Near-fatal shooting gave rapper Khuli new perspective

HIS BABY daughter Nia kept him going through the dark times.

He was mistaken as a kidnapper and shot by police in a horrifying incident which changed SA rapper Khuli Chana’s life.

Chana said those few minutes when police pumped nine bullets into his vehicle in Midrand in October 2013 turned his world upside down.

“It has taken me a while to get to a place where I am comfortable and courageous enough to talk about it,” he said. “That story stole my fire when I was at the peak of my career. It came in there and changed everything.”

Chana, whose real name is Khulane Morule, was at the top of his game at the time. He had won a multitude of international and national awards, picking up best male artist and album of the year at the SA Hip Hop Awards, and cleaning up at the 2013 Samas.

“That fateful night I was on my way to an event in Pretoria and had stopped at the garage to wait for my DJ. The documentary Picking Up The Pieces shows what happens next. My life changed overnight and my immediate reaction was ‘why has this happened to me?’” he said.

While realising he was lucky to have made it out of his car alive, Chana put all his focus into trying to maintain his career under the unrelenting glare of the hype that surrounds celebs.

Over the next three years, Chana fought an uphill battle for justice.“I became very withdrawn and a loner, I didn’t trust anyone. The music wasn’t the same any more. It wasn’t fun any more, I was carrying a burden which I tried hard to channel through my music, but I really struggled with that.”

“My daughter, who was only 3 months old when it happened, had a lot to do with my healing. She was my reason for living and I realised I’d become a machine, sometimes doing four or five shows a day.

“It’s really about the simple things, spending time with people you love. I had to slow down and take one step at a time.”

In June, Chana won his civil claim against the police. The matter had gone to the Johannesburg High Court before a settlement was reached. He is not allowed to disclose the amount involved, although rumours put it at around R2 million.

Khuli Chana