Celebrated vocalist and instrumentalist Sam Ndlovu of the iconic band Stimela makes a return to the music scene with the release of his first solo single “La Bhembe”.
Written in Siswati, the song speaks of a love-hate kind of situation going on, with a twist of humour, between the two people in a relationship.
In conversation with Ndlovu, the legendary artist says, as a cultural ambassador, he’s celebrating the wealth of language, the importance of freedom of speech and most of all the use of our indigenous languages through his music.
Ndlovu says when it comes to “La Bhembe”, there is no deep meaning behind the song, he just wants to showcase the beauty of the Siswati language.
“And I am proud of our languages. I am proud of our cultures. I am proud of our heritage, hence, when you listen to ’La Bhembe’, you’ll hear that it's in rich Siswati, in its purest form. ’La Bhembe’ is all about the richness of our language.”
Ndlovu says we, as Africans, need to pride ourselves on our languages.
“That is why thina sithi ‘sizo yicula lengoma’, we are going, to sing this song in Siswati, nge siZulu or Xhosa and highlight and parade the beauty of these languages because they are what we are.”
“The things that we learn so that we are able to relate with other nations, should not take away what and who we are.
“That is why we must feel obligated to remind our young people of the importance these our indigenous languages.
“Bra Hugh Masekela once said: “20 years or so from now, when our children are asked about their culture and heritage, they will say ‘we used to be Africans.”
“We've gone to great lengths to master the English language, French, Portuguese and other foreign languages, while we let our own languages Swahili, isiZulu, Siswati, Setswana take a back seat.
"It’s time that we change that and ensure that our children are proud of their languages. The day I forget ukukhuluma iSiswati, that would be the day I cease to exist as a human being.”
Ndlovu discovered his passion for music at an early age, all thanks to his father, Ntate Mr James Ndlovu, who was a music enthusiast.
By the time he was in his mid-teens, Ndlovu had already started his own band, composing music using old Atchaar cans covered with rubber for drums, with the cymbals made of crushed cans.
In the late 90s, the Mpumalanga-born star formed another band called Black Chain. As they performed around festivals, they sometimes shared the stage with Stimela and that was the beginning of a long term relationship with the iconic Afro-fusion group.
Fast forward to 2010, Ray Phiri, the founding member of Stimela, called Ndlovu and asked him if he could join the band.
This was after the passing of Stimela lead vocalist Nana Coyote.
Following Phiri’s passing in 2017, Ndlovu had to step in as Stimela’s main lead vocalist.
With the release of his solo single, the muso reassures the fans and followers of the legendary Stimela that the band is not disbanding.
“Stimela is more of a cult institution.
“You can't experiment with Stimela, our followers expect a particular brand of sound, we can't change that, because if we change the formula, it will be like we are tempering with the very soul of the group itself.
"We're not going to do that. That is why when it's time to do Stimela, all of us drop what we're doing, and we run home, and we do what we have to do.”
“La Bhembe” is available on all major streaming platforms.