Boichoko ‘Choko’ Qwabe shared her musical journey as an Afrosoul singer who delved into gospel.
The Midrand resident recently released her first gospel album titled Healing.
Some might remember her first Afrosoul album, Lerato, which was released in 2014 and saw her scoop a Best Female Artist, Golden Bean award in 2014 and a South African Television and Music Award (SATMA) in 2015.
Qwabe said this new 10-track gospel album was inevitable, as she started as a singer in church and at school. “Back when I wanted to go solo into music, I went to studio hoping to record an album that was full of hymns because I felt like life was too different in Johannesburg compared to back at home in Bloemfontein. There are just those moments when I would feel like I wanted to worship or listen to worship.
“I got into the studio with three producers on three different occasions and all of them told me that I was too young for gospel and that that sort of music was not for people my age. I decided to stop because that was not in line with what I wanted or what God had laid it inside my heart.”
Qwabe decided to wait until she was old enough make the music she felt was placed in her heart. However, she did not realise that it would take pain for her to reach that point in her life – she reached her turning point after losing her father in 2019.
As much as she had always been churchgoing and part of the worship team at her church, she said she could not take the pain of the loss of her father. “Having those moments of prayer, and honest conversations with God, took me back to a moment where he said to me ‘your healing lies in worshipping and praising.
Qwabe concluded that by worshipping and using the ‘seed God had already planted in her life’, she was able to produce healing.
Details: Listen to Boichoko Qwabe’s music on all streaming platforms under her stage name Choko.
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