NEW-kid on the block Thandeka Mkhwanazi, popularly known as TDK Macassette, says she is ready to move on from the attention that came with her claims of the song, ‘Nay’ le walk’, which she alleged was stolen by DJ Maphorisa.
Nay’ le walk’ went on to become one of the most popular song in Mzansi, accompanied by its own unique dance routine that has been equally popular.
“I am just ready to move on from all of that,” she says.
“Whatever the public saw or heard, I am not changing my story, it is what it is but yet again let’s just move on. I am not here to step on anyone’s toes and I will obviously never say I will never work with whoever in this industry because we are all here and are in this together,” said the starlet from Durban.
Walking into the interview room in Rosebank, dressed in bright pink clothes and wearing the brightest smile, TDK kept reiterating her deepest desire for her music to unite people.
She said her new path of forgiveness and the new energy it carries will be channeled back into her music for inspiration purposes.
“I try to have a message in my music always. I want to unite people through it while also encouraging them to have fun. I might not be perfect but I know what type of image I want to always portray.
I have even taken a conscious decision to never sing about alcohol or drugs, twerking or showing unmentionable body parts. What message would I be taking to the nation when I do that?,” she said, using her current song as an example that it reminds everyone that God loves them and therefore they should dance with joy.
Her career only spans a little over a year yet she has seen the grace of God working for her.
“I only started in the industry last year January but look at all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me. I mean, who am I to be loved and accepted like I am right now?” she asks full of emotions.
“Till today, I keep asking God ‘Am I really ready for all this’, because now I am not (for) myself but I am for the people. I represent my country and it makes me emotional,” she said.
With no musical background before this and jumping straight from the corporate world, TDK is convinced she is where she is supposed to be; and has set plans to work extra hard on her craft to be better daily.
“This feels like a calling for me. The same way a sangoma or a priest are called to occupy their positions, this is mine. I can not tell you or predict my future by telling you where to from here. But what I can tell you is that it will be the best.”
This past Friday, the singer released her first music video to her trending song Domboroza, and is also working on her second single which she hopes to release in September.
“My album will come next year because I first want people to engage, get to know me, my music and understand it because it is really important that your target market gets to know you before,” she said.
And through it all, the projected success, traveling and gaining much more popularity, she wishes to remain who she is always.
“This is not even a dream for me but heaven. My one wish is that the more bigger I become, can I become childlike.
“Because if you are a child, things become easier in terms of people helping you, but if you have a big head, no one will want to help you. That is a prayer of mine, that I do not shift from my position as a child before the people. In that way, I want people to see themselves in me,” she says.
@AmandaMaliba