Mlindo The Vocalist releases his long-awaited album on Mandela Day as a way of ‘giving back'
Mlindo The Vocalist has released a new album, Uhambio, The Journey. Picture: Mlindo the Vocalist.Facebook
After being unsatisfied with the mixing of two songs, Mlindo The Vocalist decided to push back the release date of his album from June to July.
Mandela Day seemed the right time to give his fans the music they've long been waiting for.
'When we moved it to July I just thought since the 18th is Mandela Day, it's about giving back to the community…and people have been asking for the album, so I thought why not,' Mlindo The Vocalist tells The Citizen.
The musician also went into the community to do charity work in Alexandra together with other artists, for Mandela Day.
Real name Lindokuhle Mgedezi, the 29-year-old singer-songwriter released his third studio album, Uhambo The Journey.
The title refers to Mlindo's past few years, during which he took a step back from the limelight to focus on himself.
'I took a break in music to focus on myself as a person because sometime you can get lost as a person in this industry,' shares Mlindo.
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Mlindo dealing with fame
Mlindo released his debut album Emakhaya in 2018. The album was certified platinum by RiSA and it racked up almost 45 million streams just under a year after its release.
Emakhaya is the most-streamed album by a South African solo artist on Spotify.
This saw him experience resounding success at just the age of 23, which attracted bad company, he said.
At the height of his career, Mlindo had one of his lowest moments when he went viral for being drunk and struggling to perform on stage at a 2020 gig in Tshwane, where he says one of his close friends put something in his drink.
'The time when I got spiked, that was the hardest thing to deal with. It was something that was not in my control… it's like they were teaching me a lesson or something. I thought I was accepting a drink from a friend, it was out of love from my side, however, they were on another mission,' he says.
Reflecting on that period of his life, he says he would have probably handled things differently if he had had a mentor.
'I think it was a mentorship thing. I didn't have the right people to advise me at the time,' he said.
Mlindo received support from industry peers, such as Sjava and Somizi, during his time away, who would call to check on his well-being.
'I'm grateful for that and I wish they continue doing that for other young artists who have just come into the industry because it's not easy when you're alone.'
'I'm grown now, I've learnt my lessons. The love of music is still there…but more than anything, I have grown over the last few years.'
Part of those lessons was mending his relationship with DJ Maphorisa, with whom he had a fallout.
The pair's dispute stemmed from accusations of betrayal and backstabbing, with Maphorisa claiming Mlindo and his manager cut him out of a deal.
'Maphorisa and I got on a call, and we ironed things out. I told him I had no issues with him, and all that was said didn't come from me,' shares Mlindo.
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Music
Even during his sabbatical, Mlindo's debut album remained in the top ten most-streamed albums in South African.
'I'm grateful to the people who stream the music. This made me feel good about myself, that the music we made was timeless. To actually go through those years, where other people were releasing music but we're still in the top 10 most streamed albums since 2018-it really motivated me,' Mlindo said.
'The music is helping people. We don't just make music for clubs, but we make music that heals people with things they're going through.'
During his adversity, Mlindo was listening to a variety of music to help him heal.
'I could say Simphiwe Dana played a role, Sjava's music and a lot of Sun-El Musician's music. Also, something that I never listened to growing up but that I stared listening to a lot was gospel music,' he shared.
He adds that Dana's Zandisile album from 2004 is one he listens to a lot.
'It's been on my playlist since lockdown and it remains there.'
Mlindo says listening to Zandisile inspired the direction of his new album, which has more live music.
'I was experimenting with a lot of different sounds. In terms of the message, it's still like the Mlindo that fans love, but in terms of sound, there's improvement because I was going for something with a North African feel.'
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