Get to Know Songstress Mizz Gabbzz with Her Heartfelt Harmonies of Healing
Positive energies and spiritual ascension are two components that rising singer-songwriter Mizz Gabbzz infuses into her artistry, making music that isn’t just pleasure for the ears but food for the inner person. Originating from Mpumalanga and born Siphesihle Mazibuko, her odyssey began with her 2020 debut single, “Taxi to You”, followed up by “High” the year after as well as her extended play Restoration Discovery.
Reared in a single-parent home, Mizz Gabbzz recounted how her love for music started. Between music becoming a source of solace and her mother being a pillar which drew strength from the songs that functioned as a wellspring of healing, the songbird found the meaning and the weight of what music could do from a young age.
“Alongside my brothers, I was primarily raised by mother, who is a big lover of music. She was a happy woman who would wake up singing every morning despite everything that was going on at the time. I mean, we used to wake up every morning to the sound of her blasting music, so I could say that I grew up in a musical home. She always made sure that there was something playing and something to uplift us and music, in a way, become a coping mechanism for us as a family,” she said.
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With her forthcoming single, “I Am”, set for release, Mizz Gabbzz talked about the importance of divine self-awareness and being connected to the spirit realm as a means of being honest with herself and to make music that is true to her core.
“My musical journey has made me discover myself spiritually, and I think I am at a point where I’ve acknowledged who I am and my calling, the path I am supposed to walk on as a healer and as a musical person. So the song ‘I Am’ is an affirmation to myself, a reminder that I am on the right path and where I am supposed to be. That I’m doing the work I’m supposed to be doing while I’m set on this world,” she said.
Mizz Gabbzz talked about the track as an experience meant to make the oblivious African child cognizant of their spiritual power and the source of it.
“When it comes to ‘I Am’, it’s me expressing a message that comes from a deeper place, and not just me. I feel like it’s from the collective of the African spiritual divine beings that are trying to call out to their people, to remind us that we look like lost people right now. Meandering people who need to come back to who we are. That’s the significance behind the song—it’s a chant to remind the African child of their power and who they are,” she said.
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While other musicians aim for the summit of the charts and sold-out arenas, Gabbzz’s ambitions are nobler, aspiring to change the hearts of her listeners by using her understanding of her musical gift as a healing medium.
“My growth has been eye-opening, even to myself to be honest. When you enter the music business, you think you’re doing it for the love. But then some parts of reality begin to kick in and you succumb to pressure you didn’t know existed. At first it was just for the love of music and then you get into it. You want to make it and for people to recognise and to hear you. But now I’ve gotten to a point where I understand that music is a calling, a spiritual thing and it’s a mode of healing in itself. I’m no longer in a rush in the music industry to get anywhere. Instead, I aim to aspire and to touch and to change, and to be heard in the depths of one’s soul,” she said.
On a quest to sow seeds of love, Mizz Gabbzz spoke about the influence she wished to leave with her music and the impact she strived to have on her listeners.
“I would love my music to remind people of and to spread love. I want to release music that lets people know that we don’t have to live life hating each other, that we can co-exist on planet earth as one and in love. We, as a people, don’t need to live in this constant competitive state. There’s a lot going on this world, and I’d love my music to be a legacy of love, for people to feel warm on the inside when they listen to it,” she said.
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Knowing the speed she needs to travel with on her lane and not letting the noise around her corrupt her vision, she talked about staying true to herself and how that has helped her remain faithful to her path.
“What has been most important to me to stay on top of things is reminding myself that this is all a journey. How someone else’s journey turns out may not be the same for me, so I need to focus on myself, growing the best way I can as an individual. And I have found that the best way to grow is to be silent, to be still and listen to your surroundings and to the industry as well. That way you learn how to move around while still sticking to what you know best without caving in to the pressure,” she said.
Mizz Gabbzz rounded up the conversation by revealing one other genre she’d love to dabble in one day.
“One genre I’d love to experiment on some day is afro-jazz. I think a lot of my favourite musicians are within that space and I do believe it’s much easier to pen meaningful music in that genre because you’re not making it for commercial reasons. It’s for people who want to sit down and pay attention to the finer details and to take away something of substance from the songs. So that’s the sound I’d love to tap into sometime in the future,” she said.