After performing in front of thousands at 13, the stage became ISHĒ’s second home

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As then 13-year-old singer ISHĒ took the stage of an international festival in Zimbabwe, his brows knitted together, and his eyes bulged in excitement. The musician remembers the exhilarated crowd of 7,000 people. He began his solo performance of a Jackson 5 song, and everything went silent. The pulse of the audience rang in ISHĒ’s ear. At this moment, ISHĒ knew the stage would become his second home, he said.

Flash forward a few years, and ISHĒ has performed at several Syracuse University events. The SU senior’s most recent performance at the African Student Union’s fashion show left the audience in a standing ovation.

ISHĒ, who is from Zimbabwe, characterizes his soulful R&B music as self-fulfilling, affirming that there’s something for everyone in his music. The SU political science senior will open for hip-hop artist Riff Raff at the Westcott Theater on Tuesday evening, and next year he will drop a mixtape. As of recently, ISHĒ said he is freestyling lyrics during studio sessions at The Candy Shop Recording Studio in Syracuse rather than writing them down in advance. In a time when so many artists are hostile toward life, his music reminds listeners that it is OK to feel, ISHĒ said.

“My music makes you want to fall in love, cry or spend some time with that special person,” ISHĒ added.

ISHĒ, whose real name is Tinashe Mutasa, started piano lessons when he was four. His mom enrolled him after she saw how much he enjoyed performing.

“I remember singing and getting on tables to perform any chance I got,” ISHĒ said. “My piano teacher was the first person to discover my voice and ear for music.”

In elementary school, ISHĒ started guitar lessons, and he recalled one of his favorite class activities was freestyling over his teachers’ original songs.

Heavily interested in songwriting and his new passion for guitar, ISHĒ put aside his piano lessons. For the next few years, he focused on developing his singing. It was not until he turned 17 that he began applying chord progressions to his music. His piano skills would set the foundation for his music in the future. His producer, Lorenzo Maldonado, said that his unique chord progressions are typical tone-setters for their studio sessions.

“It’s often just about making things from scratch,” Maldonado, a founding member of The Candy Shop, said. “He is a really good piano player, so he often has very interesting piano ideas that turn into the foundation of the song.”

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ISHĒ’s musical journey in Syracuse started during his freshman year when his friend, local promoter and SU senior Josh Feldman, recommended him for a solo performance at The Ark. During his freshman year at SU, Feldman worked as an A&R volunteer for the theater, connecting The Ark’s team with potential performers like ISHĒ.

The success of ISHĒ’s performance caught the attention of Maldonado, who invited ISHĒ to a studio session during his 2018 fall semester. That same day, they created a song that will be released with ISHĒ’s seven-song mixtape in 2022.

“It taught me how to curate a song for a certain artist,” Maldonado said. “That’s also going to be one of the lead singles for one of his records coming out.”

ISHĒ does not write his songs in advance anymore. Though he loves songwriting, the 21-year-old said he switched to freestyling for more authentic and raw lyrics.

When ISHĒ walks into the recording room, he said his mind is clear. The low-lit studio room creates the perfect environment for vulnerability, he said. When he freestyles, it’s just him and his thoughts, so after he listens to the beat he can recite the thoughts as they invade his consciousness.

“I love to write, but oftentimes after you write that one song and it goes well, you start to chase that one song,” ISHĒ mentioned. “It’s all about feeling.”

In modern-day hip-hop, freestyling is a very popular choice for recording music as few artists enjoy the slow process of writing music. ISHĒ can alternate between both because of his universal skill, his producer said.

“ISHĒ is someone who works on his feet and kind of thrives,” Maldonado said. “Different artists have the skill to do that, but not everyone.”

ISHĒ said he tries to stay in a constant state of inspiration. His single, “Looking for You Now,” is a testimony of love. What makes the song even more powerful is its state of vulnerability, urging listeners to confront their true feelings, ISHĒ said. “Looking for You Now” opens by describing someone feeling lost after losing their partner, anxious that their love has ceased.

The song’s sentimentality is even nostalgic for listeners not in a relationship.

“My music exists in a space where emotions are exposed,” ISHĒ said. “You don’t have to be in a relationship to relate to my music.”

ISHĒ urges his fans to look out for the release of his first mixtape. The name of the EP remains a surprise for his fans.

As his musical journey continues, he hopes to remain humble by acknowledging that he is only a vessel that delivers the music he makes.

“At the end of the day, someone walked so that the person in front of them could run so that the person in front of them could jump, so I could fly,” ISHĒ said. “And ISHĒ helps me to remember that.”