WATCH: Young at heart, old at soul
“I want to do right by me and my country because as time goes on a revolution will start through these songs that I write.”
“I may not be a doctor or a preacher but through my music, I heal,” these are the words 20-year-old African Jazz musician Thulani ‘Man of Song’ Mdlalose used to describe his music.
The young African Jazz artist dazzled a crowd at Kofifi Café in Protea North last Monday as he sang the night away with songs from what many terms the golden era. Man of Song grew up in a musically inclined home which set the precedent for his career choice.
“Everybody at home sings but my gran is the powerhouse! Church also played a very big role, it was the very first place where I held a microphone. I was also given the opportunity to start songs in the children’s ministry and organise music-related competitions so it started very early for me,” Man of Song elaborated.
This trend carried on into his high school years where he also joined the school choir. His first interaction with live music came when he was 16 when he was introduced to a live band called Family. It was through this band that he gave his first live performance and started his professional music career.
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“Being exposed to that environment at that young age broadened my mind and opened me up in terms of the challenges I faced with catering for different audiences. There’s the young and the old and they’re not the same,” he elaborated.
Man of Song describes his favourite moment of his career thus far as when he shared a stage with his mentor and icon, Dorothy Masuku. Much like his icon, he notes that there is a disparity between meaningful songwriting and the music available out there today.
“Songwriting is a very special gift that you need to hold on to because what you write is something that’s going to go out into the world and what you write is going to be a message of healing and happiness to someone so some of the music out there today is very questionable,” he added.
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The young African jazz artist is set to release a new single and an extended play this year which will both be made available on all digital platforms. The single is titled ‘Mvimbeni’ which can loosely be translated into ‘stop him!’, the song speaks about a guy who is addicted to drugs and is being a nuisance in the community to feed his drug habit according to Man of Song.
He hopes to get signed by a record label within the next three years so he can follow in the footsteps of South Africa’s musical legends such as Hugh Masekela and Brenda Mhlongo to name a few.
“I want to do right by me and my country because as time goes on a revolution will start through these songs that I write,” he concluded.
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