Pop favourite reclaims his identity with powerful new single «Motherland»

Photo credit : Irya Gmeyner

Toussaint Chiza, formerly known as Tusse, launches his new era with the single Motherland, taken from his upcoming debut album «It Takes a Village to Love a Child», exploring identity, heritage and a powerful return to his roots.

Toussaint Chiza is stepping boldly into a new era with the release of «Motherland», the powerful first single from his upcoming debut album «It Takes a Village to Love a Child». After years of chart success and national fame under the name Tusse, the artist is reclaiming his birth name and rewriting his story on his own terms.

The shift marks far more than a rebrand. It’s a homecoming. Toussaint’s new music traces a deeply personal journey from his childhood in Congo and Uganda to an emotional recording trip in South Africa, where he teamed up with a homeless gospel choir to bring his vision to life. It’s a return to roots, identity and truth — and it’s the most vulnerable he has ever been.

The turning point came when Toussaint met producer and composer Irya Gmeyner while working on the soundtrack for the hit TV drama «Tunna blå linjen». Their creative chemistry was instant. For the first time, Toussaint felt seen not just as a performer, but as a storyteller with a history worth hearing. That spark grew into a full-scale collaboration, now culminating in both a debut album arriving this spring and a documentary film set for release in the autumn.

«Motherland», released on 9 January 2026, captures the emotional storm Toussaint faced when preparing to return to Congo after 18 years in exile. He fled at just five years old and had long feared going back — unsure whether the Swedish‑Congolese man he had become, the one who paints his nails, dates men and no longer goes to church, would be welcomed.

He describes the song as a bridge between past and present. Memories of playing football in the heat, running barefoot through mud and the sounds of home poured out as he sat at the piano. Together with Gmeyner, he shaped those memories into music — and then travelled to a shantytown outside Cape Town to record the Thanda Choir, whose raw, soaring harmonies give the track its heartbeat.

With «Motherland», Toussaint Chiza isn’t just launching a new chapter. He’s reclaiming his identity, honouring his heritage and inviting the world to witness the most honest version of himself yet.