#AskMeAnything 21 Questions ft. King Lu @andileluthando
1) When did you start singing? * In my mother's womb..? Lol. I think I started paying attention to my talent when I wrote my 1st song at 11yrs old. Many years ago. Lol 2) What role do you think artists should play in the society? *Artists should play the same role as everyone living being should play - the role of learning, teaching and giving love to a fear-filled world. 3) Which artist would you love to collaborate with? *John Legend. He sings with complete conviction. We don't get much of that these days. I guess that's why he went from John Stephens to John Legend. Only legends sing like that. 4) Who is your favorite artist in South Africa? *Maleh. Her voice is amazing. Her writing is great. She has incredible melody arrangements! I love her! 5) Having played a huge role in building it, what do you think of South African hip hop at the moment? *Hm. Big statement you're making. I think SA hip hop has got a nice energy at the moment. But what I DO miss is the unity hip hop artists had back then. Hip Hop was definately bigger in that sense, then. 6) If your house was on fire and you could take just one disc with you, which one would it be? *Mine. LoveLight. Lolol 7) What/who inspires you? *Everything. Everyone. Anyone. Life. Love. Music. 8) I heard that you do not write/type, how do you come up with a song? Do you like freestyle record or how do you do it? *Lol. I don't freestyle record. I'm not that confident yet. Lol. I just come up with words in my mind and recite/resing them over and over until I can sing them with enough conviction. 9) Do you have any rituals or special needs before you perform? *Not necessarily. I like to just keep to myself and focus my energies on my intention for the gig. If im with my band, we'll gather our energies& focus them. But sometimes there's no time for this so we just get on stage and do our thing. 10) If you were to make a whole album with one artist, who would you choose? *Between John Legend, Raphael Saadiq or Pharell Williams. 11) What would you say is the highlight of your career? *Almost everything is a highlight because you never know how you will be received when you release music, so everything becomes a nice surprise. I was happy when my song 'Dance To This' was released in the UK&US as part of a compilation. I was happy when my album reached #3 in the (unofficial) UK Soul Chart. I was also very happy when I got to meet, perform alongside(and for) Bilal. 12) Which movie would you say has the best ever soundtrack? * I don't really pay too much attention to movie soundtracks, but I remember LOVING the soundtrack for Waiting To Exhale! What an album! 13) Speaking of movies, what is your all time favorite movie? * I don't have an all-time favourite. But one that comes to mind now is The Prestige. Incredible film! Everyone should watch it! 14) Do you think Township Frequency will ever get back together? Even if it's for one album * TF never split up. We all just released solo projects and focused on that. People don't know but we've always been recording, not necessarily for any project. Just to record. But we will be getting in studio this year to record an album. :) 15) If there was one place in South Africa that you would like to visit again, where would that be and why? * St Lucia. Its small, serene and beautiful. 16) Bra Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse went back to school because his career took off when he was meant to be in school, how important is school for a musician? * School is important for everyone. Education, however, does not begin or end at school. A lack of schooling does not excuse a lack of learning. Musicians should always be open to learning as much as they can about their art, as well as the business. No excuses for this. 17) What advice would you give to a young artist that wants to make it in the industry? * I would advice them to fall in complete unconditional love with themselves. The industry is a weird character that never knows what it wants but always knows (and will always remind you about) what it doesn't want. 18) Which artist do you think will take South Africa by storm this year? *Hmmm. Every year I'm hoping its me. Lol. ... I think The Fridge will do wonders this year. Them and The Muffinz. Both incredible bands! 19) Do you think it's important for an artist to go under major labels or is it better to be independent? * It”s really up to the artist to decide. There are pros and cons for both, and even these would depend on the type or artist and music. What's important is that an artist understand what both entail so that they make a sound decision and once decided, make the most of the situation. 20) What other talents does Nothende have besides singing? * I dance. I act. I sometimes make clothes. Many other things I can do. We are created to be creative. That's why the smallest thing like running can be a talent. . . Oh yeah, I can run! Lol 21) The last one, when can we expect your album? *My album LoveLight was released in 2010. (Should have done your homework. Lol). Next album...maybe later this year. Maybe next year. We'll see how it goes. Questions by: King Lu' (@andileluthando on Twitter)