PUBLICITY material in advance of her new album warned she was “set to blow big”. She has!
Twenty-year-old Zimbabwean Alexandra Govere, or just Andra, has just released her explosive 17-track debut album, Luv is 4 Suckaz (I’m a Sucka 4 Love).
The album by the Stanford University-educated civil engineer, who was groomed by Kerry Brothers Jr, Alicia Keys' songwriting and production partner, is receiving rave reviews from American bloggers.
“Love is 4 Suckaz doesn’t really sound like a debut, it sounds like something you’d expect from a more established artist with a few releases under their belt,” said one reviewer, testimony to Andra’s two years of grafting in the studio as well as her song writing ability.
“The songs are well written, captivating and original,” said another critic. “The highlight, however, is the album’s sequencing, which is amazing. The mixtape progresses seamlessly from song to song telling a story. Love is 4 Suckaz is like a cross between Lily Allen’s ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ and Kanye’s ‘808s and Heartbreak’ without the autotune.”
Barely known in her homeland, Andra says on her website that she grew up in rural Bikita until the age of 10 when she got a scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to study in the United States.
The president and co-founder of the Kijana Project which assists Aids orphans, she was the first black person to compete on Zimbabwe’s National Artistic Gymnastics Team.
She was honoured as one of Teen People Magazine's '20 Teens Who Will Change the World,' and has been featured in other publications such as Elle Girl, Essence, Girl's Life and International Gymnast.
The jocular Andra says on her Tweeter that she was “schooled in Zimbabwe, educated at Stanford University. Now I’m a poor musician who steals toilet paper from restaurants ... hence the large purse.”
This is Andra talking about herself:
I AM ...
A lil' lady with huge aspirations. I grew up in a village in Bikita, Zimbabwe (where I was once a member of the national gymnastics team!), but at 14, a combination of hard work, luck, and an amazing scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation landed me at Stanford University.
Over the past few years designing bridges, testing cement, and watching the grass grow... er ... I mean studying Civil Engineering, I've come to realise that I'd much rather write songs for a living. Needless to say, my parents aren't too pleased. ;)
I LOVE ...
Art, fishing, interior design, and boys with guitars ... although I hear most of the hot ones have herpes. Kidding!
I DREAM ...
Being from Zimbabwe, I've lost countless friends and relatives to AIDS. There's nothing I dream of more than a cure for this deadly virus, or at least that we all learn (and care) to prevent it. Ladies! That means no one-night stands with hot guitarists!
I've been the President of the Kijana Project -- a non-profit organidation that helps people who have been infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS -- for ten years now, and intend to do so for the rest of my life.
It'd also be kind of cool to create a couple of award-winning records before I die; partially because I love music, and partially because I'm pretty sure my parents will be sceptical until then! ;)
I BELIEVE ...
That anything is possible, and that Taco Bell is better than any fancy restaurant in the world.
You can follow Andra on Twitter, Facebook; MySpace or visit the official website for Luv is 4 Suckaz.
LUV IS 4 SUCKAZ ALBUM: ANDRA
