Not only is Simphiwe Dana gifted with a rich musical mind, complemented by a soothing voice and graceful persona; she is equally blessed with a strong sense of values, which sets her apart from her peers.

The Cape Town-based singer’s star has been in ascendancy since that day in 2005 when she walked away with the Best Newcomer Award at the South African Music Awards (SAMAs). She has evolved from the little-known girl bred in the backwaters of Lusikisiki, to a national superstar – all within six years.

In an exclusive interview with Black Business Quarterly, Dana – who is one of the headline acts at this year’s Cape Town International Jazz Festival – poured her heart out on, among other many other things, the state of the music industry in South Africa, the year in prospect and one of her other passions – language.

The Eastern Cape-born sensation, whose music is a fusion of jazz, pop and traditional lyrics, believes her genre is an offshoot of various forms, but ultimately belongs to itself.

“The closest genre I would associate my music with would be jazz, but I call it soul music because it combines elements that touch souls from across the genre spectrum,” Dana professes.

Those familiar with her music will agree that her heritage has had a profound influence on the sparkling career of this unassuming young woman.

Her grounding in the foothills near the Gcuwa River in a rural area of the Eastern Cape province has developed her into this refined musician, whose melodies resonate with her adoring fans.

“Let’s just say that I wouldn’t be singing the way I do, even melodically, if I were not Xhosa,” Dana confesses.

The sultry songster, who burst onto the South African music scene in 2004, has had more success, relative to her experience, than some artists who have been around since she was a child.

Her first two albums, Zandisile and The One Love Movement on Bantu Street, have been commercial successes. Collectively, the two albums have won six SAMAs. This is in addition to winning one Avo Sessions Award for Rising Star in Europe and two Metro Awards.

This hard-earned achievement gives Dana confidence to believe that Kulture Noir, her third CD, will follow the same successful pattern.

“I haven’t felt this positive in the industry since Zandisile. And based on that feeling, I believe Kulture Noir has been received very well indeed,” she agrees.

After listening to Kulture Noir, one can authoritatively share her optimism. The album is soothingly melodious and represents what you have come to expect from the 31-year-old star.

It is without a shadow of a doubt a sampling of the kind of beat that has catapulted her to the top of the charts.

Dana’s meteoric rise to stardom was cast in stone, you would say, when she annexed the Newcomer Award at the SAMAs in 2004. This set her on the road to international stardom that even she could not dream about growing up in the Eastern Cape.

This fairy tale, though, could not have happened but for one significant event in her life. A star-struck senior educator at her former high school, Vela Private School in Mthatha, is the man credited for ‘discovering’ her raw talent. That was the defining moment that paved her road to musical stardom.

“I was singing at our Matric farewell party when my deputy principal, Mr Mniki, approached me and said he felt I could really have a career in music. Before this vote of confidence in my abilities, I had doubted myself a lot, even though I was heavily drawn to music,” Dana recalls.

In an industry teeming with arrogant showmen and women, she is unusually modest. Asked to what she attributes her phenomenal success, she avoids the ego trip so many of her peers would embark on without a second invitation: “My honesty.

“My music is very honest, as it comes from a very pure part of me.

“This means, of course, that I will write songs that might rub some people the wrong way, but I can’t seem to help myself.”

On language

Language is a very emotive issue for Dana, who doubles up as a cultural activist. She recently evoked a fierce debate with a suggestion that Zulu be adopted as South Africa’s official language.

Just how important is language and culture to this artist?

“In an equal society, the language issue would not be important enough for a debate because language or cultural equality would happen organically.

“We are not living in an equal society. We are living in a colonised society, which means that the colonial master’s language, and thus culture, continues to dominate,” she says.

“We are a colonised country trying to shake off the shackles of apartheid, yet we continue to revere the colonial master’s culture and live by its rules. The downside to this (if there is any upside) is that we continue to look down upon ourselves and go on believing that nothing good can come from our collective gene memory of who we are as Africans.

“Those of our kids born speaking African languages are psychologically at a disadvantage when they move to good schools, where they are taught in a language not even remotely close to their own. This leads to the belief that their own languages are inferior, while those born speaking English grow up thinking they are better than their peers who don’t,” says Dana.

“Language is synonymous with culture, in my books. Culture is informed by language and vice versa. The reason we do not see value in the African way of doing things, is simply because we still subscribe to a colonial version of who we are. Until that way of thinking stops, we will continue to import everything, even those we can produce ourselves.

“In the Africa of old, we would not need to act as one cohesive society, except during times of war or famine, etc. We would live as amaZulu, baSotho, abaThembu, amaGcaleka, vhaVenda. We would still intermarry and trade, but we would all be living in our own enclaves and traversing the continent as we please, living according to the rules of our land – not those of Europe.

“Unfortunately, this is not the case anymore,” she says.

“We have been forced into a system not of our creation. In it, we have to work together and preserve the essence of who we are.

“We are Africans (regardless of where the name comes from, this is how we identify each other).

“That we are African is evident in our cultures,” she says. “Our cultures are similar, give or take a few customs. Our languages are also similar. It is evident in our languages that the root is the Bantu language called Swahili. Based on this information, I do not see why we cannot find a language that we can all identify with.

“My humble suggestion of isiZulu (as official language) is informed by the number of years (10) I spent in Johannesburg, which is a melting pot of cultures from all across South Africa and the continent. There, you find that isiZulu is primarily the main language of communication. However, we can choose another language that we feel is aptly accessible to everyone.

“This lingua franca should be spoken across all racial barriers, as this would be the easiest way to inform everyone about the greatness of Africa and will go a long way in restoring our dignity and self-esteem.

“What is not practical is belief that we can do the same for all African languages. If we remember that we were Bantu before we were Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, etc., then this becomes easier to implement,” Dana sums up.

Enough of the debate language, let us get back to the music. What can adoring fans expect from Simphiwe Dana in 2011?

“I intend to explore my performance sounds a lot more this year. There are a lot of sides to my musicality and I intend to explore them all,” she says.

“I also intend to be more than just a voice, but also be the action that this country and continent need.”

Dana minces no words in diagnosing the state of the music industry in South Africa presently.

“It’s not good,” she says, matter-of-factly. “It needs new ways of thinking. It needs to go back to the purity of the industry before business corrupted it.

“We need to have record companies that believe in the music, not just in making money. Then they will make money,” the talented
artist reckons.

On Miriam Makeba:

Dana has often been described as another Miriam Makeba in the making – but this is an attribute she coyly deflects with typical humility. “Miriam Makeba’s shoes are way too big to fill. I am struggling to fit into my own, so to try on hers would be too much to ask,” she says.

“I have learnt a lot from Mama Africa’s life, her spirit, her music – and I do believe I have a little bit of her spirit in me. To compare me to her is akin to drawing parallels between my own mother and myself. There is a link that people have created between our names; I hope I carry that with the reverence it so deserves.”

Despite her exploits on the musical scene, Dana belongs to a select group of clean-living South African artists. She is a role model, in spite of her relative youth, to many younger people out there.

This prompted BBQ to fire the parting shot: How does she manage to keep a level head in such a troubled industry?

“It’s hard not to get carried away, but my family keeps me grounded,” Dana says.

“Additionally, the way I grew up informs my choices, in my judgment on what is important and what is just a fad,” she asserts.

Dana’s fan base – which she describes as “not confined to any age group or demographic, but consisting of people who believe in love, justice, equality and their own spirituality” – should certainly be proud of their heroine.

David Mwanambuyu