BLAQ Diamond’s new label, Umuthi Records, has signed its first artist.
The 22-year-old singer, Sbahle Cele, is the lucky artist.
Speaking to SunBuzz, Sbahle from Umlazi, south of Durban, couldn’t believe she’d been chosen and was grateful.
“When I got a call from Blaq Diamond member Ndumiso Mdletshe, I thought it was a prank,” said Sbahle.
“They’d apparently seen a cover of DJ Zinhle’s Umlilo that I did. A friend of mine showed it to them and they loved it.
“They came to see me in KZN in February, and that’s when I realised it was real. A few weeks later we recorded my first single, and it’s been amazing.”
She encouraged people to believe in themselves.
“I’ve been singing since I was in primary school. After finishing matric in 2015, I started gigging with a group of ladies, the Afro Divas.
“After a while I stopped working with them and started working on covers. I posted my covers on social media. I’m encouraging people to believe in themselves.
“I believed in myself and my music, and someone believed in me. People should believe in themselves, too.”
Sbahle released her debut single, Emlanjeni, in June and is working on another project.
“The album is going to show the best of Sbahle. I’ve done covers of different genres. I can sing any genre, so the album will be different. However, most of the songs will have an African sound.”