Singers From South Africa

"I think it’s a fantastic revival of what the 70’s and 80’s did for natural hair. It’s a difficult transition to make though because I see how hair politics really permeates my fellow women of colour – so many think they would look ugly, suddenly appear stupid or be less sought-after without the weave, without the bi-weekly salon trips, without the ghd."

"One of the best things is that I never had any pressure from family to re-conform to the straightness."

"I decided I wasn’t going to conform anymore and have my self-worth defined by straight hair."

"I grew up knowing that the straighter or gladder (smoother) your hair was, the better. I didn’t really know much else because that was just the general ‘coloured’ idea, I didn’t ever really question it. Every hair salon, everybody else who looked like me had that straight hair so I just assumed growing up that it was ‘natural’, not realising that everybody was probably also doing the relaxer/ straightener thing to get it."

"Maybe this is the time, when we the women of South Africa, who love this country so much, and know we have to protect it, need to find a time, 5 minutes or half an hour, standing side by side holding hands, the length and breadth of SA, creating a circle around the country, linking our common belief, without saying one word, and collectively show ourselves and the world, peacefully, silently and powerfully, that we and our country deserve more"

"I just verbalised some thoughts, and believe where your mind goes energy flows. And its time to focus on hope and peace and a better tomorrow. We know we as a country deserve more"

"The joy and wisdom of getting older is the knowledge that it’s not about you. Yes, you have to work hard and be the best you can, but what’s more important is the story, what value you bring to it."

"My DMs are filled with people sharing their struggles and challenges. It is humbling to think that I can make a difference in their lives. I think it is really important that we start talking about depression, especially in black families. Depression is something that is not talked about, it is the devil, and because we don't talk about it, it affects us more. Talking about it helps"

"I am in a much better space. Some days are better than others but I am doing better because I have learnt to make myself be present in the moment. I allow my feelings to overwhelm me if they have to. If I am sad, I will be sad. If I am happy, I will be happy. I stay true to myself now"

"I want people to know that there is hope. You have to take it one day at a time and believe that it will get better. I still struggle some days and I have to talk to myself and let myself know that it will be alright, even if I don’t feel like it in the moment"

"She asked me why I had the bands (admission bands) and I told her I was in hospital for depression, bipolar and anxiety. She started judging me and suggested that I was too young to be struggling with such problems. It shook me but I just shrugged it off"

"I believe so strongly in following my intuition. I have learned to trust it as I have got older"

"I felt like I was drowning and felt like with every breath I was waging a war against myself"

"When I visited my psychiatrist he told me that he wanted me to book myself into hospital the next day. I was hesitant. I kept thinking, 'Dr. I need to get back to work tomorrow'. I was also scared that people wouldn’t understand and that I would be away with no support"

"all the way out to always find something wrong with someone and use that to bring them down"

"It is so hard because I literally put in so much work. I put in so much work for that story. But now it seems that my head is overlooking my work. You guys are not focused on my craft. You guys are more focused on my physicality and my head. I literally work so hard, but you know"

"This is absolutely wild, it's insane. This is for the little black girl sitting at home needing their dreams to be validated. This is it, this is our moment, this is our time! I’m eternally grateful. Little me is happy to have fulfilled my childhood dream"

"I probably would have killed myself. There was a 90% chance. That's how toxic that place was"

"I've been praying. I've been wanting to leave that place. It was something I had really been praying about, so when it finally happened, it really felt like God was removing me from the toxic environment"

"I didn’t really listen to what people were saying or worried what they thought of me but I did get judged"

"Theatre needs you to go to a vulnerable place to find authenticity and truth"

"We laugh a lot. The three of us have worked together for many years. We understand each other, so there is a lot of give and take. As soon as we see pressure on one of us, the other two step in and shift the focus. We balance each other out. And then laugh some more. We are highly professional, but have a huge amount of fun, because we love what we do."

