Alpha Centauri
ALPHA CENTAURI is an intriguing new singer and MC that blends genres (funk, hip hop, afrobeat, 90’s r&b, 80’s retro pop) into a swirl of conscious lyrics and catchy sing-out-loud choruses.
ALPHA CENTAURI (real name Sean Chigumba) is originally from Zimbabwe. and was educated (and later worked) as a lawyer. However, soon after passing the bar and becoming licensed in his homeland, he realized that the legal life was not the right fit for him. He changed gears. He instead got on a plane for Canada with the plan of giving his music career a serious shot.
He made quick use of his new location by releasing a single (with fellow ex-pat Zimbabwean Swisher) about his experience leaving home (“Away” in 2016) which was produced by himself on a 12 year old laptop on his apartment’s kitchen table. “Away” was recently placed as the theme to a feature film, EVELYNE, which is now being streamed on the Roku channel worldwide..
ALPHA then set his sights on getting in front of local live audiences - performing shows with local hip hop artists such as Moka Only, Illvis Freshly, Mo Moshiri (of Sweatshop Union) and Sirreal to refine his craft. During this time, ALPHA began a surge of songwriting - which then continued into the COVID lockdowns of early 2020.
ALPHA then caught the ear of record producer / music industry veteran Wes Smith and acclaimed mixing engineer Justin Hicks. Eight songs were recorded with a full band between January 2022 and October of 2022 - with the first single resulting from these sessions, the afro-beat flavoured “I’ll Fly” , released in January 2023 internationally on all streaming platforms.
The new single “Get Your Money Up” is a funked up anthem about making your dreams become a reality - about showing up and putting one foot in front of the other to move forward. ALPHA explains:” There are a lot of people that do nothing more than brag about their goals and dreams - but 80% of it is fabricated. This song is about seriously pursuing your dream - whether it’s music, the arts, a side hustle, education, or a life goal. Nothing happens unless YOU put the effort into it over the long term. There are no cheat codes to success in the real world”.
“Get Your Money Up” is both an optimistic blueprint to following your dreams AND a biographic tale of ALPHA CENTAURI’s own ambition to get to this point in his music career. The track also features backing vocals by Zimbabwe singer Aura Ariko (now based in Edmonton), DMC champion scratch artist DJ ALL GOOD, Vancouver jazz sax man Dominic Conway, and renowned Vancouver reggae/dub/ska musicians Cuyler Biller (guitar) and Richard Brown (drums) amongst a handful of other musicians playing on the track..
“Get Your Money Up’ is ALPHA CENTAURI’s 2nd single release on the ROGUE PLANET label in advance of his spring 2024 debut album. Six more singles are planned leading up to the album’s spring release.
“Get Your Money up” is released on July 28th as four versions: the original, an Radio version (shortened with some expletives muted), an acoustic version, and an acoustic Radio version (shortened with some expletives muted).
Alpha Centauri has been on fire, with no signs of letting up. Get aboard the rocketship now!