CRUIZE RADAR: A LOOK INTO NYENDE.

One day I'm scrolling on my Spotify Gospel radio and I hear this almost muffled, cinematic, enigmatic vocals over an airy instrumental. I pay close attention and it felt like something was reaching out from the depths of his soul, a story begging to be told for any ear willing to listen. That's what Nyende's music is all about stories real life stories about his relationship and growth in God's Kingdom. Something most Christian youths struggle with in their lives. We met with Nyende in anticipation of the release of his new single, Illusions, which he released a short film to go with. Here's what he had to say.

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄? is a short film about me standing face to face with the love of Jesus — and realizing I had misunderstood it for so long.

For most of my life, I thought I had to fix myself. Clean myself up. Make the guilt go away. There’s this scene where I’m trying to wash off my sins, and they just won’t come off — no matter how hard I try. That’s exactly how it felt. I was stuck, thinking I had to do what Christ had already done. The truth is, it was never about me being strong enough. Jesus took my place. I was supposed to be on that cross. But He went there for me, fully knowing who I was, and still calling me worth it. That kind of love… it breaks you in the best way.

The film also touches on something deeper: how much I let other people’s opinions shape how I saw myself. It took a lot to unlearn that. God really has transformed me. I'm so honest now (perhaps, too honest) but that's okay because I know what I once was. To stop living for the approval of others and finally accept what God says about me. That I’m forgiven. That I’m loved. That I’m free. Taking full accountability for my wrongs and being humble enough to acknowledge and work towards being better. But for me, the hardest part of it all was forgiving myself and allowing myself to show up differently. New. This is me letting go of guilt, shame, and the pressure to perform. BECAUSE MY PURPOSE WAS ENSLAVED BY MY TALENT, I WAS LOST IN IT. This is stepping into the grace that’s been there all along. It’s not polished. It’s not perfect. But it’s honest. And maybe that’s enough. This short film leads up to my new single called "illusions" with my brother Kyan Repose from Malawi featuring MAL AND HIS PEOPLE from UGA releasing on 23/04/25 next week Wednesday

Pre-save link: https://share.amuse.io/track/nyende-illusions

Everything starts out with an experience. I mostly create based off of events I personally experience. So once I have that down, I try to put my thoughts and ideas together to build that into a concept and know what message I’m trying to pass across through the art. It’s a lot of thinking in this stage and research, trying to get my brain to understand certain things. From this point, I think I allow myself to be freer rather than meticulous about what I’m doing. So I sketch it out first and then transfer that sketch to a canvas and then I pick the colors for that work or series. Yes, obviously. I’ve had to think a lot more about things I didn't want to think about, or I've been trying not to think about. But it’s also been very rewarding working on this, seeking help and accountability because it has made me understand so much more about the things that I pushed back and now, I’m finding ways to better myself as Nyende outside of the art thing. This is just an add-on. Tipping myself to the more positive side.  I’m not making art in hopes of getting a reaction out of my audience  if I’m being honest. I think that’s just an add-on. I’ve made the art which means I’ve done my part. Whatever comes after that is not in my hands anymore but God's hands.