Alexandra Shungudzo Govere, better known as Shungudzo, is a Zimbabwean-American singer and reality television personality. She first attracted media attention by being the first black female gymnast to represent Zimbabwe in artistic gymnastics at the 1999 All-Africa Games, and later by co-founding the Kijana Project, which provides relief for AIDS orphans. She later gained wide media attention as a cast member on the 2011 season of '' The Real World: San Diego''.

Early life

Alexandra Govere was born in the United States and grew up in a rural village in

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 ...

that was home to straw-covered mud huts, and did not have electricity or running water.Goldner, Brandon
"Sing. Dance. Write. Andra Govere: The most amazing 20-something you haven't heard of. Yet…"
. ''Brass'' magazine. May 2, 2011 She is of

Zimbabwean Demographic features of the population of Zimbabwe include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population The population of Zimbabwe ...

, French, and

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

descent. As of the 1990’s, she was living in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

."Ready for their world: Two teens with the right stuff join the global party"

BNET ''BNET'' was an online magazine dedicated to issues of business management. It was owned by CBS Interactive and was a part of its business portfolio alongside ZDNet, TechRepublic, SmartPlanet. ''BNET'' site registration allowed users to re ...

Career

Ballet, gymnastics and education

Govere practiced dancing and ballet, and according to her, became the first female of color to be on the Zimbabwe National Gymnastics Team at age 9. Her parents, both of whom are college graduates, encouraged her in her studies as well. She studied calculus at age 10, and finished high school by 14. She later attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where she studied civil engineering. Govere was the first black female artistic gymnast to represent Zimbabwe at the 1999 All-Africa Games in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

."Zim songstress causes a stir"
. ''The Zimbabwean''. July 30, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2011.Johnson, Steve

AllAfrica ''allAfrica'' is a website that aggregates and produces news primarily on the African continent about all areas of African life, politics, issues and culture. It is owned by AllAfrica Global Media, a multi-media content service provider and the l ...

.com. October 25, 1999 She was also the youngest member of the 162-member team.

Charity work

In 1997, Govere began collecting clothing for orphans who lost their parents to AIDS. By 2002, the Kijana Project,Olson, Linnea
"The Kids Are Alright"
''

Elle Girl ''Elle Girl'' was the largest older-teen fashion and beauty magazine brand in the world with twelve editions. Launched in August 2001, it was the younger sister version of ''Elle'' magazine, and similarly focused on beauty, health, entertainm ...

'' Sep–Oct 2003. page 141.

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. Retrieved August 4, 2011. as it came to be called, had expanded to an international organization run by then-15-year-old Govere and her sister Saunsuray, consisting of 50 members who aided orphans in six different countries, raising money for clothing, toys and school supplies, as well as paying for the education of some AIDS orphans. Govere was spurred to this work after witnessing many of her childhood classmates affected by AIDS, and seeing the rising number of orphans living on the streets of Harare. In 2000, she worked with her sister in collecting money for Red Cross flood relief in Mozambique. For breaking the color barrier in artistic gymnastics, and for her humanitarian work, Govere was designated a Disney-UNESCO Millennium Dreamers Ambassador.

Music and television

While attending Stanford University, Govere was discovered by

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

' Grammy Award-winning producer, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, who had heard some songs Govere placed on

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for her mother to hear. Although she initially met with Brothers with the intent to be a songwriter, he made her sing vocals, and recognized her talent. With him, she released a mixtape, " Love is 4 Suckaz/I'm a Sucka 4 Love", some songs from which are available on YouTube. ''Brass'' magazine describes the mixtape as "a high-wattage soup of synthetic beats and heavy post-production mixing", whose lyrics focus on the themes of love, jealousy, revenge and anti-consumerism. Describing Govere's voice, Brandon Goldner of ''Brass'' says, " er voicecan range from bright and flute-like to a rougher, almost smoky honesty" Although Govere planned to debut a 2011 album with Krucial, She announced in October 2011 that she left Krucial to take the independent route. She has co-written a number of hit songs such as

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

's "

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" and

Louisa Johnson Louisa Johnson (born 11 January 1998) is an English singer. In 2015, she won the twelfth series of ''The X Factor''. She subsequently released her winner's single " Forever Young", which peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart. In 201 ...

's " Best Behaviour", and has released a song on the ''

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'' soundtrack. In 2018, she released her latest single, "Paper". Govere was a cast member on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's '' The Real World: San Diego'', which aired in 2011. Govere was also a writer, host, and correspondent for both

Act and MTV Voices."Alexandra Govere"
. MTV Act Blog. Retrieved May 19, 2012."Alexandra Govere"
. MTV Voices UK. Retrieved May 19, 2012.

"I'm not a mother, but I have children"

Shungudzo released "It's a good day (to fight the system)", the first single from her debut album by Svikiro Records/Young Forever/BMG on October 30, 2020, as part of her three-track manifesto "I (motsi)". According to American Songwriter, "good day" is "a bold genre-defying anthem that balances passionate proclamations with sunny guitar and horn arrangements and stacked harmonies." Shungudzo followed up "good day" with the singles "To be me", which premiered on Paper video on February 2, 2021;) "There's only so much a soul can take" (song premiere on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

Apple Music 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), a ...

radio show and video premiere on FLOOD), "White parents" (premiere on Consequence of Sound on April 14, 2021), and the title track "I'm not a mother, but I have children." For "it's a good day" and "There's only so much a soul can take", Shungudzo was recognized as an "emerging artist to watch for in 2021" by ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

''. Hailed by

as "completely unique and individual" and as an artist to "match up with asap" by ''Essence'', "Shungudzo isn't putting up with the bullshit anymore" (Refinery29). Shungudzo performed "There's only so much a soul can take" on the June 9, 2021, episode of ''

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee ''Full Frontal with Samantha Bee'' is an American late-night talk and news satire television program that aired on TBS from 2016 to 2022. The show was hosted by comedian Samantha Bee, a former correspondent on ''The Daily Show''. In July 2 ...

''.

Personal life

As of 2011, Govere was living in Los Angeles with her boyfriend, Byron, whom she began seeing eight months prior to filming ''The Real World''. Their relationship was depicted in episode 4 of that season when he visited her at the season residence.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Songwriting credits

References

External links

{{authority control Living people Sportspeople from Masvingo Province HIV/AIDS activists Zimbabwean female artistic gymnasts The Real World (TV series) cast members 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers American women songwriters American dance musicians American electronic musicians 21st-century Zimbabwean women singers American musicians of Zimbabwean descent American women in electronic music Competitors at the 1999 All-Africa Games African Games competitors for Zimbabwe 1990 births 21st-century Zimbabwean sportswomen