Zonke opens herself up with L.O.V.E
R&B artist says she’s on a roller-coaster ride
WITH the grace and poise that R&B and Afro-soul singer Zonke Dikana exudes when she speaks about making her own music, everyone stops and listens.
With 15 years in the music industry, she has released her fifth studio album, which celebrates her
L.O.V.E – the title of the record. Yesterday, at an exclusive listening session at the Emoyeni conference centre in Parktown, filled with close friends, family and members of the media, she said she enjoyed wearing many hats to produce a classic body of work.
She added she wanted to showcase that she was more than just a musician.
“I love my music and it’s very close to me, and I always want it to be like how I dreamt of it, I’m very particular about my music,” she said.
Zonke, who defines love as Living Out Various Emotions, said that with time she was able to write songs that appreciate her family, clan, love and God.
“It was a roller-coaster ride really centred around love.”
The music maestro added: “Time has healed me tremendously. I think when you listen to the album H.E.A.R.T you can tell that I am tired of crying. I am tired of being sad and having sad songs about someone in the family.
“It seems as if the trend is that every time I have to release an album, I lose someone in my family. And that would kind of force me to tap into that and write that sad song. So this time around I am so grateful to God that time has healed me.
“I allowed myself and made the decision to be happy and write a healthier album, if I could call it that,” the 38-year-old said.
She said her family’s response to L.O.V.E had been great over the years.
“They absolutely love it. Every time I go into studio and come back to play the songs to them, which is something I used to do a lot with my sister Lulu, I play them for my other sisters and brothers,” she said.
Four years ago, Zonke lost her sister Lulu.
L.O.V.E features just one collaboration, between Zonke and rapper Kwesta, with eight other tracks sung solo.
“I love and respect his artistry. I’ve never featured anybody on any of my albums, and I think I last did features with my Love, Life and
Music album. I got so tired of being featured; I just wanted to prove a point to myself,” she said.
The regal cover of the album is black and white with her eyes piercing into the heart.
“I wanted to be simple. If you look into my eyes, there is something there that is piercing and at the same time very inviting, which is what love does. You open yourself up. You can’t fall in love if you are closed off,” she said.
The production of the album took two years to complete. She said she was part of every single creative aspect of the album.
Zonke wrote, produced, made her own beats and sang all the songs on L.O.V.E, which is in stores from today.