Kelly Khumalo's carthatic songwriting process
New song confronts singer's tribulations as a woman in SA
SA vocal powerhouse Kelly Khumalo rates the creative process of her latest single with Eastern Cape music trailblazer, Msaki as a cathartic experience.
Undithatha Kancinci, which was released earlier this month on all digital platforms, is a song written by Khumalo and Msaki.
Khumalo said the song, which loosely translates to “you underestimate me”, is about her standing up against the negativity she has faced as a woman and as a musician in SA.
“I have always been a person who writes positively and nicely. I have never really voiced that I am tired of all the negativity. So with this song I decided to vocalise and say for once that I am tired of all of it. When writing this song I realised who I was and I recognised the fact that I have been underestimated. Sometimes I have underestimated myself, which has resulted in people underestimating me,” said Khumalo.
She said Msaki was “very” in touch with her spirituality, which helped the creative process of the song compilation.
“Msaki’s spirituality allowed us to connect on a deeper level. Something I have never experienced with anyone else that I’ve worked with. It was such a spiritual and feminine journey. The things that I voiced out when we were busy writing were things that she understood and, because she’s a lyricist, she was able to put it in a metaphorical way that sounds so beautiful,” she said.
Khumalo said: “She’s an amazing vocalist as well. Working with Msaki opened up the song and music and empowered me all over again as a musician.”
Khumalo is no stranger to controversy across SA media platforms, from her public relationship with Hip Hop artist
Chad Da Don, to social media “abuse” after the late Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was gunned down in a botched robbery at her house in October 2014.
Recently, Khumalo was cast as the lead for BET’s upcoming biopic on the late kwaito sensation Lebo Matosa titled,
Dream: The Lebo Mathosa Story. Soon after she was cast to play the lead, TshisaLIVE reported that Khumalo quit the role due to “questionable” working conditions.
“When you always speak positively and never pay attention to negativity, people feel that they can continue mistreating you,” she said.
“What I have learnt is that people are going through so much. People are so broken and bruised and they will reflect that on others as a coping mechanism. And if you are caught in the crossfire of that negativity, you become the template of what they are going through.”
Khumalo
writing Kancinci was a feeling for her as finally stood her ground.
“I got so much liberty when writing this song. I have been too kind and nice for too long. I am never affected by anything. I never get to confront those feelings because they don’t affect me. But it got to a point where I needed to look at it for what it is and confront it,” she said.
Khumalo said the single was a build-up to her album which would be released next year in May.
“I have dismantled the team I used to work with and am now working with a completely different team for growth purposes. This album will speak about all the things we face as women. The album is the voice of the woman,” she said. said
Undithatha liberating she
Msaki’s spirituality allowed us to connect on a deeper level. Something I have never experienced with anyone else