Loyiso gets MBA, has a new hot hit
Things looking up for Bala, who’s also expecting another child
Loyiso Bala tells me that he only does “real” now. After so many years in the industry and seeing it all, he does not have to sell fiction.
“I’m all about real, I won’t sing about things I have not experienced. I’ve had to be careful that the songs I sing now represent my life,” he says.
Bala is back on the beat with a hot R&B single Ndimbonile that he recorded with Sands, Swaziland’s finest export of Tigi Tigi fame. Bala says he approached Sands because he’d been itching to return to his R&B roots.
“I’ve been away for seven years from that genre, working with other groups and doing corporate work,” Bala says.
So he wrote the song in Xhosa and English and says it’s reminiscent of what he’s done in the past with tracks like Musukukhala and Dali Wami.
But he’s switched up the music to have a current appeal, what with the emergence of fresh new talent like Amanda Black and Musa Sukwene.
Ndimbonile was recorded within hours and so happy was Bala that he released it within a month – and shot a video too.
“Sands is a very humble guy, he’s clean and has a good name.”
Bala is also protective of his name and reckons that he sells music and does not need a scandal to keep him relevant.
He’s on TV as host of TBN Meets ,a show that profiles Christian achievers. He also features on The Might on SABC3 on Saturday evenings where he profiles performers and gives them platforms and audiences to appreciate their acts.
“We bring promising talent and established names but I have passion for developing artists and giving them a chance.”
Bala has for the past four years been serving on the board of Southern African Music Rights Organisation. He’s also on the board of SA Music Performance Rights Association on top of running his business, Content Pro Media.
“My passion has grown so much more not only as a musician but in structures that make decisions for musicians.”
At 38, and with his second child with wife Jennifer on the way, Bala says he feels blessed. “I thank God for putting people that could see my strengths in my way.” He has also just completed his MBA. “I didn’t think I had the capacity [to complete the MBA]. I thought it was only for people in business and those with a certain intelligence,” he says.
Things changed when he passed his post-graduate diploma with distinction. His confidence grew. He applied for the Dean’s Scholarship to study towards an MBA, and now he’s passed.
“People have believed in me. Everything I do, I feel I have been given and I’m content so that I can give. My purpose was not to be a superstar but a blessing.”