What motivated you to produce and write songs for this album after losing your mentor Robbie Malinga?
Robbie was one of my biggest influences to get me through the album, even in his absence. The one thing that I didn’t want to do was to let him down in any way so when I got into studio, it was truly about making good music. I made sure that I made myself heard in the right way and made sure that wherever he is, he’s looking down on me and saying “what a great job”.
Tell us more about the album and the inspiration behind it.
The album is love. I’m a person who believes in love and that we all live by love and we are born out of love. The album is also inspired by South African music as a whole. All in all I was inspired to do the album because I was so much in love with the idea of South African music and the idea of sharing love was the best thing ever.
It’s a self-titled album, apart from that, what’s different about it from your previous two albums?
This album expresses more of me, this is me bearing my soul to the country. This is the first album that I produced myself and the reason for it being self-titled is because it’s a representation of what I’m bringing to the music business in South Africa.
What were some of the challenges you encountered while producing the album?
The entire experience was beautiful for me, I allowed myself to be me. The one challenge I faced was when I found myself questioning if what I was doing was right or wrong, especially because it was my first production after the previous album, which was a huge success. Also the biggest challenge for me was knowing and understanding my position at this turning point.
You featured Tshepo Tshola on the album, how was it like working with him?
Working with Tshepo Tshola was such a beautifu! It was probably one of the best moments I had in studio – he’s such an inspiration and I just love the idea that I worked with someone older like I’ve always done, working with Robbie. I found a new friend in Tshepo Tshola, someone who can give me advice, someone who can walk with me on this path and teach me how to survive. He has been in the music business for 48 years and it’s extraordinary to see him still going strong after being in the industry for so long.
What would you like to say to your fans?
Firstly, I would like to thank my fans for the support and for carrying me all this time. My fans have supported me for so many years. The reason why I’m out here doing this is because of the love that they give to me. I’d like for them to go get this album and feel the experience, they must get to enjoy South African music in its finest form.
“The best way to describe my album is a warm hug, it’s really warm and lovable so they should go out there and get a warm hug for themselves."
