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Kalunga

Born May 27th 1989 in the beautiful country of Egypt, Alexandria. Mponda grew up with his father Jeik Kalunga Loksa along with his three sisters. Because of his father's job as a working musician, Mponda and his family had to move around a lot. Mponda recalls as a young boy moving from Egypt to the Congo, Ethiopia, and then to Tanzania. Arriving in Tanzania during a period where there was a lot of political uncertainty forced Mponda and his family to go through a life changing and character building experience. In 1991, Mponda and his family were mistakenly placed in a refugee camp; there he stayed for seven years. The experience in the refugee camp gave Mponda and new profound understand and appreciation for Life. Mponda talking about his youths says, "I started hunting at the age of eight just so my family and I could eat". After numerous attempts Mponda's father got in contact with the Red Cross it was then his family was rescued and brought to St-Johns, Newfoundland.

Arriving in a new place with new people that didn't like him being there made Mponda angry, he found himself getting into to fights and getting kicked out of schools. Mponda says "I wasn't taking anything, from anybody". That's when his father got concerned and at the age of 15 Mponda began his boxing career. This path led Mponda to countless medals including a silver medal in the 2007 Canada Games, winning the only silver medal for the entire province. Mponda didn't stop there; he used his passion for fighting and put it to paper and pen. When asked about his musical influences he said proudly "My father". He included, Tupac Shakur, Heavy D, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley Frank Sinatra "all those artists combined make music an enjoyable experience for me”.

There is no limit for Mponda; he plans on continuing to evolve in his music and one day be remembered on his achievements, creating his own musical genre. He considers his style of music "Soul Juice". He also intends on bridging the gap and mixing Swahili into his music to create a new sound. When asked who keeps him motivated he said, "Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, and the love and passion I have for music!" He gives his father a lot of credit for that.

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Without You

Think Militant Records
2012

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