Diversity High School brings new sound
The Sounds of Schools project helps young musical talent advance in the industry.
A 2nd Streets Records project, Sounds of Schools, helps learners at various schools in Johannesburg South to start their careers in music.
Sounds of Schools was inspired by a song made for Die Fakkel, a high school in Johannesburg south, by the learner and artist Nandipha808 (who chose to remain anonymous), well-known for his contribution to the trending amapiano song, Mnike.
Project and record label manager Karabo Morule said: “The first song is named after the school, Die Fakkel, and after seeing the response to it, we started a movement to unearth more talent in schools.”
The project gives learners the necessary resources to pursue a music career.
“We noticed a need for this project. Young people are taking social media by storm. Platforms like TikTok mostly feature young people dancing to songs, but they do not have their own songs they can dance to that they made,” emphasized Morule.
Diversity High School was the first school the Sounds of Schools team approached in March because it is close to the recording studio.
Once given the go-ahead, the Sounds of School team and the learners, Mdiviwe Stuurman aka Lavasco (Grade 11), Asakundwi Ramafe aka Golden Keys SA (Grade 12), Kgaogelo Mokele aka Njabz Wabantwana (Grade 12) and Sibisi Phumelele aka Phume de Vocalist (Grade 11) worked on the song titled Diversity.
The song is a new genre in amapiano called sgija, and its message is about unity, which references the name and motto of the school. It also features artists such as Musa Da Vocalist and Tbo the Creator.
The learners were thrilled about the opportunity the project gave them to showcase their talent. Their goal was to continue making music collectively or individually.
“Each of our talents and passions for music started with one of our parents. We want to inspire other young people to be courageous enough to pursue their dreams,” said the aspiring young artists.
The Sounds of Schools project aims to get more schools involved to bring to light musically talented learners.
Diversity, the song, is on all digital platforms.
