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!

Official Arise and Shine Tracklisting

So it's a good 24hrs before you can go get yourself a copy of my debut album. As you can imagine, I'm nervous, excited and filled with so much joy. A lot of people have been asking me wether certain tracks will be included on the album or not. So thought I'd fill you in on the track listing of all the tracks that you gonna hear. So here goes:

1. My Confession feat Zano
2. Bo Mme
3. Supermodel feat J.R.
4. All Alone feat Vikter Duplaix
5. You are a Winner
6. Children of Africa
7. Somandla feat Deborah Frazier
8. Release Your Soul
9. Come With Me
10. Inqaba
11. Waiting
12. Arise and Shine
13. My Song
14. You are

So there it is!

Happy listening and keep rising and shining!

1 day to go!

So it's been a while since I posted anything on my blog. Feel like I've neglected a part of me for a while. As most might know, I've been working on my debut album for a looong while now. I can safely say that it's wrapped up and done. Yiiipeeeee!

Its been quite a long journey putting this masterpiece together. There's been so many challenges along the way, and at times i felt like just letting it all go. But hey, faith is mosdef the substance of all things hoped for. What kept me going was this picture in my mind of my album packaged and selling like night workers during the World Cup..lol.

But on the real, faith kept me going. Even when I had nothing else to write or ran out of inspiration, that picture of my finished album kept me in there..and along with it came a whole lot of suprises.

First I got to work with Mme Deborah Frasier, something I never thought in a million years would come true. Twas such a humbling moment when I saw her car pull in at the Soulistic Studios. She delivered as anticipated and we came up with a dope gospel/house track titled "Somandla".

A coupla weeks later went in the studio and started working on a track, layed vocals on it and felt there was something missing. So I called up one of my boys J.R. to come drop a verse. That's the track titled "Supermodel". Here we complement women for being who they are...Fine ass creatures crafted by God Himself.

As if all this wasn't enough, my producer and stable mate Black Coffee decided to pull a suprise on me. He sent me a track we had done and asked me to listen to it and write an additional verse. So there I am chillin at the YFM studios after a long days work, downloaded the link and bumped the track. As I'm listening I start hearing a very peculiar voice gently cutting through my vocals....my gosh....Vikter Duplaix was on the same track as me...! At this point I don't know wether to burst out with laughter or tears or maybe jump up with joy. That's how the track "All Alone" became! #Proud Moment.

The last collabo I did was sort of destined to happen. My boy Zano and I sat in the studio and started bouncing around ideas. See the thing about good musical production is that it allows you to think out of the box. So we imagined ourselves in the confession room, spilling our hearts out to the father about this fine woman who is driving us crazy. And that's how my first single "My Confession" came about. And it's a banger!

So I'm very humbled to say that, even though it took years to manifest, my dream has finally come and is about to unfold. Having a hot, kick-ass album with my favorite producers and artists involved. this is the very reason I believe in firstly God, and secondly music. Cause with these two, nothing is impossible!

Arise and Shine

The Real Value of Good Music...

Yo is been a while since i hit my page up with some words. Guess it takes a lot of inspiration to really drop something that will evoke the next man who has to read this. It took me hearing a whole lot of some really good music...

I'm talking the likes of Talib Kweli, Teedra Moses, Black Coffee, Q-tip, Dj Cleo....yeah I am that versatile. That's the thing about good music tho. You can travel long distances moving from one genre to the next without getting full or fed up of it.

Had a discussion with some friends of mine on facebook about the real or rather the intrinsic value of good music, and well a whole lot of views were raised and a whole lot of amounts posted.

An interesting debate tho was about the criteria used when determining the quality of good music. Is it in the sound, complexity, lyrical content or even the style...?

Well to be quite honest I've always thought that good music contains elements that evoke some emotion inside you. Be it calmness, positivity, craziness (in a good way tho) or even make you wanna fall in love.

So question remains tho, how do we value good music...? Especially in an era where we are being fed crap disguised as good music through the use of effects...

Don't get me wrong world, I'm all for the use of all sorts of effects to enhance the type of sound one requires as the outcome. But hey we all know that there's a whole lot of phony muso's hiding behind them eq's, modulations and wait for it....autotune.

But then we need to bear in mind that there are some seriously talented artists out there who make good music regardless of whether they using effects or not.

My point is this tho, good music will always give you a feeling of some sort. It will take you on a journey of your life and afford you those good memoirs you almost forgot about.

