Hermínio Chissano popularly known as Duas Caras, is arguably the most revered HipHop artiste in Mozambique. The rapper kickstarted his career as a member of the HipHop group GPRO, before launching his solo career to become a prominent figure in the South-East African country.
With 4 LPs under his belt, Caras has his eyes fixed on a new era that will see him break from the confines of his HipHop roots and experiment with Afrobeat sounds.
The Sauce caught up with the musician who is readying up his next body of work, with a sizzling new single dubbed ‘Fala Como Homem’ slated for release on July 19.
The Sauce: Briefly let us into your songwriting process and what goes through your mind as you pen down lyrics.
Duas Caras: I generally start by humming on the beat so that I can create the melody that fill in the gaps and most of the time it’s when I do my night jogging. Then, I start piecing together the words while imagining myself performing them on the stage. I still have the rappers approach when it comes to make rhymes and schemes And crossing distinct genres of music.
You started off in a group before branching out solo. How does the former compare to the latter?
Working as a group was definitely the best thing because I could focus solely on my craft and leave management to others. Now as a solo artist, it’s pretty much harder because sometimes I have to do five people’s work. I have a team working with me but I still have to be hands on in everything to make sure things go exactly the way I envision.
The Afrobeats genre has taken over the globe in the last few years. Your upcoming record is one of your plans to snag a piece of the pie. What do you have up your sleeves?
I actually don’t see myself as an Arfobeat artiste, it just happened to be the first song I intend to release. The new body of work will blow your mind.
What’s your take on touring? How soon can we expect a Caras tour?
I cannot wait to start touring and sharing the experience with the rest of the world. I’m really excited about this new journey in music and life.
Describe your upcoming record in 3 words.
– It is A- çu- car ( means ‘sweet’ in Portuguese)
What can we look forward from Duas Caras for the rest of 2024?
I’m churning out more singles until the next summer, very elated to see how people will react to the experience. This new song will be first non-rap single ever. I’m huge believer in the saying: The real joy is in the journey not the destination.
You have already shot high-budget visuals in Dubai. What do you intend to achieve with the upcoming video?
I’m merely doing a litmus test on myself here. I actually derived that approach from training. I’m a bodybuilding enthusiast and love challenging myself in every aspect of life. I’m very happy with what we were able to achieve in terms of quality, we did our best and hope that people connect with the output.
How are you packaging yourself as you take on the Afrobeats route?
Travelling through Africa, being holed up in the studio for the most part, attending gigs as usual and collaborating with other artistes from around the world.
Who are some of your favorite Afrobeats artistes out right now and why?
I do not listen to any particular artistes, I just really love music as a whole.
From your own observation, what would you attribute to the huge success of the Afrobeats genre?
While I’m not very sure what that would be, I’m very happy with the fact that African music is ruling the world right now.
What themes will you tackle with the upcoming records? What is inspiring the records?
I crossed different genres of African music and came up with the music that I want to hear in my local language. I dived into my Mozambican way of living intensively.
As an artiste that has been in the business for a minute, what would you say is your longevity hack?
I think I didn’t find anything else as interesting as creating melodic rhythms and believe me, I tried but always came back to making music somehow.
