WHENEVER Lebogang Mahlangu used to sing a song, it wouldn’t be for herself.
She would be writing it for someone else to appreciate.
“That’s how I developed the interest. I didn’t know I could sing but I would write songs and present them to someone and I’d have to sing to them. That’s how I discovered it.”
Mahlangu said she always knew she had the potential but needed the confirmation from other people first.
“I wanted to know for sure that I wasn’t imagining it,” she said.
Her stage name is Le Mpendulo and she chose it for herself when she was only five years old.
“There was just something about that name.Even though I didn’t know what it meant then, I asked my family to start calling me by it.”
The 24-year-old artist is also a graphic designer and model. She was working as an illustrator when she decided to take up music as a career.
“When I was doing all my drawings, I would always have music playing in the background as inspiration.”
She first started with the guitar, which she learnt to play in high school, and then developed her skills further at the Cafca Music School in Mamelodi, Tshwane.
“This is where I got the encouragement to start performing and also gained the confidence to present my music,” she said.
Le Mpendulo has released a five track EP and is working on an international project.
Since then, Mahlangu has performed in a number of jazz events in Cape Town and Durban and in her hometown of Mamelodi. She also had the opportunity to perform in Norway at the Afro Marimba Jazz Festival.
In 2015, Mahlangu was the overall winner at the SA Indies week competition, and that led her to perform at the SXSW 2016 music festival in Texas.
“The reception overseas has been amazing. The people don’t understand the language but connect with music beyond the language barrier.”
Locally, Mahlangu said the reception was a little slower but still accepting. Her fusion of isiNdebele, jazz, neo-soul and afro pop makes her sound unique.
“The music has been doing well. There are a few people who still do music in the language and I’ve received a lot of encouragement from them,” she said.
Mahlangu said it was important for her to sing in her mother’s language because she raised her single-handedly.
“isiNdebele is my mom’s language. Even though I am Pedi, I grew up speaking isiNdebele. So I sing in the language because it is my way of giving back to her for raising a woman like me. I am proud to be Ndebele.”
The 24-year-old guitarist & singer says she chose art as a means of expressing herself. She is also a graphic designer and model.
Mahlangu used to be part of a group called Roots before going solo. The group disbanded after all the members decided to discover other avenues as they grew into their own.
Mahlangu’s EP Itjhada was released last month after working on it in both South Africa and America.
For the past six months, she has been studying and working on partnerships for projects in the US.
The singer said the main aim of her music was to influence young people positively.
“I want to plant life, love and urban African culture in respect of good morals and values. I also want to eliminate ill social norms and superstitions in the youth through art.”
@mane_mpi