Berita feels empowered

Published Apr 1, 2015

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Munya Vomo

One of the most gifted musicians in the country outside the usual hip hop has to be Berita. The singer and guitarist, who rose to fame in 2012, has returned with a second album which is set to certify her place in the South African music industry.

“I released my second album last year in November and it is called Songs Of Empowerment. It’s an album that is aimed at getting lifted as I am aiming to inspire,” she said.

While the title Songs Of Empowerment might sound like something out of a revolutionary handbook, for Berita, the title is something personal.

“I started writing for the new album when I was doing my third year. My first album came when I was in my second year and so you can imagine the pressures of being a student and a musician. I faced a lot of challenges to get to this point and one of the first songs I wrote was Sukundixhesha, which is a Xhosa song that simply means ‘don’t rush me, let me take my time’.

“I accelerated very quickly from being a student to winning awards and having a gold selling album, but I realised that I am still crawling in this industry. So I knew I had to allow myself the time to grow. I started writing other songs from that which were about being patient,” she explained.

To add weight to her product, the singer roped in some legends on the album making sure that Songs Of Empowerment rises above the ordinary.

“I had the opportunity to collaborate with Oliver Mtukudzi and Hugh Masekela on a song for the album. I spent a lot of time with them and I learnt from their conversations that when writing songs, you need to write music that elevates people. It has to teach them something and also make them happy and so that’s where Songs Of Empowerment came from. If you look at the two men’s albums, you will see that most of their material is simply based on songs of empowerment,” she explained.

But just how did Berita break into the music industry – a feat lots of people claim is an uphill struggle?

“When it all happened, it happened purely by chance. I came to South Africa to study at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in 2011. I was born in Zimbabwe and I spent my teenage years in New Zealand. I came to SA solely to study but I brought along my guitar so that when I am not studying, I can play around. It was never a case of getting into the industry at all. It all just happened by chance,” she confessed.

From East London hails another gifted musician by the name of Zahara and it was only natural that people would draw some comparisons at some point.

“That same year (2011) Zahara’s music came out and it took over. I just continued doing my little thing and I didn’t think it would go anywhere.

“In 2012, I came to visit my uncle who liked what I played and he introduced me to his friend at AlexFM. This led me to record an album and so my journey was that simple. I didn’t come to compete or take someone’s place.

“Once the music started working out, I realized that I had to start working even harder. I was going for gigs in the week and on weekends and I had to study too. I graduated top of my class,” she said.

Songs Of Empowerment is available on iTunes and at music stores.

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