Philadlozi Mfekayi’s gift of healing through music

Like many other spiritual healers called to do their work through art, Philadlozi Mfekayi’s journey took him on a number of detours to better align him with his gift of healing through music.

His work – both as a musician and healer – seeks to share the wisdom of his ancestors and culture, through his music, which he said has been delivered to him in a series of dreams and visions; from lyrics to the melody and down to the instruments.

The singer, drummer and poet grew up in kwaSokhulu near Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, along with his 21 siblings and two mothers from his dad’s polygamous marriage.

“I remember we used to do this thing we called imomela, where we’d all get food from our mothers and share – and that created a strong bond,” he said.

While Mfekayi is surrounded by academics, he was the only child in the family who chose a different path.

“From a young age, my parents knew I was different.”

He detailed his childhood as “eventful” from the nurtured bonds with his siblings to the kidnapping of his dad during the ANC and IFP violence and to the time he quit school and left home to pursue his music career.

Apart from music, Mfekayi has always had a love for the military and fashion design.

He said his calling for music was louder and no matter how hard he tried to escape it, realised it would always locate him.

“I still want to be in the military. I know my age now won’t allow me but at least to complete the training, mainly because of the trauma my father went through during the ANC and IFP war,” he said.

Mfekayi has always set his goal on leaving the village to pursue his dream.

“I grew up thinking that anything I put my mind to, I could accomplish. Primary school is where I developed the love for music but high school is where I had support and help to nurture the talent,” he said.

“I started a choir at Sokhulu Primary and it didn’t work out. In high school, I joined the school choir again at iLanga libomvu where I was the lead singer and in the same year also auditioned for Joyous Celebration.

“I was accepted and sang as the junior tenor, which meant I had to move to Durban to be closer to the group for rehearsals.”

After a couple of months of singing with the internationally recognised SA choir, and the school choir at Umlazi Secondary, he quit and eventually dropped out of school in Grade 11 and went street busking to provide for himself.

“I was living alone in a shack Emalangeni until one of my mentors, Sandile Ngwenya, called my family and told them I hadn’t been to school for a month,” he said.

“They took me back home but even then I decided to leave again and that’s when they said, ‘you’re either going back to school or we’re cutting you off’.”

In true Mfekayi fashion he went back to busking in Durban, where he met someone called Makaveli, who promised to help him with his music career and convinced him to relocate to the city of gold, Mfekayi said.

He began narrating his journey in Joburg.

“When I arrived in Joburg, I stayed with different friends because I couldn’t afford to pay rent. The money we made we had to share because Makaveli quit his job to help me live my dream,” he said.

“We usually made between R300 and R1,500. With the money I made he asked me to at least buy his then new-born baby nappies and milk.

“Makaveli left when things didn’t work out and I continued living on the streets, sleeping under bridges and busking in town from Braamfontein, Mandela Square and outside the SABC in Auckland Park.”

While outside SABC, he met a number A-listers who offered him contracts which he declined because they didn’t seem genuine spiritually.

He also did not want to abandon his dream to find a job because “at that time I felt the calling more than ever”.

Mfekayi’s parents still had no clue where he was until rapper Siyabonga Nene, aka Big Zulu, went live on Facebook and exposed him.

Shortly after, his parents called and he explained the whole story.

He got in touch with his brother, Sabelo, who had been in Joburg for 12 years, and he helped him get accommodation.

“I knew he was here but I did not want to be a burden because he also had his own family.”

While busking at Randburg Square, Mfekayi met his manager Kudzai Mureriwa who posted his video on social media, which caught the attention of DJ Maphorisa and Black Coffee.

“I don’t regret anything, whether good or bad, every bit of event or situation I went through has shaped how I see life and helped me meet the people I have now in my life,” he said.

With his main musical influences being the late greats Busi Mhlongo and Oliver Mtukudzi, the praise singer has been described as an old soul, a hidden gem and a passionate visionary, whose music is a gift of spiritual awareness as a means of bringing healing and understanding.

He has not only made a name for himself as a praise singer in SA, he was also among many invited guests to attend the 64th annual Grammy Awards in Las Vegas.

He will also be releasing a new single titled Amalobolo.