#MusicExchange: Unathi launches mentorship programme with TurnUp Music

Thabiet Allie, CEO of TurnUp remarked, artists like Unathi have really stepped up to help artists during these challenging times.

South Africa has so much talent and all that is needed is a platform to help channel that energy. Our economy needs some fresh thinking. The Artists Unite Mentorship Programme was started to give creatives the space to harness that energy and share their voices.  For more details and to join go to www.turnupmusic.com.

I caught up with Unathi last week.

The new decade means:

New beginnings. A lot of uncertainty, which also comes with great opportunities.

Fame is about:

I never know how to speak about fame, but surely it should be about your gift to the world and how you fulfil your purpose on earth. It surely should be about your work and not you.

Retirement will happen when:

God takes my physical being to lie next to him in my final resting place. I do what I love so I don’t consider what I do as work.

What does music mean to you?

It means so many different things for so many different reasons. Music can be a reminder, a soother, an inspiration, a distraction, a stimulant and a definition. It plays multiple roles in my life so may I say that it simply is present in all aspects of my life.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?

I’ve never worked a day in my life because I love so deeply what I do. I enjoy it all.

It’s your round, what are you drinking?

I recently got my dad onto gin and juice. Gin and apple juice. Or Champagne in a whiskey glass with lots of ice.

Dream gig to do:

Honestly, to be able to perform in front of people again. That energy exchanges many of us, we miss that as musicians.

Nicknames?

Oh wow, Unsta is the one everyone uses. But I have different ones from different people for different reasons.

If you were not a musician, what would you do?

I’ve recently gone back to my first artistic love, which is ceramics, and I’m playing around in that space again. So I’d say I would be busy with my pottery.

Pick five words to describe yourself?

Love, joy, present, caring and dope

Five favourite SA albums of all time?

Bongo Maffin - Bongolution
Kabza de Small and DJ Maphorisa - The Return of the Scorpion Kings
TKZee - Halloween
Muffinz - The Muffinz
Unathi - Brave, True and Strong

What song changed your life?

“Sana Lwam”, it was the first song I ever wrote that ended up winning Song of The Year and changed my life forever.

Favourite fashion garment:

Shoes. Good quality shoes.

Give us some real proper slang and what it means.

‘Dala what you must.’ It means ‘You decide’

Top of your bucket list:

To play with the gorillas in Rwanda and to fly over the Namib Desert as it meets the sea.

What do you complain about most often?

I’m quite a grateful person so I don’t like to complain.

What is your fear?Happiness is: 

When I was young it used to be rejection. Now I don’t know.

On stage, I tend to?

Take my shoes off halfway. As I’m growing it becomes less about how cute I look but how I make you feel.

The best life lesson you have been taught?

Walk in your truth.

Where would you like to be right now?

On a beach, in a thong bikini, drinking Champagne out of a whiskey glass, laughing and enjoying the company of a good-looking specimen.

Do you do charity work and, if you do, what do you do?

I do work that pays it forward for different organisations and in my personal capacity. I work with The Nelson Mandela Foundation and House of Mandela. Dot Africa and the Kwa Magogo foundation for work on the continent and out of South Africa.

Social media:

Twitter: @unathi_Africa | Facebook