| Tshila | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Sarah Tshila |
| Birth Date: | 10 June 1983 |
| Birth Place: | Kampala, Uganda |
| Years Active: | 2006–present |
| Label: | Independent |
| Associated Acts: | Bataka Squad |
Tshila (born June 10, 1983) is a Ugandan singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer.[1]
Tshila was born in Kampala, Uganda.[2] She wasn't raised in a musical family and didn't study music at any of the schools she attended as a young student in Uganda.[3] She completed her degree in software engineering in the United States of America, then returned to Uganda, where she began to develop her musical talent.[4]
Back in Uganda, she began making music as part of the groundbreaking hip-hop group Bataka Squad. Inspired by the influence she could have through music, she taught herself to play guitar and started to experiment with her own sound. She recorded and self-produced her first album, Sipping From the Nile, in 2006. The album gained recognition from music critics around the world. In 2007, the BBC World Service conducted a talent search and named her one of the 20 best unsigned artists in the world.[5]
Tshila performed at international music festivals in Zanzibar and Senegal, and toured Europe, sponsored by the Austrian Ministry of Culture. Her musical blend of acoustic soul with hip-hop, traditional African music, jazz and spoken word poetry introduced audiences to her unique style of artistry. She collaborated with Johnny Strange of Culcha Candela and Stereotype from Vienna, Austria. She became an ambassador of the Afrika Rise Foundation and the Bavubuka Foundation, which offer underprivileged youth a way out of poverty through music and the arts.[6]
In 2017, she performed at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage in Washington, DC.
Tshila returned to the studio in 2018 to record and produce World in Crisis. The album is a musical message for the world that chronicles humanity's shared challenges and offers universal solutions. She addresses the social and political challenges the world faces, especially from an African woman's perspective. She cares deeply about the issues that affect Africans and people of color worldwide.
Tshila's mission is to create inspirational music as a force for positive change in the world.