Following up the heat of his mixtape Village in the Trap Two released earlier this year, rapper and singer-songwriter MarazA leaned on his softer side to conclude his 2025, collecting momentum for the takeoff of his forthcoming studio album UNO. A senior in the game and an exhibit of long life in the ecosystem, an extensive catalogue trails the versatile star, and deep into the 2020s, the 36-year-old is not showing any signs of wear and tear, if anything his ageing process seems to be moving backwards.
MarazA spoke about his new single, “Abangcono”, alongside Big Zulu and LilyFaith, the creation process behind the song, and his belief that music isn’t made by musicians but by the music itself using artists as antennas.
MarazA | SUPPLIED
“I always say and I believe that we don’t make songs—songs are made through us. When we made this song, we were serving as catalysts in its creation. When Big Zulu arrived, we already had a song in mind that we’d already planned, but things didn’t go accordingly with that one in particular. When this particular song came up, he actually wrote something for it on the spot, and it was still only just a couple of lines here and there, just like how I was doing until it became what it is now. That’s why I feel like this song was made through us, rather than us being the ones making the song.
“I also remember there being a lot of people in studio on the day when the song was made. And I think the interesting thing about that is that they all seemed to agree that what we had done with the song is the best possible thing that could’ve happened to it. It felt perfect even to them through-and-through,” he said.
The star spoke about the experiences the song was extracted from, speaking to the dynamics of relationships, the rot caused by distance, doubt, and assumption.
“My love life was once strained and it was in a very weird place, a phase where I was thinking a lot about what could be and what’s possible. There were a lot of fears related to my love life and thank God none of them turned out to be true but the song came from that point-of-view. So, the song is a reminder to people who are in love – and are trying to be better – to be patient with each other, especially when one has to relocate such as moving from KZN to Johannesburg to build a life. That story is as old as time itself.
MarazA | SUPPLIED
“We grew up hearing stories about men with families going to Gauteng to work, only for them to start new families in that province. So when you grow up and see such temptations yourself, all those things you used to hear start to make sense,” he said.
Drawing from the well of telling stories, MarazA talked about his upcoming album, Uno, as well as the glue that will be holding the project together.
“So, this song is going to featured in my upcoming album, Uno, which will come straight after my mixtape series Village in the Trap, which I normally make for my hip-hop audience and the underground scene. Because visuals play such an incredibly important role, there’s not going to be a single song on the album that won’t be accompanied by visuals because there are so many important stories in them. I pride myself in being a strong storyteller because I always make sure to dedicate myself to making sure that the story is both coherent and cohesive. So Uno will definitely be about showcasing my storytelling,” he said.
MarazA | SUPPLIED
MarazA spoke about keeping his finger on the pulse concerning his music, and centering his content on what people are going through and what’s relevant at the time.
“I feel like it’s important for me to understand what’s going on and what people are going through in the community. I talk to the public a lot so I can find out what things they have to live with. By that I mean knowing what’s going on with people on a human level, on a street level, as well as what’s happening ekasi, in the cities and the rural areas. Doing that helps me to be able to tell their stories in a way that will make them feel like they are listening to themselves. Even when you look at the olden days, the imbongi used to tell of the feats of great people, which is where izithakazelo arise—it’s all about being tapped into what’s going on around you and what people are going through,” he said.
Frank about not being a sheep for trends, MarazA revealed which sound he admired and could make a song in should fate have it.
“When it comes to sounds, I don’t really pay that much attention as to start following. However, I am enjoying soulful 3 Step. It’s a cleanser for me because of its refreshing quality since I normally do hip-hop, trap and R&B. So if people are going to hear anything different from me, it would maybe be within 3 Step. That’s a maybe because even though I like it, I’m not likely to do it because I don’t follow trends,” he said.
