Lerato Makhetha is using this time of social distancing to get into the thick of things with his creativity and create much-needed music.
Makubenjalo is his third official single but first under the new stage name, Son of Jerry.
Those who have been following Lerato’s career will know that he was previously known as Sir Larry.
“My older stuff can be found under Sir Larry on digital platforms but I have recently changed it.
“I outgrew the old name, an old primary school name. I also got tired of explaining it. I was also looking for something that I could own and wear with pride.”
His stage name stems from the fact that
he is veteran actor Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha’s son.
“Growing up, like any guy, with self actualisation, you don’t want to live under your father’s shadow. I was really pushing that away as much as I could. But I think the real self actualisation is when you start to accept that, that is part and parcel of your make-up, that is who you are.
“The sooner you can embrace that, the better off you will be.”
His new offering, Makubenjalo, is a love letter to the continent.
“I was thinking to myself how we used to fight towards a common cause and, as much as we were fighting then, we had a common enemy. Now we are fighting each other.
“I was inspired to write a love letter to Africa in the form of an apology but it was really important that I wrote it as a South African black man who is the perpetrator of a lot of these injustices, levelling against fellow Africans, my sisters, my children.
“I am the one who is the custodian of how the country moves and I have bullied my way into a position of power and what am I doing with that.”
Lerato said he was inspired to use the original national anthem for the song. “What was great for me was if I could take those excerpts that were taken out and have them in the song, they could further be a reminder of where we come from.
“Music was a powerful tool to bring us together as a people once upon a time. I believe in the power of music.”
Makhetha added that he wanted people to be able to take a pause and think about where we want to go as a nation.
“I wrote the song a year ago. It is perfect timing now with the country being on lockdown. Take a listen to this song, see if it moves you.”
He will be taking this time of social distancing to work on his full EP. “The reason I didn’t record for the longest time is that I didn’t know what I wanted to talk about. I didn’t know what I was passionate about.
“I believe in storytelling and I don’t want to make music for the sake of making music.”
Lerato said his mission was to set up a precedence for himself and an audience which would gravitate towards him.
“I am trying to let what flows, flow. I believe in being as honest as you possibly can in any body of work.”