Dar’s very own ‘Miracle Child’ drops debUt EP: Reasons To Live

It’s a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Dar es Salaam, but you wouldn’t be able to tell in the dim, padded recording studio we’re in. Leslie Carl Leslie, who goes by the moniker Yeyo “The Miracle Child,” looks at home, sitting casually in front of the recording equipment as he chronicles what the last almost-decade of his journey has looked and felt like.

We meander from his musical identity and interacting with fans, to becoming a better writer and trusting the process, all whilst weathering grief. Every once in a while, he breaks into an acoustic rendition of a song that comes up in conversation, with a preparedness that is a little startling yet totally unsurprising for a performer.

The crux of the matter though: Yeyo is finally ready to release his first project. A five-track EP titled Reasons To Live that he describes as a 360 experience of his creative journey so far. “I wanted to create something that all my fans can be happy about, something that doesn’t put me in a box,” he says.

Karen: How different is Leslie from Yeyo?

Leslie: When I’m writing about my personal experiences and have a sense of vulnerability, that's Leslie. Leslie is a writer through and through- he likes his space, doesn’t go out much. Yeyo is what I become when I'm on stage, it seems like nothing is impossible to him. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where Leslie ends and Yeyo begins. I think the further I move in my music journey, I’ll probably learn to differentiate them better, but they currently work simultaneously.

Karen: Which of the two takes over when you are interacting with fans?

Leslie: I’d say Leslie. It’s weird, when I’m coming off stage I know I did a great show because that’s what I wanted to do, but when people compliment me I feel a little taken aback. Even when it’s not at a show, like when I was in church and a kid came up to me like, “Hey bro, I don't want to disturb you or anything, but, are you Yeyo?” And I was like God, in church? [laughs]. And he starts fanning out and telling me how much he likes my music and out of nowhere he started rapping the second verse of Go To War, which is not easy at all. I had to stop him though because I know how long that verse is. It was an amazing moment but it was a reminder that Yeyo does all the amazing stuff, and Leslie has to deal with all the feedback, which can be both overwhelming and humbling.

Karen: Let’s start with the single you put out from the EP, Niko, which encapsulates a night out in Dar.

Leslie: Niko wasn't even supposed to be out first to be honest. It was my friends and my team that convinced me to release at least one song ahead of the EP. This track is the closest to where my sound has evolved to. As soon as I started working on the track I knew that I had to rap some of it in Swahili. I come from a country with both Swahili and English speakers, a lot of my friends speak both so I thought why not make a song with both languages to share what a night in the life is like? You get that phone call at the start of the song, you don't even know where you're going but as long as you’re with the right people you know it’s going to be a good time.

Karen: On the other hand, the project opener, Focus, is less about a good time. The idea of sacrifice comes up quite a bit. Tell me a little about your relationship to sacrifice and how it has affected you music.

Leslie: Everything you do in this world requires sacrifice. If you're trying to pursue your dreams, you have to sacrifice time with friends and family. It's just always been the truth for me. In the span of almost five years, I lost three family members, the first being my sister in 2017. My sister was as ambitious as me, and when I started making music she was very involved. We both had that relentlessness, the idea that you just keep going until you’re living the exact life you want to live. She might not be with me physically, but she lives through what I do. But to get to that life I know I have to focus really deeply. 2020 was a difficult year for me. I found out about my mom's diagnosis that year and had to spend months away from her because of lockdown in South Africa where I schooled at the time. But it gave me time to gain perspective on my purpose, and to work on my writing. When I finally returned to Tanzania I was in the studio day in and day out. I was aware how much time I was sacrificing with my family to chase this dream, but I had also not felt clearer about what I wanted. Towards the end of that year my mum passed, and you just think about how much time you sacrificed, you know? Obviously, I believe God doesn't make any mistakes but it is definitely something you think about.

Karen: Tell me about a moment where you had to tap into your moniker “Miracle Child”

Leslie: In my last year of university I heard about Take Back The Mic and it sounded like it's a very promising competition to get my music out there. And something just told me I was going to win. Not everyone believed me but I was just like what if I actually win?

Karen: And you can't call yourself a miracle and not believe you can win hard things.

Leslie: Exactly, you can't. If you ask any of my friends in South Africa, they'll tell you, I was a mad man. Every single day for four months I kept the same energy, and people saw that and couldn’t help but push for me too. I was proud as hell of myself because that competition was so stressful. There’s a point in the competition where I had to turn off my phone because I was on it all the time trying to follow up, it was the only thing I could focus on. In fact I don’t remember any of my examinations that happened at the same time. My best friend tells me all the time that I can be hyperfocused.

Karen: Have you always been very all or nothing or has music fostered that quality in you?

Leslie: I have always been this way. If I really want it, I'll find a way. Also, I told my dad very certainly that I was gonna win, I couldn’t lie to my dad. Before the competition I had a song called Damage that I wrote during the lockdown period. In that song I talk about my name being on magazines and billboards and that's exactly what happened after I won Take Back The Mic. I talked about figuring out my acceptance speech and when I wrote Wins and Losses after I won the competition, the first thing I said was that it's time for my speech. It felt like a full circle moment, like I spoke something into existence. 

Karen: I’m wondering when or if you rested after all that?

