ULenni sings for domestic tourism
VERSATILE musician ULenni OkaNdlovu has released a song titled Can I Take You Out that is accompanied by colourful visuals in a bid to promote domestic travel and tourism.
Produced by Ti Beats, the video of the song stars arts administrator Mantate Mlotshwa, while set design was done by Caligraph with Skeyi & Strobo responsible for costuming styling.
Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style, ULenni real name Lenny Ndlovu said, growing up in a tourist attracting environment for most of his childhood inspired him to use his talent to spark a conversation on issues around tourism.
“I grew up in Matopo, Silozwe. Our home was one of the beautiful homes so we would have around a thousand tourists visiting per year since the 1990s because our family decorated it with Matabeleland, Ndebele murals ( ukugudula) and it was attractive,” he said.
“Most of the tourists, who visited, were foreigners meaning we never had locals, so now having grown up and travelled, I figured how our local people have been missing out on the beautiful places, traditions and heritage we have because of how tourism has been packaged as a high
end product.”
He said music was a powerful tool that could help change perceptions and market local destinations for the benefit of the nation.
“The whole project seeks to build a culture of travelling as well as to encourage locals to participate in domestic tourism and find ways to commercially exploit our beautiful spaces in a sustainable way. It all begins with conversation around the subject,” he said.
The song details how one can hitchhike with a backpack and go camping on a low budget, demystifying the widely shared view that adventures are a preserve for the affluent.
With such a song, the multidisciplinary artiste hoped to reinvent the regional impact that his hit single Cava, featuring rising producer Liberaxe, had last year.
Cava, which he followed up with Lento iLit, got frequent airplay on acclaimed mediums including Channel O in addition to featuring at esteemed arts events in Nigeria and the United States.
ULenni revealed that he was set to drop his long-awaited extended-play on December 13 that would be a precursor to more music scheduled for release in 2021.
“There are collaborations as well and among them is a project I am working on with Ingozi Sound Machine, a duo from Durban, South Africa and Oakland from the United States,” he said.