Photo Courtesy Of Sho Madjozi
WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW AND HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED THERE?
I currently live in Johannesburg where I have been living for a year and a half. Before that I lived in Senegal, in the U.S. and Tanzania. And before all of thoe countries, I lived in a small village called Shirley, in Limpopo province.
WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED?
I was born in Limpopo province. Back then it was called Gazankulu, an Apartheid Bantustan. It's still rural.
WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR CITY OR HOMETOWN?
I'm lucky to live in a village that was not relocated during Apartheid. Unlike most of rural areas that were assigned to black South Africans under the Apartheid government, Shirley is very green and lush.
WHAT WERE YOUR INFANT ASPIRATIONS?
To see the world and to help others. Over time the "how" has changed but the goals remain the same.
WHAT HAS BEEN A SEMINAL EXPERIENCE?
Moving to Tanzania, at the age of 16, blew my mind wide open. It exposed me to the fact that there is a bigger world.
WHY MUSIC (AND POETRY)?
I don't know. Maybe my name followed me, as names are said to do. I was name after Maya Angelou.
FIRST SONG EVER SUNG OR BARS TO A BEAT?
I would never remember. I used to do joke raps on my Instagram. But even before that I used to hang out with a lot of rappers in Tanzania and we played around a lot with beats.
HOW WOULD YOU CLASSIFY YOUR SOUND?
Yoh. Black girl uninterrupted. I'm always trying to create that. What would blacks girls do and like and say and wear if we weren't interrupted by the horrors of colonialism, apartheid and sexism.
WHO OR WHAT HAS INFLUENCED YOU THE MOST ARTISTICALLY?
I can't know this. But I know that I often listen to French Afro-trapper MHD when I need inspiration.
IS THERE A SET OF MUSIC OR A MELODY THAT NEVER FAILS TO MOVE YOU?
I rely on Sade to keep existing. She has put me to sleep several times and rescued me from anxiety. There are also artists, like Oliver Mtukudzi and Kanda Bongo man who make my insides buzz because my mother played them when she was forming me in her tummy.
WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS FROM CONCEPT TO CREATION?
Idea. Excitement. Tedious crafting. Love. Doubt. Contentment.
HOW DOES YOUR AESTHETIC TRANSLATE IN OTHER DOMAINS?
I dress and do my hair the way I imagine Africans would if we were not interrupted by colonialism and Apartheid. We'd still be globalized, but we wouldn't be entering the global sphere hiding our Africanness.
WHAT DO YOU GET UP TO WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN THE STUDIO?
Make out with my boyfriend and look for waterfalls to swim in.
HOW DO YOU STAY MINDFUL?
By reading poetry.
WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW AND HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED THERE?
I currently live in Johannesburg where I have been living for a year and a half. Before that I lived in Senegal, in the U.S. and Tanzania. And before all of thoe countries, I lived in a small village called Shirley, in Limpopo province.
WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED?
I was born in Limpopo province. Back then it was called Gazankulu, an Apartheid Bantustan. It's still rural.
WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR CITY OR HOMETOWN?
I'm lucky to live in a village that was not relocated during Apartheid. Unlike most of rural areas that were assigned to black South Africans under the Apartheid government, Shirley is very green and lush.
WHAT WERE YOUR INFANT ASPIRATIONS?
To see the world and to help others. Over time the "how" has changed but the goals remain the same.
WHAT HAS BEEN A SEMINAL EXPERIENCE?
Moving to Tanzania, at the age of 16, blew my mind wide open. It exposed me to the fact that there is a bigger world.
WHY MUSIC (AND POETRY)?
I don't know. Maybe my name followed me, as names are said to do. I was name after Maya Angelou.
FIRST SONG EVER SUNG OR BARS TO A BEAT?
I would never remember. I used to do joke raps on my Instagram. But even before that I used to hang out with a lot of rappers in Tanzania and we played around a lot with beats.
HOW WOULD YOU CLASSIFY YOUR SOUND?
Yoh. Black girl uninterrupted. I'm always trying to create that. What would blacks girls do and like and say and wear if we weren't interrupted by the horrors of colonialism, apartheid and sexism.
WHO OR WHAT HAS INFLUENCED YOU THE MOST ARTISTICALLY?
I can't know this. But I know that I often listen to French Afro-trapper MHD when I need inspiration.
IS THERE A SET OF MUSIC OR A MELODY THAT NEVER FAILS TO MOVE YOU?
I rely on Sade to keep existing. She has put me to sleep several times and rescued me from anxiety. There are also artists, like Oliver Mtukudzi and Kanda Bongo man who make my insides buzz because my mother played them when she was forming me in her tummy.
WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS FROM CONCEPT TO CREATION?
Idea. Excitement. Tedious crafting. Love. Doubt. Contentment.
HOW DOES YOUR AESTHETIC TRANSLATE IN OTHER DOMAINS?
I dress and do my hair the way I imagine Africans would if we were not interrupted by colonialism and Apartheid. We'd still be globalized, but we wouldn't be entering the global sphere hiding our Africanness.
WHAT DO YOU GET UP TO WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN THE STUDIO?
Make out with my boyfriend and look for waterfalls to swim in.
HOW DO YOU STAY MINDFUL?
By reading poetry.
No comments:
Post a Comment