Khuli Chana has made a return to the spotlight with his new amapiano-inspired track “Khuliyano”, which fans are absolutely loving.
The track features KayGizm, Luing Anywhere and Stino Le Thwenny.
Chana took to Mo Flava’s mid-morning show to chat about his journey to the top, making sure he credited those who helped him rise, including the late HHP and AKA.
On “No More Hunger”, the song which launched his career, he said: “This is the first beat I got from Kiernan Forbes (AKA)… these guys showed up with a beat tape, and I thought, ‘Nah, I’m not feeling this beat, I like it but nah.’
“Then JR (Bogopa) got the beat and came up with the hook, because I couldn’t find my pocket in it. And they were like, ‘Yo, you are sleeping on a smash’. So I worked on the song, and ever since ‘No More Hunger’, I don’t think I’ve ever been broke.“
“All my hits have this collaborative effort. On this song you have AKA, a young Kiernan Forbes, Buks and Kamza and at the time they went by the name IV League.
“You got JR at the peak of his career. On that song I just spoke my life into existence. At the time I was tired of hitching rides, tired of being broke and broken by the music industry,” he shared with listeners.
He said, at the time, his family were “super anxious” about him choosing a career in the arts.
“As far as I can remember I made my family super anxious… you know the line, ‘artists die paupers’. I did not really see it this far, but I knew my purpose was to change the face, change the perception of it, period.
“Bongo Maffin, Stone, I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. Stone has been cool since the beginning of time.”
Giving props to the late HHP, the hitmaker said: “HHP was the first guy to give me my first pay cheque. I was his hype man, he grew fond of me, wouldn’t let me out of his sight.
“He drew a lot from me, I drew a lot from him. I learnt a lot from him, how he moved, his humility, how he worked the room. He gave me the key and tools to longevity in the game.”
“Now I move with purpose. In the beginning it was hard like ‘Eish, how we going to manage’, but you know, I’ve got a solid family and they’ve made it so easy. And I think us (his wife, Lamiez Holworthy) being in the same industry, we complement each other so well.
“When we not working, we Neflixing and chilling. We’ve never been big on red carpet events… we only move when we booked. We love that simplicity in life.”
Watch the full interview.