Sjava and the Art of Intimate Live Performances

At Maftown Heights, a one-day festival celebrating the motswako genre and its affiliated artist,Sjava stood stage-side watching the acts on stage. He had just finished his set and had cameoed on the Qwellers and Usimamane's showcases to overwhelming excitement from the audience.

Suddenly, his name was mentioned on stage, and he hurried to the back entrance. Fifi Cooper had summoned him to join her in performing "Ameni," a 2016 smash hit featuring A-Reece, B3nchMarQ,Emtee and Saudi. "I didn't know that she was gonna do the song," says the artist as he sits down with OkayAfrica to chat about his latest album, a live offering calledInkanyezi (Live), and the tour that he has coming up.

Sjava has established a reputation as an excellent songwriter, a versatile collaborator, and an engaging live performer. How he connects with different audiences has been an anchor throughout his nearly-decade-long career. With Inkanyezi, he wanted to give people who never get a chance to catch him live an experience of the vibe.

Sjava prefers the intimate setting of theatres to open-air concerts, he says. "The thing about theatre shows is you're all in one room, so it doesn't feel like many people. It feels like you're having a conversation with two people. If it's an outside show, there's too many distractions."

Inkanyezi comes off the back of two wildly successful solo tours — the Isibuko Tour and The 2016 Tour — and hisfour-city tour as the other half of Inkabi Zezwe, his Afropop-skandi group with Big Zulu. The new record kicks off with a hypnotic guitar riff on "Kuye," which blossoms into a mean, short solo, then segues into "Sleepover," where Sjava's audience interaction shines as he asks various members of the audience when the last time they had a sleepover was.

This 10-minute masterpiece resolves into "Madibuseng," an ode toa kwaito classic and one of the greatest re-imaginings of any song in recent history. The haunting guitar solo is worth its own moment of silence. He finishes the song by shouting out Trompies, as well as the late Lebo Mathosa, who featured in the song. In between songs, he maintains an affable personality, cracks jokes with the audience, and sounds happy to be there. The audience's whistles, screams, random one-liners and sing-alongs immerse listeners in the moment.

On Inkanyezi, Sjava subverts the idea of a live show by performing brand-new material. The audience eats it up, primarily due to Sjava's comfortable disposition and ability to control an audience. The album wasannounced on December 20, the same day the show happened. This means there was no room for error, a feat Sjava's team pulled off seamlessly, as the music attests.

Sjava is intentional about putting unknown talent on, in the same way that his inclusion in theBlack Panther soundtrack benefitted his career by elevating his platform. "I believe sharing the stage is important, especially with unknown talented people. You can make music all your life in your hood, and no one will come and take a picture with you until they see you on TV or artists they respect to show you respect. There are many talented people, but no one is looking their way. Since so many people are looking at me, I have the platform to bring talented people on," he states.

It wasn't always smooth sailing for Sjava. The artist only broke through in his thirties — his debut album, Isina Muva, was released when he was 33. Since then, he has worked his way into the pantheon of respected sonic innovators in South Africa. A love for the craft of making music kept him going while he toiled anonymously. "It was never about the money or us blowing up. We always focused on what the music can do for people, perfecting our craft and making sure that we make dope music," says Sjava.

"We" refers to collaborators such as Emtee and Ruff, whom the artist met at a recording studio the producer ran in Johannesburg. "That's where we all met, then we ended up staying together. [The relationship] has been amazing because we've done so much together, and we're still going to do so much."

As he gears up for The 2018 Tour, Sjava embraces a solid catalog and a bright future. "Anything I released around 2018 is what I'll be performing [on that tour]. Speaking of Black Panther, it came out around that time."

He is also adamant about his refusal to be boxed in by genre, stating, "I'm not an R&B singer; I just make music. I'm not a rapper; I just make music.”