When many think about Masechaba Khumalo, hard-hitting current affairs shows such as One Day Leader, Weekend Live and Ekse: Let’s Talk come to mind. However, the broadcaster’s name is now associated with music after she dropped her debut single on Friday, 18 March 2022.
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Titled Vela, Masechaba – who featured The Real LandLordz – says that the song is a prayer.
“The song is basically a conversation with God where we are asking for Him to reveal Himself and show Himself during this difficult time we’ve just come out of where we’ve lost so many people to depression, anxiety, Covid-19, gender-based violence and femicide. Now as a nation that is trying to find itself again, this is essentially a prayer,” she tells TRUELOVE before revealing that the song was not planned but was spirit-led.
“I met up with the Real LandLordz in studio and this was a freestyle. The song was very much spiritual-led. It wasn’t my intention to make a spiritual song when I went into studio. In fact, there was no plan but what came out was all spirit-led. Ntethelelo (featured on the song) and I just created a duet that came from God and we clearly had a message to tell the world and we allowed ourselves to be the conduit of God’s message,” she explains.
As someone who likes to think that she could never be defined during her time as a radio and TV broadcaster, Masechaba – who is currently the spokesperson to the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa – says that she will also not be defined in her music and will not box herself under one genre.
On venturing into the music industry, Masechaba says although she’s never thought of herself as a professional singer, the music bug bit her after she recorded a song with Mobi Dixon in 2021.
“I’ve always known that I love to sing and I’ve always loved music but I’ve never considered myself to be a professional musician or singer because I’ve always suffered from chronic shyness, believe it or not,” she reveals.
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“So, I never imagined myself to be a public figure and I only studied journalism to be a writer because writers get to be in the background and no one has to know your name but TV found me, radio found and music found me. All I wanted was to record one song and when I made it happen with Mobi Dixon, we created magic and the rest is history as they said and that’s when the music bug hit me,” she continues.
Masechaba, who plans to take her music career one song at a time, shares that she is not looking at creating an EP or an album soon but will be releasing more music.
“I want to allow the universe, Modimo le Badimo (God and my ancestors) to use me and work through me to deliver these messages and to do the work that needs to be done,” she says.
On returning to radio or television, the former Metro FM presenter refuses to confirm whether she’s keen on it but says fans should watch the space as anything is possible with her.
For now, Masechaba will be focusing on the things she is currently busy with, including her music.
“I want to offer more of myself and to extend more of myself in the places and spaces where I’m needed an where I’m sent. I believe that God is my CEO and he appoints me where he wants me, so my work is driven by a higher purpose and I want to invest my time into the development of young people who are coming up in the media space. I want to make sure that I leave an impact and open the doors in spaces where people don’t have access. I’ll also be promoting my music and working in the spaces that I occupy,” she says.
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