When he heard of Mpura, Killer Kau, TD, TOT and Green’s passing in August he says he felt the music stop and felt the shocking realisation of his own mortality sink in.
I didn’t go outside for seven days, he tells Drum.
“It was a dark moment in my life because I lost friends whom I work closely with and genuinely loved.
“Mpura played an instrumental role in the way that we create music and, every time I was working with him, he brought out the best in me.”
“So losing such a friend put me in a depressing state. And I couldn’t attend their funerals because I was in Ghana at the time,” he says.
The news of the death of rapper Riky Rick by suicide had the same effect on him.
Now, with his new album Mr JazziQ, who was recently trending on social media for having eight girlfriends, is celebrating life – his life, his friends’ lives, and their contributions to the music industry.
“I want the album rollout to be what we plan it to be, and still celebrate those who left too soon. I am here today and remember my grandmother’s words about losing people. I hope people will enjoy and receive it will because it is a beautiful album if I have to say so myself,” he says.
Mr JazziQ is excited to fly to London for his Europe tour. Performing amapiano abroad and receiving love is something that he will always cherish, he says. It also encourages him to be true to the local sound.
“To consistently get bookings overseas for staying true to creating and performing what got you an international stage is an achievement for me. It also speaks to the importance of preserving the genre and not changing it to something that people will not relate to,” says Mr. JazziQ.
The musician has also ventured into podcasting after recently launching JazziQ & Friends: In Conversation at Spitz on YouTube.
The podcast, says the award-winning DJ and record producer, explores amapiano and how the most popular subgenre of South African dance music sound is evolving and dominating the airwaves.
He is joined by guests on the show who discuss today’s most important issues in the music industry.
“I am super excited about this collaboration. I have been rocking Carvelas since I was a kid.”
“So, having Spitz come on board as an official partner in helping me tell the narrative around amapiano, is groundbreaking. The podcast is the first of many projects between the popular brand and Mr. JazziQ,” he says.
Mr JazziQ says Spitz called him and said they were interested in a collaboration with him. As a person who loves fashion and has been a regular shopper at the store, he says he found it fitting to work with a brand that won’t change his style but rather enhance it.
n Wednesday the producer hosted a listening session at Spitz in Sandton City, sharing some tracks from his new project, including the songs inspired by, and dedicated to, his friends whom he lost in August last year.
He tells Drum that his new music is a blend of a Mozambique style that he has mixed with his original sound.
What makes this new project even more special is that, while working on it, he got a chance to mourn and process his multiple losses of friends in the industry and outside it.
It was the first time he got to deal with the reality that his friends are no more, he admits.
“This is the first that I get to a point where I could talk about my late friends. It is a year since their passing and it hasn’t been easy because I have lost other friends while trying to mourn them.”
“The recent (death) that took a toll on me was Riky Rick’s because it was around the same time I was in the middle of finalising my collaboration with Spitz. I was lost and numb at the same time.”
He says the project feels like a Sunday drive where you want to dance in a car but also want to relax and enjoy the ride.
In the project there is a song that is dedicated to Mpura specifically, he says, before adding all the names will be revealed when the album drops on Friday.
