uSanele has released the follow up to his January 2019 project, Gangular. uMvelase, as described by him, is “a message to self (from higher self or spirit) to return home—Buyela ekhaya as the last track title suggests, or rather to remember who we are and where we come from.”
“This project is in honour of my father and family, abakwa Mthembu; all my siblings, extended family and my roots in the heart of KZN, kwaNongoma. It is a calling—if you will—a completion of my journey and all things coming full circle.”
Accordingly, the opener on the EP is titled “Inkondlo”, where clan praises are recited and the track ends with “Sukuma mese kufezeka, wona amaphupho.”
He collaborates with ASAP Shembe on this project, and Shembe’s brand of “ancestral trap” is felt in places but it lends itself beautifully to the overall concept of the project and is executed with precision. Other contributors to the EP include Manelisi, Ayemaprobllem, Ojaydash, and Windows 2000.
A sonically tangential project, uSanele intertwines his BoyzNBucks soundscape with that of Shembe’s, raises the standard of his lyrics, and delivers a project that feels both familiar (subject-wise) and exciting at the same time.
You can find uMvelase on Apple Music, Deezer, Google Play Music, Spotify and other streaming platforms.