"How can we make this happen? Who can make this happen? This time more than ever, we need to stand together. Surely? I ache inside"

"I saw army tanks while walking to school ensuring us natives were ‘well behaved.’ It was impossible to miss those things"

"I have a lot of band configurations. I have a jazz band. I have the band I have been playing with for 20 years"

"You cannot want to live in other people's expectations Your only intention should be to tell your story and tell it authentically. That is the only culture an artist should have. I don't have a desire for popularity or a desire for anything that people think identify you as a successful person. My success comes from finishing my work. So, as soon as I finish my work, I feel like I have succeeded. Anything that happens after that is out of my hands"

"People associate my work with their traditions and culture and maybe there isn't enough of that in the music industry. The music industry does sometimes become a little poppy and more about the accumulation of things. My work is about memories and identity"

"All I noticed was that something would happen to people when I sang, I found that people noticed me more when I sang."

"I always knew that there were people who sang better than me, I never thought I would make it to this level."

"I want my kids on TV” and I said you know what, wait for them to grow up, there’s enough time for them to be on television but get them some training as well and I know that it’s not always affordable for everyone; that’s always a major hassle but there are programmes where…I know that there’s the Market Theatre lab, that I mean there is a fee involved, but I do believe that they give…and go to free courses, go and learn something. Watch Videos, watch movies, watch people perform and learn. Keep learning and don’t think you know, don’t let your ego get in the way of what this job really is. It’s also just a job, you know, a job we’re passionate about, but it’s a job, be professional and work hard"

"Study the craft of acting, at a reputable institution, first of all. This business means you need to work at your craft, long hours, preparation, professionalism, dedication is what is needed."

"The hardest scene to do in the movie was when I had to swim across the Orange River about 5 times, then run up a hill of beach sand at speed, get to the top, and then do a really emotional scene"

"Losing someone you love is never easy‚ but I believe that when God takes‚ he also gives"

"There is nothing I regret‚ about anything that has happened in my past... I would do it all over again... That is what I needed. So‚ now when people try to mess you around‚ you are like: 'Oh‚ is that the best you can do? I have been dealing with things like this for a very long time"

"I had to give up the hustle and live (at) home for three years. My father would sometimes spend weeks and months in the hospital. Then he would be better and laugh‚ then the next thing he had dementia or couldn't walk. If it wasn't diabetes‚ epilepsy‚ kidney failure‚ hypertension or blood clots in the brain‚ it was something else. One day his body couldn't take it anymore and it shut down"

"A lot of people think that I am a new kid on the block because of this big role I got....it took me ten years to get that (her role on Isidingo)"

"It depends on what crosses my path, rather than me initiating it. And sometimes the chemistry between you and a musician is just perfect and then you just go with it"

"Terribly! Yes, yes, yes, and also, it’s quite important for me to be nervous, because if I’m not then it feels like it doesn’t matter enough"

"I am not thinking of a cut-off point yet"

"And after that I always tried to do that with every show and every album, there are no throw-away songs and they must all stand strong"

"I have a sort of thought process I go through. And what I normally do with my accompanist is that we will talk through the whole show beforehand. You go through every song and we say, oe be careful of that part, and that part and remember to do that there and so on. You get all those things out of the way and it’s filed in your brain, so by the time you walk on stage you actually do it for the second time"

"Learn when to say no to the money, because it comes with so many complications and people who feel entitled to steering your career"

"Money draws people in and takes away agency"

"Even as I sing in my own language about a South African experience,she says, I also see it as pan-Africanist music that speaks to the Diaspora as well. I create work that is interested in connecting us and bridging gaps"

"We were trying to wrap our minds around neocolonialism and the way power corrupts"

"In spite of having a Black-led government, we quickly realized we still needed to struggle, protest, and fight"

"We were kind of swept away by this idea of freedom"

"Having grown up so un-free, there was a euphoria hearing Nelson Mandela was being freed and that we could get an ID and be a true South African with the rights of any other citizen"

"Struggle didn’t need to be a bad thing, so long as we knew what we were pushing towards"

"Music gave me a natural medium to express myself and all I was seeing"