information or whatnot, it gave a different feel to it. DSPs are important; they have opened a lot of doors for me. 

If you could make changes to the music industry, starting from home, Uganda, what would those changes be?

How much time do you have? Hahaha! There's a lot to change, but I'd say having certain structures in order to protect music ideas like copyright and building a framework for people to thrive and make a living. I would also connect sponsors or build a lot more bridges and networks to really help underground artists grow from the underground to the main stage to worldwide. And that's not just focusing on making our industry here in Uganda strong, but also seeing how that relates to other industries in the neighboring East African countries. You see how the West and South Africa are moving. They have amazing networks in the UK and even America. That's what I think would definitely want to nurture.

What's the best advice you've ever been given as far as music is concerned?

To just keep creating new ideas and concepts, and not get comfortable. I forget who told me this, but that's what started my whole goal to create different versions of different variations of Afro beats, etc. Once the Alte scene started getting popular, I felt like it was the perfect scene for me, because it's such a broad concept. For instance, you can mix Amapiano and R&B, and that can be considered Alte. 

What can we expect in your upcoming projects? 

I have a lot of joint projects with many different artists in East Africa, West Africa, and also America. Collaboration is very important. They open your mind to different possibilities and lessons. These projects are not necessarily an album, but it's more of collaborative singles so stay tuned.