Thandiswa Mazwai on Bringing Audiences Together Across the Diaspora

Thandiswa Mazwai started her new year by filling up New York City’s iconic Lincoln Center theater with the sound of her irresistibly commanding voice. It was the multi-award-winning South African singer’s first time performing at the venue, as part of globalFEST, the U.S.-based world music festival. For the past 20 years, the event has aimed to bring celebrated artists to new audiences, and after her performance at this year’s edition, Mazwai no doubt left with an extended fan base.

Also sharing the lineup, which played out over the weekend of January 14, were French-Moroccan trio Bab L’Bluz, with lead singer Yousra Mansour’s stellar vocal display in Darija, and Brazilian singer and activist Bia Ferreira, who staged a fiery performance.

As one of South Africa’s most influential musicians, Mazwai has been a mainstay within the country’s cultural scene for close to 30 years. Since her early days as a member of Kwaito group Jack-Knife, and of Bongo Maffin – arguably one of the best musical groups out Africa – she’s regarded as a pioneer of homegrown sounds. Over recent years, she’s found her way into the Afro-soul, Mbaqanga sorceress she is. The singer is gearing up for the March release of her fourth solo studio album Sankofa – her first full release in eight years.

Mazwai shares with OkayAfrica her vision for building a connection between Africans and the diaspora with this album, what the body of work means to her, and the other creative projects she’s exploring.

This interview below has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

OkayAfrica: What makes you keep coming back to New York?

Thandiswa Mazwai: I just love New York – it's one of those cities that is my second home. I have a lot of family here. I have a lot of friends here, and New York brings us back every year. The thing about New York, for me, is that it’s one of those places in the world where various types of music can live and exist. I come there and watch bands from Africa, I watch jazz music. I love the world of music that can exist in this city. And we just look forward to inserting ourselves into that world.

You have a new album coming out – Sankofa. How are you feeling about sharing it with the world?

I'm really excited. I intentionally included other parts of the world – this album was recorded in Johannesburg, but also in Dakar and in New York City. The New York sessions were produced by American bass player Meshell Ndegeocello, and some of the Joburg and the Dakar sessions were produced by Nduduzo Makhathini, a dear friend and pianist from South Africa. And so, there was an intentionality around this album and creating a connection between ourselves, the rest of Africa and the diaspora, but more importantly, the diaspora in America. Trying to have a conversation sonically that would heal some of the wounds of oppression, the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, and just try to have a relationship, a connection between us and the family in West Africa as well as the family in the diaspora.

What did you learn about yourself while recording this album?

The word “sankofa” means to go back and fetch what has been lost or left behind. And this album, for me, is about that – reclaiming my time, my way of being in the world. We don't all do things the same. I have my way, and sometimes I change that way. This work was really about that, accepting that I work slowly, that I work with a certain kind of precision that requires time. So I think that’s the main thing; getting back my own sense of self, how I work.

You've taken your music all over the world, how do you feel your relationship with your international audiences has grown over the years?

It's interesting because I usually take quite a lot of time in between albums, so I'm not the kind of person that's constantly out on the road. Now that I'm getting older, I think I'm going to have to work a lot faster than I used to when I was younger. So I always feel like I'm reintroducing myself or reestablishing or even making new connections. And I love that feeling. I love the feeling of putting my music in new worlds, in new spaces. We just see who ends up in the room – It depends. Sometimes if South Africans end up in the room, then they drive the energy of the room. And if the South Africans are not there, then sometimes people tend to listen a lot more. And that just becomes a different show. But we stay ready for anything.

You've been in the South African music scene for almost 30 years now; first with Jack-Knife, and then of course, Bongo Maffin. How does the support from your South African fan base make you feel?

I've had the privilege of never struggling with my fans. They have been there since the beginning, we're growing older together, and now we're still here, together. There's a beautiful way in which South Africa as a whole has held me and seen me and allowed me to exist as an artist. And to somehow have work that is seen as important work in the South African cultural landscape is such a blessing for me.

You are known for creating music that is powerful and honest – is that your experience, too?

What’s always been important to me as an artist is to do the thing that feels natural and authentic to me. I think that for any artist, if that's the thing that you do, then the work somehow finds a way to travel and finds its place in the lives of other people. But really, when I make the music, I'm making it for myself and for my own healing. I think it's the openness and the authenticity that maybe people resonate with.

Apart from releasing the album, what else are you looking forward to this year?

Touring the album anywhere in the world where people will have us. And maybe I might, towards the end of the year, start recording a dance album. Kabza De Small, a famous amapiano producer, DM'd me, and he was like, "Yo, you want to do some stuff?" And I said, "Okay, maybe, but let me finish Sankofa first." So if that happens, then maybe I'll do a tiny little dance EP. But I've also been messing around with the BLK JKS, so I might do a tiny little punk EP. I could do anything really. But mostly we just look forward to touring the Sankofa album.