#TuneThursday: Tellaman releases debut album

Sama and MetroFM-awards nominee and household name, Tellaman, released his first full-length offering through Universal Music South Africa on 1 February. The album titled, God Decides, comes after the release of his current single and music video for No Sharing which were released last year.

With every sound, lyrics, melody, instruments and song titles playing a pivotal role, the making of the album spanned over the course of the last two years. Self-produced and recorded, Tellaman also roped in the assistance and knowledge of Olwethu ‘crownedYung’ Mthembu, Shekhinah, Nasty C, Tay Iwar and Rowlene for the album.

“For the first time, I wasn’t trying to prove anything. I wasn’t trying to prove that I’m the best producer or writer. I just wanted to bring this idea to life and make sure that it’s exactly how I’d imagined it; if it sounds simple and cheesy or complicated and complex, that’s because I wanted it to sound that way,” Telllaman said.

The inspiration behind the album was being in a relationship and trying to make it as a musician. God Decides is about Tellaman meeting a girl he believes he loves and trying to make it as a musician while trying to make both music and his relationship work, but she fails to understand, and the industry gets the best of Tellaman.

“I was taught that I can only do the best I can and let God take care of the rest. I chose ‘God Decides’ as the title of my first album because I have always felt like somehow, I am not fully in control of everything that is happening in my life. I chose the name because I believe I would not be where I am in my life if God didn’t allow it and I wouldn’t have gone through things I write about if God didn’t allow it,” said Tellaman.

Featuring the muso’s signature melodies, smooth vocals with instrumental highlights, the story of the album reads like a film, with each song being a compiled episode that forms the bigger picture. But most importantly, he brings a simplicity to his music in which a young or old person can find something to relate to.

“If you want to put a specific style to the album, you can call it ‘hip-hop/RnB’, but I like to call it good music and just leave it there. This is my life from 2014 until the day I stopped recording it. My mistakes, my good and bad moments in love. I hope what I have gone through will help someone do or choose better than me,” he said.