My story – Winnie Khumalo
Songstress WINNIE KHUMALO, 44, has another hit with DJ Cleo. She talks about that, her health scare and running a business.
Winnie Khumalo hasn’t been well lately. She looks tired and frail. She walks slowly with a limp and her breathing is heavy. I meet with her at our offices in Auckland Park. She’s just come from her doctor consultation at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital where she’s taking treatment in preparation for her upcoming surgery in June. I ask if she’s okay to do the interview. If we postponed, she says, we might not get another opportunity as she’s going on tour soon, starting in Botswana. I start the chat by asking about her health, the news of her collapsing in DJ Cleo’s studio during recording, and whether going on tour in her condition is really a good idea.
“People get sick all the time, and it was bound to happen to me too. Yes, I haven’t been well lately, but I’m not dying. The stories I’ve been reading about my health are exaggerated. The real truth is that my illness is due to a combination of three things: I have stomach ulcers, which were diagnosed in 2013; I’m taking treatment to repair an injury I suffered in 2008 when I fell on stage during a performance of the Brenda Fassie Musical; and I just work too hard.
Because of the ulcers, I have to follow a strict diet but due to work pressures and a dislike of bland food, I sometimes add spices. I usually get away with it, but there are days when I pay for my sins. I start to feel weak, followed by excessive sweating and shaking. That’s what happened that day in Cleo’s studio. It was a combination of bad food and exhaustion. To add to that, I’m also taking medication to treat a lump in my butt. I fell on stage while peforming with the late Lesego Motsepe and Jerry Mofokeng, and landed on my butt. I didn’t pay attention until it became really painful. Soon a lump developed. The doctor said it was an abscess, and it was surgically removed. I was left with a hole the
“BESIDES MY HEALTH PROBLEMS, LIFE HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME. I’M BLESSED WITH GOOD CHILDREN, I HAVE A HOME AND I’M RUNNING A BUSINESS.”
size of a golf ball but eventually with treatment it healed. Unfortunately the abscess resurfaced last year. My doctor decided that I had to undergo another operation to remove it from the root so that it doesn’t grow back again. I’m currently taking treatment to prepare for the surgery in June. When the pain starts it affects my leg, especially when it’s cold.When I have a performance, I have no choice but to go on stage and deliver like there’s nothing wrong. I want to make sure people get the best of me so they can go home happy. Everyone experiences pain and there’s nothing special about mine. I have to work; otherwise how am I going to live? I’d only be worried if I were to lose my voice because that’s my bread and butter.
If people wanted to talk about me having a health scare then they should be talking about what I went through in 2013. What I feel now is nothing compared to before I was diagnosed with ulcers. I didn’t know what was wrong but I was sick all the time. It was as if I had swallowed hot coal. I self medicated, which made it worse. I was in bed for six weeks. The doctor didn’t know what was wrong, but I was losing weight drastically. My kids were worried, and people who saw me thought I was dying; so did I. When Chicco (legendary musician Sello Twala) heard I was badly ill, he insisted on taking me to the hospital. I was worried he’d take me to an expensive private clinic where I’d end up with a R100 000 bill! I agreed on condition that I go to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. Doctors there immediately picked up what the problem was and put me on treatment. I still get all my medication there.
Being sick made me look at life differently. I started assessing where I was with my music career. So in 2014, I made the decision to leave my music home – Kalawa Records. I wasn’t growing anymore. Leaving was painful because Kalawa is very close to my heart. Without Oscar Mdlongwa and the rest of the team – who moved mountains to give me a chance when no one else would – I wouldn’t be where I am today. I will be forever grateful to them.
This young generation doesn’t know I was a child star who made mistakes and disappeared from the scene. I was trying to make a comeback when Oscar found me. I was no longer the adorable young girl people knew; I was a chubby mom with two kids. I was also a miserable wreck after a bad relationship. It’s hard to take someone who use to be a star and bring them back into the industry. It was a difficult challenge for Kalawa, but Oscar took that risk. And so like many artists in the industry, I started off being featured on other artists’ projects. I worked with Brothers of Peace, Mafikizolo and Zonke Dikana. After a couple of years, I recorded and released Live My Life, which went gold. I’ve been doing a lot of gigs ever since.
After Live My Life I released Woman, produced by DJ Maphorisa. The album didn’t do as well as my previous work.I also did TV work, starting with Clash of the Choirs, Kitchen
Queens, and acted in movies on Mzansi Magic and e.tv. When I left Kalawa, I joined DJ Christos but that didn’t work out well because he’s a very busy person. So I decided to do something on my own – I started a recording company, Winnie K. I have an artist, Joko, that we’ll launch through Universal Music this year. Having a record company scares me because I’ve never seen myself as a businesswoman. It’s difficult, particularly if you’re a woman in this cut-throat male-dominated industry. But I’m excited and looking forward to the challenge. I’m currently working with DJ Cleo. His popular single
Gqom was released a few months ago. We recorded it in one day and the next day it was on air. People don’t buy CDs these days – they download. That’s where the business is at. We’ve been working together for 10 years now, but it was difficult because I was signed to another company. Now that I’m a free agent we work freely. I met Cleo when we were both in Paris, France. I introduced myself and told him I love his music. I didn’t want to wait until we got to South Africa before talking to him. We’ve since worked together on many of his projects. He’s also helping me with my album. I’ve got many unreleased songs that we still need to polish. I write most of my songs with my daughter, Thabile. She’s turning 22 in September and is a very talented songwriter. She’s signed to Africa Lit, Oscar Mdlongwa’s record label because she says that being signed under my company would feel like she can’t do anything on her own. She markets herself without using my name. She’s passionate about music and I will never restrict her from doing what she loves – but I will keep advising her about the industry. Thabile studied at the National School of the Arts, where she majored in music, and also plays the guitar. I’m lucky in that both my kids know what they want and go for it. My son is 25 years old now and he sings beautifully, but is not interested in a career in music. I’m also a grandmother now. My grandson is naughty and I suspect he might follow in my shoes! Besides working with Cleo and Joko, I’m busy with a radio project. If things go well there might be opportunities to turn it into a TV show. I’m also getting into preaching. When Pastor Mboro read about me being sick, he invited me to his church. At first I declined, but when he called the second time I attended one service. He prayed for me. He’s a very different person from the one portrayed in the papers. I’m currently helping him with birthday celebrations. I support him because he’s been helping the community. I love giving people a chance and experience them for myself.
Besides my health problems, life has been good to me. I’m blessed with good children, I have a home and I’m running a business. Sometimes people ask me when I’ll retire, and I always say I’ll stop when I can’t sing anymore. People might think I’m a dinosaur in this industry but I don’t really care. Even Miriam Makeba was still singing as a very old woman. She stopped performing when she died. I’ll do the same.”