. . Langalakhe Mabena
AFRO pop songstress Noma Nkwali had to change tempo when she featured in a house track by South Africa-based producer Zwelihle a�?DJ Zwesta SAa�? Mathe.
The song, Rafiki meaning a�?frienda�? in Swahili is now on rotation in South African radio stations having initially debuted on Breeze FM.
a�?It wasna��t easy to sing on a deep house beat but I just gave it a try because I loved the genre. I wanted the song to be catchy so I decided to fuse Swahili and IsiNdebele so that it can attract a wider audience and somehow unite Africa,a�? she said.
Nkwali, currently in Germany where she is somewhat based for the greater part of the calendar year, hooked up with Mathe by chance through a mutual friend a�� radio personality Ezra a�?Tshisaa�? Sibanda.
a�?I wanted Ezra to listen to my album for advice before I released it to the market and then as part of what I sent to him there was a free instrumental that he suggested should be made into a song featuring Nkwali,a�? said Mathe.
Nkwali was at the time in the United Kingdom on tour and studio time was arranged for her.
The single will feature in a full length album later this year. However, Mathe is yet to name it.
