MZANSI musician Latoya "Toya Delazy" Buthelezi, who lives in London, shines overseas.
The 33-year-old musician, who has lived in London for eight years, won the award for Best Newcomer with her song Extreme Music at The Production Music Awards, which took place on Monday, 20 November in London, United Kingdom.
Toya, the granddaughter of the late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, recently celebrated a year without drinking alcohol in October 2023.
She said the journey was everything for her. Eight years ago, she left everything she had and moved to London for greener pastures.
"It felt like life was starting all over again and many didn’t understand why I would leave Mzansi at the peak of my career.
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"From Durban it was then to the provinces, Joburg, Cape Town, then across the continent and out of the motherland to London, which is known as the first world.
"Now it's Afrorave to the whole world. When the music found me, I was in a very dark place, dealing with heavy losses and depression that I had to get rid of.
"I found joy and healing through the expression that connected me to others who related to me or heard me on TV or radio. Over the past eight years, I have reinvented myself, found my voice and swam against the tide in the process," she said.
She said that she had to do a lot of healing in Mzansi after she became independent. Many thought she had lost her way because she was not mainstream even though she was releasing music because being indie is hard.
"But this time out was necessary, no matter what people said. I listened to what my heart was telling me and that led me to create Afrorave," she said.
