Born Nqubeko Shangase, amapiano singer-songwriter Eemoh’s come up has been a textbook exhibit of what it is to wait and to be diligent during the lull hours of one’s career before an imminent breakthrough. Hailing all the way from Ntunjambili in KwaZulu-Natal, the multitalented star has cemented his place as one of amapiano’s prominent vocalists, boasting a catalogue of hits including “Dubula (Remake)” with Harrycane, “Sgudi Snyc” alongside De Mthuda and Da Muziqal Chef, and “Masithokoze” with DJ Stokie. With the release of “Linda”, Eemoh has started off his 2025 on a high note.
The emotionally resonant vocalist recently released his single “Linda”, building up anticipation for his upcoming extended play. True to its title, Eemoh revealed that the song was inspired by personal events, particularly the arduous wait he had to endure before blowing up in the industry and the work he’s had to put in for over a decade before flowers started raining down on him from the audience. He spoke about the making of the Dot Mega-produced song.
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“The song came out after I was sent a beat by a guy called Dot Mega, Msongi’s producer. When I approached him, I’d just heard what he did with Msongi and I knew I wanted him to do something similar with my song. So, he made the beat for “Linda” and sent it to me because I wasn’t that into going to the studio because studios nowadays tend to be busy and energies between artists end up clashing and that’s something I like avoiding by just having the beat sent to me.
“The song “Linda” came thirty minutes after listening to the beat, and I started with the chorus. In my case, when it comes to writing songs, I like to reflect on things I’ve been through or things I’ve observed in the life of someone close to me. So, the song was written as inspired by my wait in my musical journey which started in 2011. That was period of me pushing and pushing without any results, until I went up to Jozi and things started looking up in 2023. So, this entire time was me waiting,” he said.
Listen to “Linda”:
With the estimated time of the EP’s arrival carved in stone and set to be sometime in July, Eemoh spoke about the making of an album, citing that “Linda” was slated to be the EP’s lead single.
“I’m done with recording the EP, and I’m already working on an album. So, in essence, “Linda” is an appetiser because the song itself will be in the EP when it drops this coming July. We decided to drop it first so that people will hear and get the feeling of what the EP will be about. But it won’t just be this sound; there’s going to be a lot more in it,” he said.
The “Masithokoze” singer-songwriter joined Just Piano during the first quarter of 2025. Eemoh expressed satisfaction with his new team, highlighting mutual understanding and having a shared vision as cornerstones for the healthy working relationship.
“So far, working with Just Piano has been smooth and I feel like we are still one in spirit because they understand my vision as much as I understand theirs. I think it’s important, if you’re under new management, that they be able to heed your cries and your complaints and to answer them accordingly instead of looking for justifications. I mean, I’ve just joined them, but I’ve already released new music. I’m an artist and putting out music is all I want to do. Only a month into our relationship and music is already coming out,” Shangase said.
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With his sights firmly set on leaving a mark, Eemoh stressed the importance of tamping his music with substance so that it gave hope to his listeners who lived to see a better tomorrow. In the age of trends and TikTok challenges, the Ntunjambili-bred star revealed that what spurred him to make music was catering to the people, and not social media analytics.
“Ngifuna uk’shiya umaka (I want to leave a mark), as we always say in Zulu. I want to leave such an impression, that when people consider other musicians, they still think about me. Because everybody’s doing what trends the most, but I want to be remembered as an artist who brought hope to the people, whether you are from emakhaya or you grew up poor. I want my music to give people hope that things will still get better,” he said.
From Chris Brown’s staying power to Zola 7’s kasi-centric musicianship grounded in township realism and messages of courage and quiet strength, Eemoh talked about the musical acts he looked up to.
“When it comes to music, Chris Brown is one artist that I watched a lot, particularly how he moved when everyone was against him. Somehow, he managed to stay relevant till today. Another artist I’ve always looked to is Zola 7 because his songs always gave me hope whenever I listened to them back in the day. Zola easily shaped my career and the way I look at music because of his ability to tap in when he made music. It always felt like he was talking directly to you when he made music. When it comes to amapiano, some of the acts I find inspiring are Sir Trill, Young Stunna, and Aymos, because when I wanted to come into the space, I looked at them to see how they were operating. After studying them, that’s how Eemoh came out,” he said.
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In a diverse country as rich and unique as South Africa, Eemoh felt that trying out new sounds has been the defining factor in terms of his growth.
“It’s important to evolve and to tap into other sounds. Because, yes, I do amapiano. But I also do lekompo and afro-pop. So, I’m always experimenting and tapping into those genres until something comes out of the attempts. I have found that the more I experiment, the more I gain new followers from other realms of music. For example, in Limpopo, they play amapiano but there are other styles there that are more prominent and favoured by people. So, tapping into their culture helps me to gain new fans, and I get to work with new producers, which also helps me grow,” he said.
A product of Kranskop, the singer revealed which genre he would like to try his hand out with in the future.
“I would definitely love to do Maskandi. I mean, I grew up listening to it, and I still very much listen to it. I think something can come out of it since I already come from KZN, and me doing it would just be me going back to my roots,” he said.