Good music has no bearing on genre, it simply just is!

So this is how I value it...I appreciate the art that went into it. Sometimes by simply just bumping it when I'm home cleaning and a lot of times by going out there and showing gratitude by exchanging my money for the end product.

Yeah it ain't always possible to buy music, coz of financial constraints and all...but even then I say show your appreciation by enjoying it as the artist had intended for you to.

And when one of those great artists comes around your hood, gather all your piggy bank rands, dollars and cents; and pay to see good music being brought to life.

Good Music is Joy to the Soul!

Geno The Future!

A Party for the Soul.

The party scene in Jozi has taken a serious slump in the last couple of months. At times one wants to go out but there just ain't no good parties going on.



The one party that I always look forward to is Kenzhero's Party People. The dude just never disappoints. The performances are always on point and the girls are always looking phly.

Was there this past Saturday to have me another blast of a time, and without fail my expectations were met. Kenzhero played a dope set that paid tribute to the late MJ. What a set that was.

One things I have always complemented Kenny on is his ability to sort of re-define a track and make you dance to it. I mean he played some MJ remixes that I have never heard before.

Needless to say er1 had themselves the time of their lives. If you ever been to a hip hop party then you know that hip hop heads are the most difficult followers to please.

If you whack they gon tell you straight up! Or they will leave the dance floor just so the dj knows that he's just not on point.

I guess that's why Party People will always be packed. It's coz Kenzhero never disappoints. As a dj he knows what you wanna listen to when you come to Party People.

I also havent seen Zubz the Last Letta perform in a long while. Now Zubz has got to be one of the dopest lyricists in the continent. When he performs the house goes on fire.

So if you ever wanna have you a great time listening to dope hip hop music, do yourself a favor and check out Party People.

Big ups to Kenzhero for putting on a dope party for our souls.

Geno The Future!

Souless cops!

So there I was chilin ko Z/14 with a coupla boys of mine on a warm winter sunday afternoon... Needless to say wen boyz r chilin inda hood, you are bound to find three things without fail...booze, girls and music.



That's just how we do it in my hood, well actually this is a norm in any hood across mzansi. Everyone wearing their stunners blocking out all the hate from their counterparts...which is usually people they may know, maybe even their next door neighbour.

Masses pulled in in their numbers ko the new Chisa Nyama which is a dope chillout spot. Here you'll find all the "top dawgs" tsa ko kasi yaka.

You are also bound to see the latest cars pulling in, your Ranges, Mercs, Coopers and even Lambo's.

Everyone just wants to be seen!

So Dj Nutty Nys starts playing his set, as this Sunday was the launch of his new album "Vintage Love" & everyone is going crazy over the hit track "Nka Modira".

Some phly girls start dancing on the tables, asses all up in the air with thongs showing.

They have been waiting for this song the whole afternoon!

Adawys to cut through the scenery I been painting for you, as the sun sets cops start pulling in. First thing they do is shut the music down.

Then they call the owner and tell him that they need to shut the party down. So there we are in disarray, not knowing what's going on.

The only reason we are given for the shut down is that the cops have not been informed about the "new" chillout spot, therefore they have to shut it down until further notice.

While escorting everyone out, one of the cops outside roughly drives through a crowd in a quest to get the masses to get into their cars and leave the place.

In doing that he bumps into a vw golf parked on the allocated space.

When the cop gets out of the police van, it was quite clear to everyone that the policeman was drunk. So het starts negotiations with the young dude whose car has now been damaged.

Truth of the matter is this: The cops had been bribed by other tavern owners to shut the new chisa nyama down because it was doing so well that it was denting their profit.

Facts that i found out are that the owner of the new place has his approved liquor licence, had informed municipality about the business that he was embarking on and all relevant authorities had been informed.

My concern is this...the police are the most corrupt of our law enforcers!

Not only did they ruin a good party for all of us, but they also damaged a young, aspiring black dude's car. And chances are it will take forever before the police force pays out for the damage.

So why should we as a community support, trust and listen to what the police have to say when they are so corrupt?

Yeah I know that not all the police stations or police departments are corrupt like this, but those few that are, are seriously denting our view of cops in general.

I dont wanna get to a point where I hate cops, but they are fast becoming enemies of our society.

I went to get my soul fed with some gud music and dem bambaklats totally ruined it for me.....dem Soul-less cops!

Geno The Future!