By Zachary Chen, May 11, 2021
Coming from Central Africa, Osiris Sielatshom, who goes by the stage name Veetchy, is a fourth-year computer science student using his love for music to share his passion for singing.
Sielatshom released his latest pop single, “Cream and Suga” featuring Shanay Morant, in March.
“I want to reach any music listeners who love good vibes and want something new and refreshing,” said Sielatshom, a Chino, California resident. “I want people to listen to my music and feel inspired to be great and be happy.”
“Cream and Suga,” incorporates elements of rap and pop, combining Morant’s soothing vocals and Sielatshom’s uplifting flow.
His music covers a wide range of genres from pop and R&B to afrobeat — pulling inspiration from both African and Western cultures.
The student artist debuted in 2019 with his first single, “Trill Vibes,” and has since then released several other songs on major streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. He is currently working on releasing his next single in late May or early June of this year.
However, as a full-time international student, Sielatshom shined the light on the challenges he encounters when trying to balance his music career with coursework.
“Balancing music and school aren’t only about priorities but is also about dedication,” Sielatshom said. “You know what you want to do as a passion, but you never know if what you’re doing right now will help you in the future. I write in my free time and I try to create time for it. At the end of the day, I need to graduate, and I need to finish strong. It’s just about creating time.”
Growing up, Sielatshom listened to a variety of African and Western music — drawing inspiration from African artists like Manu Dibango and Toto Guillaume and Western artists like Chris Brown, Beyonce and Jay Z.
Sielatshom discovered his love for music in middle school while growing up in Cameroon. He recalled initially creating music with a couple of his classmates, starting out with words that rhymed and later developing those words into lyrics of a song.
His stage name, Veetchy, was created with his middle school friends when they formed a small band. Infusing his middle name, the stage name is a spinoff of the famous rapper Jeezy.
Carrying his passion over to college, music was one thing he was unwilling to let go of.
“I realized that making music is something that I wanted to do in 2019,” Sielatshom said. “When you’re a comp-sci major, there’s a lot of fields that you can explore with that degree. At the end of the day, if you have a passion that’s really burning inside of you, you might as well pursue it if you’re really serious about it.”
Sielatshom’s music is available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify and Youtube. For updates on his music career, visit his Instagram.
