GOSPEL DIGEST

NEWCOMER, Xolisa Kwinana ( pictured), has done so well for himself with his album Siphila Ngaye that if you are a gospel fan you need to look out for him.

“I was following a traditional gospel sound which could accommodate people from all walks of life,” said the rather shy singer.

According to Kwinana, the mission for this album was to reinforce the faith of those people whose lives had been shaken by hardship.

“When I made this album, I always thought about delivering people through music. There are people who are facing so many problems and do not have any solutions. When they listen to this album, the message that I have been seriously pushing is simply that ‘it is not over’. It might feel like it is over, but it is far from that,” said Kwinana.

For him, the message comes from a personal space where he uses his own experiences to inspire others.

“I grew up without my biological father and up to now I don’t even know if he is alive or not. It was hard to grow up without him. When I was younger, when friends spoke about how their fathers did this or that for them, I felt left out because he wasn’t there. As a man, there are times when you need someone to talk to you. There are things you cannot discuss with your mother,” said the singer.

While his upbringing was tough, Kwinana was raised as a Christian and to a large extent knew that everything would turn around for him through faith.

“I grew up in church and God helped me to take my situation and understand it so much that I had to inspire others. In life, if you want something, you just need to be confident about attaining that goal and believe in God, then you will get it,” he said.

By the look of things, indeed, self-belief and hard work helped him get to where he is today.

“I was raised in Cape Town and this is my first album, but the response is quite good as the album is selling really well in certain places. We are one of the top sellers. I can’t really choose a favourite song, but I have noticed that the fans really like the title track, Siphila Ngaye. Several radio stations including Umhlobo Wenene and Ukhozi FM too. We have submitted the album to the Crown Gospel Awards and are hoping to be nominated,” said Kwinana .

If you haven’t heard him in action, look out for him as he will likely be in a city near you. “We have a tour planned. To start with, we are going in and around Cape Town before we expand to Durban, Mpumalanga and then Joburg,” he said.

is in most music stores.