Trading the intimacy of the stage and connecting to the fans in real time for the polished sound quality and streamlined texture of studio-prepared music, afropop singer-songwriter and rapper Sjava has released Inkanyezi Nezinkanyezi. A refurbished and reimagination of his SAMA-winning live project Inkanyezi, this album features the likes of ANATII, Nkosazana Daughter, Msaki, Kelvin Momo, Siya Ntuli, and Jesse Clegg, among others, and it is diametrically opposed to the original project in its instrument selection and overall experience. However, as radical and experimental the exchange is, the BET Award winner still achieves a level of intimacy and sense of connection through his music with his emotive performances, breathing new but familiar life to records that have already made homes in the hearts of millions that loved the live album.
Inkanyezi Nezinkanyezi album cover | SUPPLIED
Inkanyezi Nezinkanyezi is a multi-genre record that showcases the polyhedron of Sjava’s versatile musicianship and sonic adaptability. While the most dominant sound of the opus is the artist’s specialty – afropop – the superstar also flexes his chops with stylistic decorations of hip-hop, trap music, Xigaza, maskandi, afrohouse as well as African-influenced gospel. The album also features stripped-down production, but not to the extent of what an unplugged session would sound like. Given the medley of genres within this cauldron, the chemistry should be nigh non-existent, yet there is a cosmopolitan coherence to the flow of the tracklist. When “Sanibonani” gives way to “Madibuseng”, what ensues isn’t a confusing whiplash of phasing from threadbare production to a love song on hot-and-cold love rapped over trap-charged beats, it’s a smooth lane switch that primes the ear of the listener to familiarise itself with such jinks as the album progresses.
There aren’t any major changes on the songwriting part of the album, as Sjava still explores cultural heritage (“Sanibonani” and “Indoda Enjani”), romance and love (“Madibuseng”, “Kuye”, “Amashidi Amhlophe” and “Sleepover”), divine guidance and spiritual connection (“Uyena” and “Mdumise”). The substance of the album remains unchanged, and it’s merely the execution along with the production values that transform the experience.
Sjava | SUPPLIED
The change should be disastrous by all accounts, but Sjava is able to achieve a level of sincerity in all his performances alongside his guests, which make the album feel more like a faithful reprise rather than a soulless and cash-grabbing studio remake. The hit song “Uyena” retains its kinetic feel supplanted by the use of pitch-bending keyboards that are famous in South African tent churches, creating an atmosphere that feels true to the lifestyle of ordinary people while “Sleepover” is styled with minimalistic yet pensive production conducive to the topic of erotic imagery in the song. For this one, Sjava rolls back the hands of time to go back to his Umqhele days, offering effective simplicity and emotional weight that create an instantaneous connection with the soul.
Inkanyezi Nezinkanyezi is the work of an artist who continues to push frontiers not only within his own genre but also in the world of music. Challenging the question of converting live work into a studio-packaged product, the album is an exemplary blueprint of translating substance and meaning from one form to another without losing the vital components of what makes the original work the success it is.
Preview the album:
