Rethabile Khumalo’s latest album Kwelizayo is not only a compilation built in silence but one built on grief, memory and the determination of never giving up. An album born from a place of wanting to express herself after her mother, legendary singer Winnie Khumalo, passed away in January of 2025.
That poignant moment became the emotional centre that pushed jolted Rethabile to recording and ultimately releasing a new album.
“I felt like it was time that I expressed myself,” she says, setting the emotional tone of a project that holds both heartbreak and healing in equal measure.
Rethabile Khumalo | SUPPLIED
The 11 track project features powerful songs that are an ode to all of her mother’s teachings, her mother’s vibe and also a symbol of hope that she will never stop.
“Through the grief that I unfortunately found myself in, that I am still dealing with and I think will forever deal with, during the toughest days of my life, I found solace in going into the studio and doing what my mother and I would do together — and that is to sing,” she reflects. The studio, then, becomes less a recording space and more a continuation of conversation.
There is no rush in the telling of Kwelizayo. Instead, there is intention — and time. “This album took an entire year to complete. Good things take time to craft, so I made sure not to rush the process, to allow the songs to flow.”
The emotional anchor of the project arrives in “Bagolo,” a song that carries both personal reflection and cultural importance. “’Bagolo’ speaks about the unfortunate outcomes of when our elders leave this earth; we tend to forget their teachings,” she says.
“After an elder passes on, it is such a norm to see people fight among each other in ways we wouldn’t have whilst they were alive. So that track is a reminder to us to remember the ways we were taught.” In her framing, “Bagolo” becomes less a song and more a warning wrapped in melody: “ways of unity, ways of working together — emphasising that we should not forget the ways we were taught.”
Check out “Bagolo”:
And for Rethabile, this forgetting is not passive — it is dangerous.
The most personal moment on the album is “Abantwana Bam’” – a track that crumbles the distance between life and death. “That’s track number 7, the most personal song to me because that is actually my mother singing on it,” she reveals. The discovery was unplanned and almost spiritual in its timing, right as she was working on her own tribute. “I found it on our shared PC and I believe it was going to form part of an EP that she was meant to release before passing away.”
“When I heard this song, I broke down because it seemed as if she knew she would pass. She thanks us, her children, for always being there for her — for giving her love and hope, which is extremely special to me.”
In Kwelizayo, Rethabile leans into different South African official languages like Setswana, Sesotho, isiZulu, English, isiXhosa, and Sepedi — something, again, her mother has always encouraged. “She encouraged me to widen my range in languages… So I used this album to
show my versatility.”
The 11 tracks move with intention, upbeat but also with inspiration. Songs like with the title song “Kwelizayo” – a song of mourning her amazing mother, vowing that even in the next life, she will still choose Winnie Khumalo.
Rethabile Khumalo | SUPPLIED
Musically, she refused to be confined. “Genre speaking, it’s a mixture because I never want to box myself,” she explains. “When I hear a nice beat, I will make it work. There are a range of sounds on this album from 3-step to Amapiano.”
The creative philosophy is rooted in emotional honesty rather than industry expectation. “There was no pressure in creating this album. I didn’t give in to the pressures of my hitmaking streak. I know that these songs have a place in society. They will be received well by those who are meant to hear them.”
Ultimately, Kwelizayo is not just an album about loss. It is an album about continuation. A daughter speaking back to her mother through music, and a voice determined not to let silence win.
