Baliva is a hip-hop artist, writer, and speaker based in London, UK. He was born in Harare, Zimbabwe where he spent his High School days in an RnB/Rap group. The group were received National Airplay for their first single “Love is Magic” in 2000 which led to many shows in Zimbabwe’s capital city. Baliva moved to London in 2001 where he spent his time studying media production and pursuing a life-long ambition to be a hip-hop star.
Although making progress, he soon became numb and disillusioned by the business saying he felt “empty and hollow inside despite having outward success”. After meeting pastor Brandon Munoz from Freedomhouse Church in Camden and attending several church meetings in Northampton, Baliva became a Christian in 2005.
He was encouraged to use his rap skills to spread the Gospel, which led to him choosing the stage name Baliva. Baliva has been featured on several mixtapes and albums over the years but is best known for his solo hip-hop Gospel album Sunrise released in 2008.
Between 2009 and 2011, Baliva produced and presented a monthly Christian hip-hop podcast radio show called ‘The Baliva Music Show’, which focused on proclaiming the Gospel through hip-hop music and culture.
At the moment, Baliva is working on new music scheduled for release in 2012 under his newly formed record label. Baliva’s passion is to spread the fame of Jesus Christ.