Listen to Bongeziwe Mabandla’s New Single ‘Jikeleza’

"Jikeleza" is South African folk musician Bongeziwe Mabandla's latest single. The song, which is sung in IsiXhosa like most of the man's work, speaks on love giving us life.

"It is about our universal need to connect," says Bongeziwe in a press release. "It is about the togetherness in people and about the things that bind us and make us the same."

"Jikeleza" was inspired by the idea of loving one another in a world where there seems to be so little. "Writing the song was a challenge," says the artist. "It took a lot of rewriting and getting feedback from the team, and I wrote many different parts before I got it right. The idea came together when we decided to play around with making each part distinct, with each verse coming from a different place."

As is always the case with Bongeziwe's music, "Jikeleza" blends the tingly traditional folk music guitar with modern contraptions like synths and pads.

"'Jikeleza' has very South African feel but with a mix of a very modern global texture," says the artist. "The song has a playful side to it and while it is probably my most fun single to date, it is also very special as it comes from a real and compassionate place. It is a positive song with a very relevant message in South Africa right now."

The artist also adds that the song was written with a live audience in mind. "I wrote this song for the listener to get involved, and the call and response part is my favorite. I thought a lot about how it would be live and the way an audience would feel and interact at a festival, for example. When I was writing it, I was imagining the live stage version."

Listen to "Jikeleza" below: