Music has always had a family connection for Ngqabutho Mpofu, and now he hopes to welcome new artists into his mentor program and give them the guidance he wished he’d had starting out in the industry.
As a young boy growing up in Zimbabwe, Ngqabutho – better known as Kyū, The Producer – was often told by family and friends that he was an image of his grandfather, whose incredible vocal ability had been so entertaining that he was able to go places people of colour were usually banned because of racial prejudice.
His parents supported his passion for music, recording a television program featuring Michael Jackson that Kyū would later memorise and perform each morning.
Kyū moved to London with his family in 2001. He spent time at a Summer School for gifted kids where he built upon his inherent musical talents for singing and dancing and learned to play the piano.
Upon earning a University degree in Music Technology, the musician began collaborating with a group of friends he affectionately referred to as a brotherhood. Together they would write, produce and perform, building upon their skills and giving each other a safe space to try new things.
It led them to collaborate with writers and producers in America, including Kyle Christopher and Chrishan, and later, the opportunity to pitch their demos to artists such as Chris Brown and Mario.
“As a young aspiring artist and producer, I got to experience a lot of what the music industry had to offer,” Kyū said
“It was always a passion of mine from dancing to a Michael Jackson tape my parents recorded for me on a VHS tape as a child to winning talent shows, dance competitions and eventually opening for some of the UK’s biggest stars like Tinie Tempah, N-Dubz and Kid British.”
The collaborative environment is one the Artist Development coach wants to replicate with his students.
Using his almost two decades of knowledge of the music industry, Kyū wants to work with aspirational Pop and Modern RnB artists to help them on their journey to finding their sound. Building and cultivating a fanbase and creating a sustainable income.
Kyū began his company, LNTC Group, after noticing how difficult the industry was to navigate when first starting out. The business name is an acronym for “Life Narrated Through Creativity”, a mantra he wants others to repeat so they know they can build a life by chasing their dreams to create music.
His vision is to provide music production and artist development to new musicians and offer them, someone, to sound-off their issues and gain advice.
“I was frustrated with the music industry and seeing talented artists giving up because they didn’t have the tools to navigate the space, so I created LNTC Group to help aspiring artists,” Kyū said.
“I wanted to develop artists to understand how to leverage their independence through releasing radio-ready hit songs, building a fanbase and becoming an affluent artist, knowledgeable enough to navigate building a career with or without a record label.”
He also wants to provide the support he wished he had had in the early days, such as being there at shows and rehearsals and assisting with PR campaigns and photoshoots.
Kyu’s management style has created success for many aspiring musicians. He has achieved number 1’s and top 10 singles in some independent charts. Some artists have also managed to earn 1 million streams on the streaming platform Spotify.
“The wealth of knowledge gained over the years was working and worth passing on so the artists I worked with so didn’t have to “learn the hard way,” he said.
In 2019, Kyū was recognised as one of the UK’s best producers, coming runner up for the British Songwriter and Producer of the year. He had previously received “The Princes Trust Young Person’s Award, ” which gave him the capital to start his company in June 2014.
