Tapiwa "Taps" Mugadza, known professionally as Taps Mugadza or just Taps, is a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an soul and pop singer.

Personal life

Taps Mugadza was born in

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

and was found abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage when he was two days old.

Career

He began singing and playing music when he was 15. He sang at church and he competed in the ''Zimbabwean Idol'' competition and placed third overall. Taps volunteered for the Christian mission organization, Rock of Africa, traveling with them in outreach programs and to dig wells in impoverished areas. The mission supported him on a trip to America in 2009 to find sponsors to secure his future in music. In May 2009, Taps was accepted as a student at the

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...

in Hollywood. He graduated with the school's highest honor, 'Outstanding Artist' and both the head of his program and the president of the school said they had never had anyone as talented at Taps. In 2014 he was a guest on the TV series ''TakePart Live''. He also performed live on the TV series ''EXTRA'' that same year. Taps writes and performs his own music and has worked with producers such as T-Collar, Moose, Pip Kembo, Boi-1da, and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

. Taps cover of

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

's "

Hello Hello is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich Cou ...

" got ''Billboard'' recognition for one of the best 11 soul stirring covers, on the list. Other notable covers include "

Make You Feel My Love "Make You Feel My Love", also known as "To Make You Feel My Love", is a song written by Bob Dylan for his album '' Time Out of Mind'', released in September 1997. It was first released commercially in August 1997 by Billy Joel for his compilation ...

" (Adele), "

Jealous Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. ...

" (

Labrinth Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Labrinth signed as a recording artist with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music in 2010, ini ...

), "

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

" (

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

), "

You Are the Reason "You Are the Reason" is a song by English singer Calum Scott. It was released on 17 November 2017 via Capitol Records, as his second original single from his debut album '' Only Human''. It was produced by Fraser T. Smith. The song has been str ...

" (

Calum Scott Calum Scott (born 12 October 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in April 2015 after competing on the ITV (TV network), ITV talent contest ''Britain's Got Talent (series 9), Britain's Got Talent'', where he perform ...

) and "

Someone You Loved "Someone You Loved" is a song recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi. It was released on 8 November 2018 as a download via Vertigo Records, the third single from his second extended play, ''Breach'' (2018), and was later included ...

" (

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi (born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. In March 2019, his single "Someone You Loved" (2018) topped the UK Singles Chart where it remained for seven weeks, and in November 2019, it reached number ...

) amongst many. His song "Sober" was used in episode 9 of season 14 of the American TV series ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'' in the episode entitled "Broken Wing".Leo Sigh: Listen to Taps ‘Sober’ from Criminal Minds — Season 14, Episode 9, “Broken Wing”
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Discography

Singles

*2015: "What Have I Done" *2016: "Wanna Hear Your Voice" *2017: "Invincible" *2017: "Waiting for You

*2018: "Sober"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mugadza, Taps 1988 births Living people Musicians from Harare Performers of Christian rock music Zimbabwean gospel singers 21st-century Zimbabwean male singers Musicians Institute alumni