GIRLS RUN THE WORLD

One of the biggest talking points in music over the past few years has been how well the girls are doing. Women have, we are told, been wiping the floor with men when it comes to making clever, catchy, too-cool-for-school pop music.

Putting aside for a moment the myriad females who continue to be signed as little more than eye candy, and who are objectified on album covers and in music videos in a manner that sets the cause of feminism back 40 years, then of course one has to concede that this is good news. Today Gcwala talks to two female artists, Mandisa Mamba and Zoe Nonde about their 2018 plans, here’s how the interview went.

What project are you working on now?
Mandisa: My newest single ‘Love Fiend’ is out so that’s my focus right now.
Zoe: I’ve just released my third single called X, a song that allowed me to be creative outside of my comfort zone. I’m working towards an EP as well and a couple of visuals too.

What is a typical day/week like for you?
Mandisa: A typical day involves emails, songwriting and a lot of research on the net.
Zoe: My week is jam-packed because I have a job as well. I’m the Logistics Coordinator for Young Life Swaziland. So I’m basically always juggling being at the office and music related work. Soon I’ll add school onto that as well. I give myself relaxing time in the evenings though.

What do you like most/least?
Mandisa: I like spending time in silence (outdoors especially). I don’t like fake people.
Zoe: I like real conversations. I’m a chatty person, but in that same breath shallowness isn’t for me. I want to learn something or be challenged with every conversation I have.

What skills/personal attributes are most important to being successful?
Mandisa: Time management, forward planning, discipline, resilience and patience. Also, just always allowing yourself to fully trust your journey as an individual. So often we look at our person envy and that can really throw us off track.
Zoe: I’d say having a teachable spirit and allowing yourself to start from the bottom. Success requires lots of knowledge, and most of that is acquired from the people that are ahead of you or even at the same level as you. I also believe understanding the art of a come up is key because you’re driven to put in the work.

How did you achieve this career?
Mandisa: I guess I started off by following my heart. I also didn’t come into this industry thinking I’m the best, I practice all the time and I’m always open to learning ( I’d rather people point out where they think I can improve than have smiles and applause all the time).
Zoe: I guess I let my passion guide me. My passion has helped me visualise where I’m going, so I’m very crucial about how I get there. For me it’s not about how fast I can get there, but I want my journey to be memorable.

What personal advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue this career?
Mandisa: Believe in yourself, be humble (but don’t allow people to push you over), don’t wait for opportunities to come to you( go out there and make things happen).
Zoe: It’s not about when you get there; it’s about how you get there. Put in the work, invest in yourself.

What are typical mistakes people make when trying to pursue this career?
Mandisa: I think the biggest mistake we make is we immediately think we are super stars and demand certain treatment when reality is we need to earn it.
Zoe: Someone can pursue this career for the wrong reasons and that’s what makes it short lived. This career requires a lot physically, emotionally, mentally and even financially. If you’re in it for the wrong reasons you can make the mistake of thinking the world owes you success because you’re that good. No one is going to give it to you if you don’t take it yourself.

What is the importance of the connections you make? How can you utilie them?
Zoe: I take the connections I make as knowledge sources. I want to learn something. The last thing I would want is to be that girl that hits you up for a favour only. I’d rather you watch me learn from your expertise, let you be my teacher and seek guidance other than being dependent forever.

It’s common for musicians to be out of work for long periods of time. How can you supplement this time without work? How can you transition out of this period as quickly as possible?

Mandisa: Connections are very important. And sometimes they don’t instantly yield results but building good relationships with people in your specific industry always comes in handy. They can be utilised in many ways, sometimes not necessarily for your own benefit but with good connections you’re also able to help/uplift the people you care about.

Zoe: Work on your craft. That makes you way more marketable then the next person who’s doing nothing and waiting for work to show up. Also, come up with innovative ways to filtrate into a different market without losing the identity of your brand.

How do you get people to take you seriously as a musician?
Mandisa: True, very true. I don’t think you can speedup the transitioning process. In fact I believe the “out of work/transitioning” processes is always a blessing in disguise for an artist.

I personally see it as God’s way of giving you time to renew/fill yourself up because our job is to touch people’s souls, we literally emotionally strip our selves down to give ourselves to people and that can be emotionally draining. But because life loves us so much as human beings in general, it will stop/slow us down in the form of “transitioning” in order to remind us to renew our souls.

Zoe: I’m a huge believer in that people treat you the way you treat yourself. The way you view yourself rubs onto the next person. So that’s what I do, I take myself, my craft and my brand seriously and that allows the next person to see that in me.

Do men and women generally get the same opportunities and equal pay?
Mandisa: I don’t know how I get people to take me seriously, but I do know that I take myself very seriously as a musician. Maybe it’s just something that begins from within.
Zoe: Yes. Because the number of females in the industry is less, one is quick to think females are given less opportunities. But that’s not true. It’s in how much an individual works and presents their brand, whether male or female.

Is there growth in this field? How do things generally look for new musicians entering the field?
Mandisa: Unfortunately it’s not like that, but we are fighting the good fight of faith and we hope for change.
Zoe: There definitely is. We’re being open to more diversity and innovation. Lots of opportunities are being opened to new musicians; it’s just a matter of working towards them.

What are your plans for the New Year ahead? How do you plan on going about achieving them?
Mandisa: Defi- nitely I think the most important thing is to understand and acknowledge that as new musicians we still have a long way to go and our only option is to work hard and burn the midnight oil as often as we can.
Zoe: More music will be released this year, as well as visuals. I’m also looking into adopting more social responsibility projects. Most projects are in the pipeline already.

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