Pete Shungu (LA '03) has, at the age of 27, achieved what few musicians have the time or patience to do: He has kept up with his passion for music and social activism, which began in college, and created an impressive work of art. Last night, he took the stage for the biggest show of his life. He'd performed for large crowds before, but rarely as the main act, and never had the stakes been so high. Shungu, a.k.a. Afro DZ ak, had just released his very first solo album, "Elevation," which had been several years in the making.
Imagine this: Shungu steps up to the mic and loses himself in the performance, doing what he's done for years to create the loyal following standing in front of him. He says something clever like, "These young dreams gettin stopped like a red light/ But yo, I shed light like a golden retriever/ Cuz if young minds are clay/ I'm tryin to mold an achiever." The next day, Shungu wakes up at 6 a.m. and heads off to work, helping high school students prepare for college as a financial aid advisor for the Boston public school system.
Last night's album release party for "Elevation" at Bob's Bar in Boston was just another installment of the busy routine that has become Shungu's daily life. Though he'd been recording his debut album for about a year, Shungu must now wait until the summer to promote it aggressively, as his day job requires him to work five days a week through May.
Finding a balance
Like so many other aspects of his life, this balancing act is captured poetically in one of Shungu's songs, the aptly-titled "Balancing Act:" "Some people tellin me that I'm a talented cat/ But at times it feels like/ more of a curse than a blessing/ Got so many things to juggle/ Can you tell that I'm stressin?" Due to his busy schedule, Shungu will concentrate on a mini-tour in areas where he has connections, stopping in Worcester, where he lived briefly after graduating from Tufts, and New York City, close to his native New Jersey.
Despite the stress, Shungu welcomes this busy lifestyle as a natural part of his life. "I'm the type of person where, if there's something I'm interested or passionate about ,I make time for it," Shungu told the Daily. Although it's taken some time to get his solo act to the point where he could record a full-length album, Shungu has already tasted his share of fame. Included among the various groups of which he has been a member is The Eclectic Collective, a Boston-based genre-defying group, with a sound integrating soul, jazz fusion and pop-punk, for which he played trumpet. The group has recorded two albums with Shungu, "Time Flies" (2006) and "The Flux" (2007), and has toured up and down the East Coast.
Though he admits that touring with a band is a rare, fun experience, Shungu found his role as a trumpet player to be limiting, especially considering the time and energy that was required. "I'm not the type of person who wants to go on tour so I can just get drunk every night and be crazy," he said. "I want to have a good time with music and play shows, and I love the whole atmosphere around that, but I feel like for me having that balance is important. I want to make music to make change and to make music to reach as many people as possible, [but] I would be a hypocrite if my entire life was about being a rock star while making music that says ‘we need to make these changes in society.'"
Becoming an active citizen
Like many other Tufts students, Shungu arrived on the Hill freshman year thinking he wanted to be pre-med but soon decided to pursue other interests.
Shungu took an Explorations seminar for incoming freshmen through the Experimental College called College Students and Community Service, taught by the presidents of the Leonard Carmichael Society. Shungu cites that class as a major reason for his dedication to social activism, which has since led him to participate in AmeriCorps and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay.
Shungu also played a major role in the early stages of the Multiracial Organization of Students at Tufts (M.O.S.T.). His father was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire, and his mother is from Kansas. He remains active in the Boston chapter of Swirl, a broader multiracial organization. It was at an event hosted by Swirl two months ago that Shungu connected with saxophone player and Tufts junior John Mason, who plays in the Tufts Big Band, just as Shungu had during his time on the Hill.
"He mentioned a bunch of gigs he was doing, and we kept in touch throughout the year," Mason said. "We [met up] a couple times, and about a month ago he asked me if I wanted to play a gig with him at Northeastern." The show went so well that Shungu invited Mason to join him on stage a second time for last night's album release party. Though Mason hasn't had the opportunity to play many hip-hop shows in the past, he enjoys branching out into different styles. "[His music] is real laid back; it's got a good positive vibe, but at the same time, you can get down to it," Mason said.
The start of something big
Shungu established his stage name, Afro DZ ak, during his days as a Jumbo, and was featured on the short-lived Jumbo Audio Project, a mix tape containing music from a wide variety of Tufts bands and musicians. His first break came directly as a result of that project, when he got noticed by a local promoter and had the opportunity to play a solo gig in Boston. Though it's been five and a half years since his graduation, Shungu has retained the same spirit of active citizenship in his day job as well as in his music.
After a quick listen to the tracks on "Elevation," it's easy to identify elements of "positive" or "conscious" styles of hip hop, but Shungu prefers to avoid labels. At the same time, he realizes that in the current state of popular hip-hop music, Shungu needs to set himself apart.
"I think it's unfortunate that there's so much negativity in hip hop that I need to be called positive hip hop so people don't assume that my music is about killing people and disrespecting women and stuff like that," he said, "but I'm perfectly comfortable considering myself a positive hip-hop artist or a conscious hip-hop artist."
For the time being, Shungu is focusing on making an impact through his music while continuing to back up his words with action. Though he'd like to one day expand his current fan base, Shungu takes pleasure in seeing his words and sounds connect with those around him. "Some of my students have seen me perform … and in their free time they just listen to Young Jeezy and Lil' Wayne," he said, "but they see me do this and they're like, ‘Wow, there is another side to hip hop.'" Though "Elevation" is solid enough to launch his career, Shungu is keeping his mindset more down to earth and focusing on his social activism. So, whether or not he makes it big, Shungu's story is already impressive.
For a recap of last night's performance, a photo slideshow complete with streaming audio, and the transcript of the Daily's interview with Shungu, visit the Arts section's brand-new blog, "The Scene," on www.TuftsDaily.com.
