South African female vocalists Msaki, Zolani Mahola, Ami Faku, Bonga Kwana together with US singer and songwriter Eryn Allen Kane penned a powerful, soul-searching song to celebrate the beauty and strength that is a woman.
The single titled "Ungazilibali", which translates as "don’t forget yourself’ is an ode to women’s strength and a call to recognise women’s unlimited potential and their crucial role in society.
We chatted to Msaki who took us through the making of "Ungazilibali" and the inspiration behind the song.
The song was released in collaboration with the UK-based music company, Platoon.
“Platoon works with independent artists and help them tell interesting stories in a way that isn't typical of the industry. So it's quite a unique way of releasing music,” explains Msaki.
The "Sondela" singer says working with the four ladies was such a magical experience, it took them just over an hour to complete the song.
“We were all in Cape Town together and Eryn was going to be coming down to South Africa for a few days. All four of us have individual projects that we are releasing with Platoon.
The song was inspired by speaking to this girl child at different stages of her life,” she says.
She further explains: “There’s something special about females being in one space. It's a completely different energy and it pulls on something different in the creative source, uZolani touches on that in her verse. And that’s the ease and the beauty of that space, knowing that we have created something special. I’m just privileged to be part of that and I hope we can do more projects like this one.”
Msaki also explains why working with each one of the artists is so special to her.
“I met Amu at the airport in Joburg, on our way to Cape Town. We’ve been talking on social media for the past two years. I love her story. I love her and the space she's occupying in the music industry. The same goes with Zolani, I've known her for years, she's one of my biggest inspirations. And for her, she was like, ‘oh, my goodness, I've been wanting to meet you and link up with you'. So we are going to be doing many other little collaborations.
"And uBonga is a very young musician, but very talented and extremely powerful. And Erin has such an incredibly soulful voice, that is also really unique, and I think even unique in the States, like she's still somehow underground but she’s done work with Beyonce, with Prince but somehow she’s fallen through the cracks when people don't understand how powerful and special she is.
"And it's just so nice to be able to highlight her here in this country as well, for people to know about her and what an interesting artist she is.”
“Ungazilibali” demonstrates Platoon Africa's dedication to the global movement towards social harmony and mutual respect regardless of colour or creed.
“The magic happens when there is no agenda and you are not really trying to force anything, you are just trying to make magic, and I think that is happening. The world should hear it”, says Platoon Founder Denzyl Feigelson.