CFam Exclusive: “The Secret is Making Music That You Like!”

Firstly, Cfam, tell us about the name. What inspired the name and what initially made you guys decide to form a musical trio?

Kyle: “How it all started with our name CFam, our surnames start with a C (Cupido). What do you mean to each other as a family is unity and love. There’s no special story behind the forming of the name but if you look deeper it’s about us for brotherhood, family and unity.”

“Honestly I believe we all had a vision for CFam and it felt natural to moving forward from content creating to music.”

Javas: “We have loved music since a young age. We’ve all kind of been interested in making our own music and it was something we always spoke about. When I started doing well with content we decided to try it. We also do everything in house such as the beats,  the vocals, production and the lyrics. We do it all ourselves. We are the team. It was a vision that we had and we giving it a go and we’ll see where it takes us.”

What inspired you to pursue music in general? 

Kyle: “Life comes at you very fast and sometimes it brings a lot. Creating music is a form of therapy because we needed to let this anger and pain out somewhere. It’s like a creative outlet. The music fits perfectly because we can tell our stories and be relatable through music. I think the challenges that we face in life allowed us to make the music.”

Can you tell us about your individual musical backgrounds and influences? 

Javas: “Growing up, it was first Michael Jackson and the Bee Gees because my dad always played it. Michael Jackson made me love music. I’m also a big fan of hip-hop, UK rap has become an interest nowadays  and my current favourite artist is Russ because of his versatility and being an independent artist.”

Tibi: “Growing up I listened to hip-hop a lot, such as Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and all those ‘manne’. But I never paid attention to what I listen to but I just go with the flow. Since growing up and becoming more mature, I enjoy different genres, especially indie music. I’m also a fan of pop and rock music. At the moment, I listen to a lot of Daniel Caesar and other underrated artists rather than mainstream.”

Kyle: “When we first started I was a big fan of Eminem and all these manne who can actually spit. I used to listen to people who studied hip-hop, poetry and play on words. As I got older, I had more appreciation for the artists my mother listened to like Sade, Bee Gees. All the 80s music. So in essence I get my inspiration from the old age and the new age.”

What genre or style would you say best describes your music?

Javas: “I don’t think we have a specific genre because our outlook was to be as versatile as possible. It’s very difficult to pinpoint exactly what we do in terms of our style of music because it’s always changing because I believe we can do any style that you put in front of us.”

“Naturally because we are a group, we are still trying to find our sound and I think us being a group is what will give us a competitive advantage and will make us different because all 3 of our styles are so different and we bring them together in our songs. To sum it up, we would stay our style is universal.”

Take us through the process, who does what and how does a song end up coming together? 

Javas: “So Tibi is our producer, he makes all the beats. He does the mixing, mastering and making of the beats. He is a big part of the process. I’m very proud of him because he use to make beats for years, ever since we were at school and we taught ourselves how to do all of this from scratch.”

“We all write our own lyrics, sometimes we do it altogether in the studio but sometimes we end up doing it separately because we’re not always together. So sometimes Tibi will be in the studio and we will write lyrics but when it comes to the hook it’s about who spits better.”

“We go off on what sounds the best and luckily there is no Ego involved in the team, so it depends on whoever feels the melody and does the hook and we go with what sounds the best. On average a song would take us about the day or two depending on time and our schedules. I think we have done well so far in finding a process that works for us and our next step is basically focusing on how we market ourselves as a group.”

How do you handle creative differences when making music together?

Kyle: “At the end of the day, it’s all about the group and sometimes we are all in different moods. Like maybe I want to sing and Javas wants to spit which is fine because we all know that at the end of the day it’s not about individuality, it’s about the group and we must do the best that we can for the group.”

Javas: “I feel like we are very good at communicating, we’ve known each other for years so there’s a very good understanding. For example we just know each other’s moods, like I know when Kyle is in a bad mood or Tibi is not feeling it then we just leave it. We come back when we’re all in the right space and we never take it personally. We don’t even need to say anything, we just know each other so well.”

You guys have made some killer hits from I want you (one of my faves) to StarBro. What are your personal favourite releases thus far? 

Tibi: “I have a few favourites but personally, my favourite is ‘I Want You’ just because it’s for everyone. I feel like the audio quality in that song is probably our best that we’ve put out in my opinion.”

Kyle: “My number one song has to be ‘wind blows’ because it’s the type of song that you can listen to when you’re out for drive, slow evenings, when you were sitting at the beach at 6 pm with a Corona in your hand. It’s a nice slow vibe.”