Leslie: I was riding the momentum so I just wanted to release music. But I was also preparing for graduation. I was excited for my dad to see that I had done well, music wise and academic wise. Unfortunately, he passed away a few months before my graduation. I'm extremely aware of the time that you get to spend with family. Ever since my sister passed, I made sure to cherish all the times and tell them I love them all the time. And you know, my parents were relatively older, they were in their 60s so I had a sense of urgency with doing great things so they could see them. So through the year after I had to figure out how to process things. And also, with all that loss, how to make sure what I was building was largely dependent on my spirituality. 

Karen: The second song on the project Realest Alive speaks to a lot of those themes of doing great things and being grounded in confidence. Tell me more about that. 

Leslie: Yeah that track represents resilience, will, spirit, power. Realest Alive is what influenced the name of the EP. A lot of reasons to live/ I ain’t ready to die, Everybody get hit/ Doesn’t matter who dive, meaning I’ve been through too much to go out like this and you’re absolutely going to catch some crossfire trying to stop me from my destiny so you better just get out of the way.

Karen: The production on that track matches its energy really well. What’s your relationship with producer Alkeys like?

Leslie: Yeah, he produced three of the five tracks in the EP, Niko, Realest Alive and Haiya. We started working together in highschool and the best thing about it is that he thinks like me. And he is so versatile. If I didn’t list all the stuff he has done you would probably think they were made by different producers. We are both intrigued by new sounds. He plays the piano and has a great ear so sometimes I’ll sound something out and he’ll play exactly what’s in my head. It also means I get to be very involved in my production, because I know exactly how I want it to sound.

Karen: The third track and one of the two he did not produce, Killa Me, stands out as the lone dance number in the project.

Leslie: Killa Me was a song that I made with Akwera about seven years ago. It’s a song I've loved for a long time and it wasn't anything that I'd heard of when I first got the instrumental. When I decided to include it in the project we thought maybe we should try to make it more current, like add in some log drums but everyone agreed that it was a vibe just by itself. Killa Me sounds like a song you want to hear when you are out with friends and just want to enjoy yourself. It's just fun.

Karen: And lastly Haiya, which was such a pleasant surprise because it’s a version of the classic by Harry Kimani. How did that collaboration happen?

Leslie: So in 2019 I went to Nairobi to shoot the video for Vikosi, and ended up at a studio session that Harry joined. He plays me his song on his guitar and I immediately recognise it. It’s just so good and he’s clearly a better singer and better guitarist since he put the song out. I played Let Go, and when we saw there was a similarity between Haiya and Let Go, he lets me know that there are so many artists in Kenya who have wanted to do a remixed version of the iconic song and that he always said no, because he never thought that they would do the song justice. So when he told me “you know, this song is my baby but I feel comfortable giving it to you,” it was such a big moment. I get goosebumps again remembering it.

Karen: It must have taken a lot of trust. 

Leslie: Yeah so I had to make sure that the new version retained its specialness. I wanted anyone who hears Haiya to feel the same way we felt hearing the version Harry Kimani made. So a lot of the storyline I crafted through my lyrics mirror the ones he had, and I was super particular about details in the production. And in many ways this is a way to give him his flowers. 

Karen: Do you have a writing process? How do you keep your writing sharp?

Leslie: Right now I'm trying to improve my level of output so I’m currently trying to do a song a day. I’m also trying to write even when I don’t feel like it, like when any of my favourite artists drop and I instantly think, “nah, if I'm ever gonna be in the same room as this guy, I have to be on top of my game so let me go write.”

Karen: Is that a written song a day, or recorded too?

Leslie: Not necessarily recorded, just written. Although by the time I record, the song is not only perfect but it’s all in my head. 

Karen: I find performing artists’ memory very cool. 

Leslie: There’s not a single song I’ve written that I don’t remember. But there are artists who don’t even write anything down in the first place, like Lil Wayne. I remember he once said in an interview that he used to write things down but he had to stop because it was slowing him down. And he also said that there isn’t a song that he’s put out that he felt was ready. You can ask anyone that I’ve worked with and they'll tell you that I am a complete perfectionist, and that slows me down a lot. So hearing Wayne say that was mind blowing to me. Carter IV means so much to me, and as unexpected as it might be, Lil Wayne is definitely one of my GOATs so hearing that was crazy. 

Karen: Why is that unexpected? 

Leslie: Because he’s provocative with language in a way that I’m not. Like if you listen to my EP there is only one word that might be considered a curse word, everything else is completely clean. Realest Alive is hard but that’s just pure energy. It’s still saying “fuck you,” but kindly [laughs]. I want people to be able to play the tracks with their families without having to lower the volume each time a curse word is said. I’m trying to be accessible to everyone. 

Karen: Who are your other influences?

Leslie: Kanye, Drake of course, J Cole, Bugsy Malone, Fredo, J Hus, Mwana FA, Fid Q, Joe Makini. [pauses to think] How could I forget Chidi Benz, I even gave him a subtle shoutout on Vikosi. Also, AY, he was doing it internationally growing up. Professor Jay on the storytelling, and Ray C, I liked her too. 

 Karen: I know you’re still on EP mode, but what do you think is the next step in the evolution of Yeyo the artist?

Leslie: Now it's about what I can do with others. I've been doing things by myself so far. And not just behind the scenes, but I don't even have a lot of features in my music. I want to find people that understand exactly what I'm trying to do. I want to work with people who appreciate the core essence of what I stand for.