Singer Songwriters From South Africa

"I ditched my family because they didn't want me to do music. They wanted me to finish school. So I left and came to Joburg. At that time there was something that was pushing me and that was 'the world needs this and the world needs a message that you are coming with'. Because I believe that every time I sing a song, it has a message"

"I’ve realised my need to talk, I’ve realised my power to talk. I only attributed it to the music for a while and allowed people to tell me it’s only in the music. Now, as I am unfolding, I’m finding my voice to speak for people who can’t speak for themselves, to speak out about things that are affecting me. I am black and I am a citizen of South Africa, that on its own is something to speak out on ... It's because I have found me again, I found my voice again and I am here to use it"

"The music is about falling in love with self, honouring yourself by self-acceptance. The theme and message is spiritual reconnection and trusting herself with her music"

"I’ve learned that although there is no separation between myself as an artist and myself as a human, I value the ability to continue living my life outside of the limelight which allows me to still be able to be authentic in my artistry"

"I believe everyone has a voice and should always find courage to use it even when it’s not popular to do so. Every voice matters. Everyone has got a story to tell"

"I have truly been called for this music. Over and above healing those that consume my music, I myself find healing in the messages in my music, I find healing even when I perform"

"I am lucky to have an audio diary that I literally go back to before I start a new project, and I listen to Amazulu, I listen to Power and I listen to Mnyama and it gets me to understand quite a lot"

"I found myself in that dilemma of separating myself from Amanda Black and Amanda who are in essence me, they are one and there is no difference between them"

"I struggled a lot with the separation because the industry calls for you to separate yourself from who you are and the art"

"From My Soil to Yours has a lot to do with acceptance of myself — all the versions of me till now — and also opening up the space for versions that are yet to come and understanding that, as a human being, I am ever changing because, at some point, we think that this self-love and self-journey has a stop, whereas it does not"

"I went through a break-up, and all my plans were in the trash. I kind of just shut down and I remember that there were so many things happening all at once ... I went through a mental block for two-to-three months, and I was at home ... it made me reconnect with myself."

"You don’t talk about how you become OK and how you went through it, and this is what this album is about ... I ignored my emotional, psychological because I was in the battle ... and I neglected me."

"We are in the system, and it's rigged. Better we get to know it if we are to survive, break out and thrive, at this moment its near impossible to live outside it. So we need to equip ourselves with the knowledge that will allow us to have more than a fighting chance"

"“I try to speak with my friends and my family, I went into therapy, and I use the gym also as a way to listen to my own thoughts. I spend a lot of time talking to my son as well. He surprises me when he talks about me or when we are sharing thoughts, he also gives me a lot of enlightenment,”"

"“I felt that I could eat whatever I want, however I wanted and whenever I wanted and it was fine because I just had a baby,”"

"“I feel like life is good, I am truly blessed. I can’t complain.”"

"“I am the happiest I have ever been,” she tells me when I ask how she is."

"But now I'm happier, I'm thinner, I'm sexier. When my son was born, I was at my heaviest, and I wasn't happy, I was performing because my songs were popping. The only thing that kept me going was because...my baby boy. Being a mom has just elevated me ... I want to be fit for myself."

"“I don’t know if other mothers can relate but after pregnancy and giving birth, everything felt mushy. Everything was soft. It was like I couldn’t walk or move like the way I used to before,”"

"I went through a lot since Kgosi came onto this earth. I know a lot of people have been saying that I'm quiet... I haven't been feeling like making happy music. I have been making music and thank God that I can do that all the time,"

"“I wanted to be active with him, I want to take walks with him, I want to ride a bike, I wanted him to watch less TV,”"

"“Working with Beyoncé really did change my entire mindset. I realised that she’s in her late 30s and she is still in the game,”"

"But don't leave that fiery heart behind Take it along for the ride And don't leave that fiery mind behind Take it along for the ride And...I'll have to say fair well so long"

"There's an empty space whеre you once offerеd yourself to me My mom knows I'll be alright, but she'll be glad I'm home She's always casting spells for me Keeping guard for me, working hard for me I swim out of the window and into the night I am smiling, I am screaming, I am glowing from inside"

"I've got so much to say And yet nothing comes close To the way we communicate When we don't say a word I hear you clearly without sounds Oh, I don't need these ears when you're around"

"Every plant given life by His hands Every stone placed to build pathways in the sand There was a magical feeling surrounding that land A mystical feeling surrounding that land"

"Oh, remind me of your name again As you take me on that train again Back to the pavements that we walked, and walked Oh, the drugs that made us talk and talk And I'll take you dancing, I'll take you round and round I'll lead you to the hilltops, and I'll take you on the ground"

"All you had to do was see me Really see me Recognize the workings of my mind And then touch me Like something holy And then touch me Like something that is now but could never be"

"I saw you throw your hands in the air and say a prayer Your eyes closed, your nose breathing in the salty air There was nothing you could do to make me love you anymore"

"The moon was full and it left me howling My head was spinning and my heart was growling I received crimson stains on my sheets that morning The world felt big and the tides were moving"

"On days you'd sail away I would try to find my own way On days you'd sail away I would try to find my own way home"

"I stand here with all my love Uncover the windows Let in the light Grab the hand that's reaching out... This world can cater for us all When the sun rises, it rises for us all"

"Days move on and times they change In a blink of an eye things rearrange We're moving We're sucked in and we're spat out On the other side of the rabbit hole But we find our way Find our way Do you want to be just a machine in this crazy society? Pick the lock Grab the reigns Forget there ever were chains 'Cause there never were chains"

"It's all lies And my limbs have danced for the Amsterdam sunrise With not one restriction and not one disguise Monotony is what I despise Integration to society would be my demise It's all lies"

"Music came back to your ears And you danced and you danced For all of the years You’d forgotten how To live for the now"

"Oh society... You took it away from me When you brainwashed me with formulas of how I should be Shaped me and raped me of my individuality Schooled me and fooled me Told me what I could and could not see Took me and shook me Of my urges to be free"

"She looked out out to the horizon She didn't have much left to see Greed had taken the trees away Greed had taken the bees away ...She looked up to where there should've been stars"

"And there is a place where we one day will delve Where there's no more walking on eggshells Where ideas are for free, oh it's the place to be Your great mind's no longer the minority I'll see you there with your hands in the air Where the canvas is bare And there's no more despair... and I'll see you there"

"How could he possibly describe anything when the world around him had lost its colour"

"I do like this idea of time. For me there is no before or after. It’s all during. It’s just a bunch of “durings.” I don’t think of myself as someone in the past, I’m a person going through something. I do like to see how these “durings” influence the future."

"Koko and I somehow had the ability to walk alongside our hurt and disappointment; we never let it get ahead of us or lead us astray.’"

"I definitely feel the world lacks a sense of humour"

"I don’t think all women need to birth themselves"

"I try as a reader to put myself in places I’ve never been to, in the shoes of people I would never meet"

"I write for myself and then I edit for the reader, to make things easier for them, to refine the ideas"

"It’s always the youth that are making the sacrifices. When I think about the Soweto riots in 1976 in South Africa, it wasn’t people that stopped working and said, we are going to fight against these policies, it was the school children"

"It seems as if the whole country is falling apart, so why be a good person, why be good to yourself, when the country is not being good to you, it’s not giving you the opportunities you need"

"It’s fantasy when white people write it. When black and brown people write it, it’s magic realism"

"Being liked is not nearly as great as being happy with the decisions I make. I'm not money, so I know not everyone likes me"

"Things that lurk in the shadows do not like the light. People get used to one tiny light and begin to seek out more of it in the world and in themselves – that’s how the light liberates us."