Witpoortjie musician shooting for the stars
Lopez Khumalo, known as Slumkidd, is climbing the ladder of success and hopes to bring other up-and-coming artists with him.
Passion is what drives us and if we are lucky, we can turn it into our career. Lopez Khumalo is one of the lucky few who has been able to do it. The 25-year-old musician spends his days making music inside the studio at his home in Witpoortjie, and when he isn’t doing that, he is exploring his creative side with photography and directing.
Born and raised in Tzaneen, Limpopo, Lopez has always loved music and started creating his own as soon as he matriculated. After moving to Witpoortjie in 2011, Lopez (whom his fans know as Slumkidd) set up a small home studio to record his music.
He draws inspiration from his surroundings and everything he was exposed to in his younger years, turning his experiences into music. Every now and then, you can find Lopez performing at local festivals, bars, and clubs. Booking have slowed down this year, but the silver lining is that he has been able to work on his YouTube series, Monate Sundays.
Currently on its second season, Monate Sundays features local artists receiving a free haircut and then performing in the retro-style salon. Lopez said that this show is the perfect way to support local artists and budding presenters, and give them the exposure they deserve.
His music style is inspired by several artists. He said that he listens to different types of music for different reasons and is inspired by something new all the time. However, apart from local artists, Lopez loves listening to rappers like Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Jay Z.
He hopes to make it big in the future, and is currently working towards building his music career to the point where he can make a living off performing and selling albums. Right now, his goal is to do a radio tour for his newest single, Tolo, featuring Ms Kulie and Carvo Cardo.
One of his biggest dreams is to see the community support those who have not made a name for themselves yet, so that when they do, the community has something to be proud of. “My biggest wish is that the community would believe in people’s dreams,” said Lopez. He continued by saying that everyone loves to express their pride when someone from their hometown makes it big, but they don’t usually show a lot of support by helping local artists reach their dreams. “We need to support people and help them grow as a community.” He finished off by saying that support is all he wants for other dreamers, as well as himself, in the music industry.
Monate Sundays can be found on YouTube, and all of Lopez’s music can be found on Apple Music and Spotify under his stage name, Slumkidd. Lopez can also be followed on all social media platforms under the username @Slumkidd_G6.
