There are several facets to the genius that is Kabomo Vilakazi. Coming out as a poet several years ago and an underground hip hop artist, nothing prepared us for what the man has become this year. In his spare time (he is a permanent cast member on Mzansi Magic’s Zabalaza), he released an album, Sekusile, his third, and it seems as if he’s hit the right notes.
“I am feeling great. I guess I am relaxed because people are more familiar with me. The amount of people who also bought the album on the night of the launch was incredible. We sold all the copies that we had. We had a box saved for the media, but had to ask them to wait for their CDs,” he said.
“A week after my release, I am a lot less anxious than I was with my other albums. That’s a good thing,” he added.
The album follows the success of his debut neo-soul effort, All Things Grey, and its Sama-winning sophomore entry, Memory Remains. With that history, Sekusile found Kabomo with a lot on his mind.
“When you become popular, you have a responsibility to talk about things that matter. I never chose to be a role model, I just wanted to make music. But there is a responsibility that you have which you can’t deny. People want to listen to what you have to say, whether you like it or not. I didn’t come here to be the voice of reason, but thanks to my influence I have to say something meaningful.”
One of the topics he discusses on his new album is the scourge of xenophobia and how the attacks earlier this year affected him.
“I was ashamed when the xenophobia attacks happened. I was embarrassed to be South African and scared for my friends in the country. I can’t begin to think of my life as a musician without Zubz (a Zambian, raised in Zimbabwe, resident here). He influenced my writing as an emcee and I could mention a lot of people who have done the same for me over the years. So I did a song on the album that addressed how I felt about xenophobia. It came from real pain and is not a jump on the current fad. I was just ashamed. The violence happened around the time Trevor Noah got the gig in the US. So it was baffling that we celebrated one of our own making it overseas, but torched those who make it here,” he said.
Sekusile continues to venture in the other ventricles of the singer/songwriter’s heart and speaks of where he is as a musician.
“I also wrote about other things I feel strongly about. Like on Uyangihlanganisa, I am talking about how God can restore dead dreams using the story of Hezekiah and the dry bones in the Bible. On my previous albums I had never been open about my love for God. I did it this time because it was important for me. I have put in a lot of love songs, too. I wanted to celebrate pure love, like on Kheta Mina, which means ‘choose me’.”
The love songs are unlike those on his first two albums. Here he’s the overconfident guy who flaunts his women to the lusty world.
“Another personal favourite is Isphalaphala where I am that guy who walks around with a beautiful woman, saying to the dudes who look at her: ‘I’m not mad that you are gawking at her, I am with her because she’s attractive. Look all you want, but she is going home with me’. The cool thing about that song is that I wrote a Zulu rap and I had never written rap in Zulu because it’s really hard. It took me forever, but it was a fun process.”
Speaking of Zulu, the singer, who is Swati, chose to write the entire album in Zulu to show his Africanness to the world.
“I remember the success of Colour of You from my first album. One of the things I used to hear was how it sounded ‘American.’ I didn’t know if that was a compliment and wondered if it was a good thing. I have aspirations of playing in Europe and the US and I don’t want them to confuse me with one of their own. So I wrote this album in Zulu because I wanted to take it to the world and have people know that I am South African.
“Also, the other thing I did with Sekusile is go the Afro-soul route. I did a neo-soul sound before and was successful so I hope my fans will enjoy this as well,” he said.
You can catch Kabomo at the Speak The Mind Poetry and Music Fest on September 18 and 19 at The Bassline in Joburg.
“I haven’t been active in the poetry scene for a while. It’s humbling that the poetry community still want me to take part and don’t see me as a sellout,” he said.
l Sekusile is available at music stores and on iTunes.