Balance and Abundance!

So it's been like a good 5 months since my last blog post. So much has happened between then and now. Did a lot of radio and press interviews, gigs and met a lot of new peeps. But what really drove me to wanna lay some thoughts here more often was a couple of good journos who literally came down on me about my blog. So to LeloB, Bongiwe and Lebo...here goes!

So the most frequently asked question by a lot of my people and friends is: How do you manage to balance your music, work and personal life?

And my answer is always very straight forward: It's damn hard!

There's times when I really feel like dropping one between music and work...God knows I can't afford to drop my personal life. But then the light really flashes in my good eye...I LOVE WHAT I DO!

Outside of music I'm a Production Engineer at a radio station. Now I love radio, always have and will for a while. And on the other hand, music is just really part of who I am. Sort of reminds me of that famous motto at Primi Piatti, "Work is Love made visible". Then of course there's the other famous saying "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work another day in your life".

No doubt I dont wanna be working forever, but it really goes a long way that I love what i do! And at times, I'd get so frustrated at work that I wanna call it quits. But at that point, that Love for what I do deposits more patience and energy in me, reminding me why I do what I do.

The other big aspect of it is that I'm an artist and there's bound to be some time clashes. Happened very recently actually, where I had an interview scheduled during work hours...and out here, people ain't gonna barge for nothing. And so I weigh the opportunity cost! Publicity and good profiling versus Salary..? Seems all so overwhelming. At the end of the day, something had to give. This is where good relationsips come in very handy. Good relations with my peeps at work and with the journos and good people making my music career work. A compromise and sacrifice is then made. Schedules have to be adjusted and recordings done at awkward times. But it's the good relations that make it all work out.

A misconception that the fans and public at large seem to have is that as an artist, YOU ARE BALLING! True, some artists are balling but are they balling out from the music...? Hardly the case. There's another big source of income for them, which of course the public would seldomly know of. But truth be told, it takes years of hard work for one to reach that state of abundance and that's in any sphere of life. Music is no different!

Then of course there's the personal life, family, friends and loved ones who DEMAND your time! Not that they will order you to spend time with them, but at the back your your mind you know that they require some quality time. Adds to the (im)balanced equation. So you lose some friends along the way, because you just don't have the time as they put it. My belief on this has always been that if your friends really love you and have your best interest at heart, they will understand your time constraints. With Family it does become a lil tricky. Nonetheless, time has to be made!

So is the balance attainable? ABSOLUTELY!

Comes at an expense tho: Sacrifice and Compromise.

You can't have it all, but you can try. And in your pursuit of abundance, remember that it all happens when there's balance!

Dream Again!

Dream Again.

So its been a while since I last posted something, and a lot has happened since. And i can truly say that 2010 was a year of breakthrough for me in terms of my music. I saw and experienced a lot, which i can honestly say has made me a better artist.

When the album came out, I was very nervous. The night before the release I couldn't even sleep. Went through a mixture of emotions. Like, did I do enough, how are people gon receive the music, is the album gonna sell? All these Q's flooded my mind. But then i reverted to what i have always known and believed in. Good music from the heart, eliminates any doubt. When you've poured your heart into the music, all that really matters is that you want the message to reach people and somehow change their lives.

The amount of time, energy, emotions and experiences vested into all the songs, was reason enough for me to believe that my music will change lives. And so, even when performed I always want to deliver it like I'm out there to uplift and change someone"s life.

Had an interview with Mpho Maboi on 99.2 YFM last year, and it ended up being more than what I bargained for. We chatted about the album, experiences behind it and all that. And of course as with any radio interview, we have to take calls. So we took a call from a young lady who was on the verge of ending her life. She had just about had it with all the failures she had encountered in her life. Told us about how her business is not picking up and her relationship being in such a mess. So she stood on the 10th floor of a building about to jump, making her last call in desperation. She needed someone to tell her that it would be okay. So we spoke to her and told her how God had a plan and purpose for her life. After listening to "Inqaba" which is track 10 on the album, she started truly believing that there was so much more in store for her life. So i kept calling her to find out how she was doing, and she is best. All is going well for her and she found her purpose once again.

This experience showed me a totally different dimension to my music. That when writing the songs and making the music, we having fun but never really sit down to think about the impact its gonna have on the fans. Even when performing the music, I always have someone come to me after the performance, telling me how mymusic has touched and inspired them to be better and live better lives realizing their potential and dreams.

So as we really get into the new year, my wish for all of my fans/friends is that we all realize our purpose and dreams. When we let go of our dreams, we're equally letting go of our purpose, for the two are intertwined and complement each other. So don't be afraid to dream again. Yeah we've all been disappointed and failed, at times maybe one too many times. But what really matters is the zeal and perseverance to wanna succeed. Sometimes that's all one really needs.

Dream Again!