Soulful Terrence
SINGER/SONGWRITER: MCKAY HONOURS THE KOFIFI STYLE OF 1960 AND 1970
‘I’m not chasing fame or wealth.’
While he says he stumbled upon music while in high school, and saw himself doing something completely different, Terrence McKay remains a songwriter and vocalist with a voice that can mesmerise anybody that loves soul music.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a football player for Orlando Pirates,” he said.
“I was a good player as a youngster and I think I could have even gone professional had I pursued it.
“But when I suddenly realised I could sing at the age of 16 in Grade 10, music instantly became the dream.
“Nothing mattered but music from that moment.” doing without stopping for the past eight years, since I was 21.
“I’ve been working on it despite the challenges and all the doors closing in my face, all the opportunities taken away, with people not giving me the platform.
“I kept at it because I knew I was good enough to make it at the highest level,” he said.
“It’s been a crazy but wonderful journey.” started tapping into other people’s stories and would get writing inspiration from merely watching a movie or observing his surroundings.
“I believe there are so many distractions in the world that we live in, and with my music I just want to make people feel, regardless of what the emotion is, as long as they listen to my words and feel something,” he said.
“I was born with a natural ability to have soul, not only when I sing, but as a person. When you meet me, you meet my soul; you meet the essence of who I am outside of music.
“Once I add music to it, I have no choice but to open myself up to a point where all you feel is the soul.”
McKay says he is lucky to have a jazz background and grown up in a family of gospel singers.