Javas: “For me, it’s between ‘Anga’ or ‘Flaws’.”

Which song/s have you released that you might not be as fond of yet others are?

Kyle: “There’s a lot more songs such as our earlier releases that I don’t like as much, StarBro and cake. It’s mostly because of the quality.”

Javas: “For me, it’s our third song we released called ‘Not The Same’. We’ve removed it online though. If I had to pick a song that’s online, I’d say the earlier ones that had more of a Gospel flow where the mixes were very different.”

Tibi: “We have song called ‘Talking shit’ and it’s shit. The audio quality is not where it should be.”

What do you enjoy the most about working together ?

Javas: “It’s the vibes. I’m very grateful that I get to do it with them two. We are very close and I don’t think people understand it. We are like brothers and it’s the biggest blessing to work with them. Our communication is good and there’s no ego involved. It’s so much fun working together and recording something from nothing. It comes naturally. Especially having the ability to express ourselves individually but also having to express it in a song that ours and not only one persons’ song. ”

Tibi: “It’s the vibe in the studio. Us making memories, laughing together and having fun at the end of the day!”

Kyle: “Like they said, the vibes and we actually bond. It’s like three brothers participating in their favourite hobby. It’s so fun and doesn’t feel like work.”

What do you find challenging at times working as a trio?

Javas: “Finding the time to get together. We don’t live close by so getting together becomes difficult. The other challenge is disagreements. It’s natural. For example, let’s say it comes to a release of a song, maybe Kyle doesn’t agree but Tibi and I like it or vice versa. That’s like the most conflict we might have. It’s usually just on what’s next such as either a single or an EP.”

Are there any upcoming projects or performances that you’re excited about?

Javas: “We are always working on music. We have releases on most weeks. Our recent release is for the ladies. We are also currently working on an EP.”

“When it comes to performances, we have a different relationship with that idea. We do get a few clubs and so forth reaching out for performances but that’s not our scene. As I said, I’m a huge fan of Russ and I’d like to follow his blueprint. We want to build our own fan base first. We ultimately want to do our own shows. Our focus right now is to try and get our name out there as much as possible while also feeding our core audience with music.”

“We know people love our videos but we want more love towards the music so that we can eventually have our own shows than having to do performances in places we don’t really go into such as clubs and festivals. We just tend to follow our gut and work on our catalogue of music. We trust that it’ll work out.”

How do you engage with your audience or fans, and what role do they play in your musical journey?

Javas: “I think that’s when it comes to our fans, I don’t think we are fully certain of our fan base but what I do know is that our views on every video is quite consistent and we get a lot of emails. We can tell that people genuinely care about our content. When it comes to the music, we are hoping to build a genuine connection with our audience and show them who we are. We believe in making music that we like and hopefully others will like it as well.”

“For example, we could potentially make ‘gham’ music because we know it and we know the vibe but we are thinking more global than local for the long term. We want something for everyone in terms of music. People might not like it but as long as we like it that’s what matters right now.”

What advice would you give to other aspiring musicians starting out in the industry?

Tibi: “I would say a lot of people try to be like other artists. Just be yourself and don’t try to copy others. When we started making music, we tried to be like other artists but over time we figured out what we like and we adapted to it.”

Kyle: “Authenticity goes a long way. Being your true authentic self does a lot. At first it may feel like it’s taking longer but it’s the best investment. Being real will bring the right people around you. I believe that’s the best value.”

Javas: “I second what Kyle and Tibi are saying. It’s going to be hard at the beginning to just be yourself but it’s all unique and people are going to judge you regardless so you might as well own it.”

I know that in previous videos, you mentioned the narrative related to ‘Coloured Excellence’. When it comes to the term ‘Coloured Excellence’, people have a certain level of expectation of what it looks like. What are your thoughts on the ideal and how do you define it?  

Kyle: “At this moment it will take longer because we are doing something outside the box. Out of the ordinary. I feel like people will eventually respect what we are doing. We want to show our coloured people and the world that we can succeed if you believe in yourself and your vision. People will definitely climb our bus when things glow up.”

Javas: “For the coloured community, my experience has been a lot of hate within our own little community at home. From my side. It was expected. there’s not much you can do. People are going to hate but that’s part of life. I believe hate is a reflection of yourself. We focus on the music and people who love us. We do our own thing.”

When it comes to community, family and good vibes, it is clear that CFam surely knows how bring it! Their musical techniques, individuality with music and humility will definitely impact the younger generation for the better! CFam is here to bring connection, authenticity and encouragement on a global scale. Be sure to check them out on youtube, instagram and stream there music here!