My Life in Music: Rumbi Tauro

Award-winning South Yorkshire artist Rumbi Tauro talks us through her formative music experiences and the songs that mean the most.  

The first record I bought…

As I Am by Alicia Keys. This album has been a constant musical reference point during my life so far, and I’ve been in love with Alicia Keys since hearing it. I was able to see Alicia in concert during 2022 and it was incredible hearing some of the tracks from the record live. Genuinely, this is truly ten out of ten and was so ahead of its time. 

My first gig…

Drake with support from The Weeknd – and I think tickets were like £20.00 back then! This was in the Sheffield Arena, which made it so exciting that these international artists were performing live near my hometown. 

Rumbi Tauro performing at Tramlines 2021

The first song I performed…

‘True Colors’ by Cyndi Lauper when I was about six years old! I still remember it to this day; it was for a church talent show and I was so, so nervous. I just looked at my parents the whole time I performed and tried my best to enjoy it.

A song I wish I’d written…

I wish I’d written ‘Mountain O’ Things’ by Tracy Chapman. To be honest, I wish I’d written the whole self-titled album by the legend! It’s such a pure album and I take a lot of my songwriting inspiration from Tracy Chapman. 

I first fell in love with music when…

I started to learn the piano around the age of five years. It was during that time that I began to hear of artists like Alicia Keys and Ciara, both of whom were big inspirations for me to start singing. 

One song that I can’t get out of my head at the minute…

‘Intimidated’ by Kaytranada ft. H.E.R. It’s such a feelgood song, I love the production and this collaboration is so fun. 

A record that reminds me of a specific time and place…

‘One and Only’ by Adele was one of the first songs for which I learned how to sing and play the piano at the same time. It’s a forever song for me, as it helped me realise the passion I had for music and made me want to work towards performing in front of people. 

Rumbi Tauro is Zimbabwean-born singer/songwriter who grew up in South Yorkshire. She won the highly regarded Pattern + Push music competition in 2021 and has since released an EP and three singles: ‘Run Run’, ‘Bloodline’ and ‘Take Care’. Rumbi will be returning to Sheffield in June to perform at Tramlines Festival. 

@rumbitauro

Check out more of our ‘My Life in Music’ features here.