Oshun - Interview

by Amanda J. Window

published: 6 / 8 / 2019

Amanda J. Window chats to American hip-hop/soul duo Oshun after their performance at Bluedot Festival.

Article

Oshun are an American hip-hop/soul duo who played the 2:40pm slot on the Lovell Stage at Bluedot Festival on Sunday 21st July. After watching their set on stage we caught up with Thandiwe and Niambi from Oshun – "The new goddesses on the block." In chatting to them, we discovered that they are both from Maryland DC but the duo met at New York University. Thandi was studying documentary/film, but she told us she had always listened to music, tending to lean towards African/American rhythms. Niambi was at NYU studying Music Production as she had always been interested in the production of music, and had sung and written her own songs from a young age. They also met their producer Proda at NYU (who opened their performance with them), and they were all inspired by the same artists such as Lauryn Hill and Chelsea Reject. New records? Well...after releasing their debut mixtape ‘Asase Yaa’ in 2015, the duo released their new album 'Bittersweet Vol. 1' in April, which featured Jorja Smith on the track 'My World'. They were keen to let us know that they have just dropped their new video 'Blessings on Blessings' – and are heading off on a West Coast US tour starting August 4th and ending in Montreal in September. What do they listen to? Well...they had a long list of current favourites including fellow DC rapper Kelow LaTesha and Nipsey Husstle from LA. We always ask our bands if they have any "last words". Their reply: "Be sweet and know that you are abundant." Photos by Amanda J. Window www.amandajwindow.com