Tunosiwe Mwakalinga: RNB award winning artist

Tunosiwe Mwakalinga, popularly known by her stage name Tuno, is not a new name in the urban music industry.

Over the years, she has become a household name, especially among the youth.

The 27-year-old RnB super star is well known for her sensation vocals, fancy dressing and of course, her attractive energetic dance moves during performances.

Tuno was awarded two awards as Female Artist of the year and also Female Model of the year at the Malawi 2018 Urban Music People Awards (UMP).

And in 2022, she won the Maso Award Best Female Artist of the year.

‘’It’s not easy being a female artist in Malawi and receiving those awards is a big achievement and a great feeling to know that I am being appreciated for the art I contribute to the industry,” she said.

The singer disclosed how hard and determined she is with her music by creating time for her solo practice, song writing and also watching other great artist to learn their craft.

She said:”I’ve always felt in love with American singer’s voice, Beyoncé and her stage performance since I was a child. And I also fell in love with Rihanna’s personality and her music style because of her beautiful voice.

“Late singer Whitney Houston has been that one artist who always helped me open my vocals as she was an icon in the industry.”

Even though Tuno has always been flirting with music since she was a little girl, it took someone to shake her up and realise there was a big artist to be awakened in her.

“Actually, someone discovered that for me. I loved and enjoyed music, but I didn’t know I could sing because I never knew what singing was to me. Someone at school discovered me and took me to a producer who gave me free sessions in 2014 and that was the beginning of my career,” said the singer.

The songstress loves performing, composing songs and engaging with her fellow artists to learn new things.

Tuno aspires to be one of the greatest female musicians in the world while making music that leaves a mark in this world.

Since she started off her music career in 2014, the journey hasn’t been full of roses as she has faced many ups and downs.

There were times where the model felt like giving up and start doing something else, but she knew it was God’s calling that’s why she s pushed more and more.

She said:”As I already said, being a female musician in Malawi is not easy, sometimes we are considered as useless women that will never get married. We are discriminated against and called different names just for being artists. To be honest, we don’t get the support we deserve.

“Sometimes in this industry, we are taken for granted, but it takes a strong woman with dignity and a purpose e to surpass that.”

Tuno observed that it is mostly people on social media— who for no reason— will not let you be yourself, but are judgmental and bullies.

The award winner has learnt to be humble and not take anyone’s negative comment as an insult, but as an inspiration.

Apart from music, Tuno has always combined it with other side hustles because she couldn’t make more money in music.

But from last year, she decided to put all her energy and concentration in music than anything else.

“I did this because with time, I have come to love my art and believe in my talent. And the secret to it is when you work hard, that’s when you get to have enough money for your living. I chose music because I discovered I am good at it,” she said.

Just like any career, everyone needs to balance work with family. She has always been conscious of time management.

When Tuno has a busy week, she makes sure she spends a week of just the weekend with her family because they have contributed to where she is.

Her advice to all girls who aspire to be musicians or any other career is to not give up and when going through a tough time, just know there’s light at the end of the tunnel

She said they must always believe things will grow beautifully.

The solo artist is not signed under any label, but she sponsors her music from her pocket money either from her performance money and sponsors.

Her vocal range will make you feel like she has attended music school, but the singer denied, saying it’s inborn, perfected with practice.

In 2015, Tuno tried to audition for the music competition E Wallet, but she was not selected to be part of the contestants.

Even though it came as a disappointment, she didn’t give up.

In her nine years on the music scene, she has collaborated with different artists such as Tay Grin, Kell Kay, Charisma, Purple C, Bucci, Hyphen, Sonye, Piksy, Tsar Leo, Kwetsa and Saint.

Tuno has also shared the stage with international artists including Yo Maps, Kwetsa, Kizz Daniel, Mafikizolo and Fireboy.

Her hit singles No One and Indedi have been enjoying airplay in local radio stations.

Currently she is working on singles ahead of her second album scheduled for this year.

Last year was one of her greatest moment because she dropped her first album called Waters which mostly talks about a woman’s life in general and love experience.

This was her dream come true because it was one of the greatest things she ever did.

When asked about her five-year plan, Tuno quickly responded that it is not easy to say because five years ago, she wished to be on an international level, but is not there yet.

However, she is working and putting more effort on her craft while hoping for the best because while she is not where she imagined to be five years ago, but there is progress, especially the love she is getting from her fans which she describes as a huge blessing.

Her advice to fellow artists, especially female upcoming artists, is to stay focused on what they want, get in touch with the right people, work hard and it will turn out good for them.

The RnB superstar is a second born in a family of four. She did her education at Njamba Secondary School in Blantyre.

She studied Information Technology at Techno Brain and she holds a Diploma in Marketing.

When she is not doing music, Tuno loves spending time with family.