Mpho's family moved from South Africa to London United Kingdom when she was a toddler to escape apartheid laws that made the very fact of her existence evidence of a crime. Music was a constant presence, with both her biological father and her stepdad being professional musicians. After starring in secondary school plays and concerts – and having classmates asking for her autograph after particularly fiery performances - Mpho found herself a smaller fish in a bigger pond at the Brits School in Croydon.