When she first joined the music industry, she was 22, knew she had something to offer and wanted to give audiences an authentic experience.
And she did that, as part of the award-winning group The Soil as well as with her own music.
She's now gone solo. Buhlebendalo Mda is choosing herself and is intentional about the type of music she wants to release.
She's been part of The Soil from the beginning and when they first got signed and released their album, she was excited and didn’t anticipate that they would become global stars.
“After the second album that we released, I felt like I was displaced. I think even in small occurrences you know when you feel displaced, and underappreciated and that enhances the fire to want to burst into yourself. I wanted to burst into myself and sometimes I would find myself bursting into myself. But not wanting to look or sound like the Beyonce of the group, I would tame that fire and would remain on brand.”
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To this day she still holds their first album, The Soil, so dearly to her heart because it was pure, and they got to give their fans music from their hearts.
In 2020 she released her solo album Chosi while she was also still performing with The Soil.
In September 2023, she officially left the group and a new member Theo Songstress who once stood in for her when she underwent ukuthwasa, took her place.
“I have been wondering what I have done. And why are people calling me? I officially left the group in September, and at the time I was busy with other projects.”
Speaking to Drum, the singer, mother, creative and healer says she wants to correct a lot of misconceptions that people have because she is choosing herself.
“I am not choosing a solo career I am choosing myself, and I am choosing myself while being a musician. There have been misconceptions that I think I am bigger than The Soil, or I am being selfish. But one thing that women struggle with is being able to choose yourself and being unapologetic about it. I didn’t just choose a solo career, I chose me.”
She felt that there are so many things that she wants to say for herself.
“There are so many assignments and projects that are assigned to just me and I felt like I was neglecting those assignments because my main focus was The Soil. And even within The Soil, as a group, we were given three different assignments to fulfil within The Soil. It was written that I was going to leave the group, and I am just living that fate. I was not meant to die with The Soil.”
Buhlebendalo is currently living one of the late Whitney Houston’s lyrics of Greatest Love of All, she decided a long time ago to always reach for her higher self and she doesn’t think The Soil was her roof.
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“I don’t think I’ll be fulfilling my purpose if I stay longer than I had to. I came into the group as a 22-year-old girl who was fascinated by a lot of things that women and girls that age are fascinated by. But now I am a mother, a life partner, an entrepreneur. As much as I don’t like to say it, I am a role model to some kids, the story has to change, and my language has to change. A lot of things affect me outside of love, wanting joy, being happy, and spreading messages, I am also getting hurt so, I want to write about that, I want to write about things that women go through.”
Now as a solo artist who is intentional about the collaborations she does, she says she wants to write about how she wants to see the world, inspirational songs that people can meditate to, she wants to write about her spirituality, and she doesn’t want to be restricted.
“What I am doing now as my passion projects aligns with who I am now, I haven’t released new music since my debut project. I am in the process of working with the Mzansi Gay Choir, as their choirmaster because queer and young people are my passion and I don’t want to keep the little that I have learned in the music industry, I want to share it. I have also teamed up with my partner to open a creative hub called For Art Sake that welcomes all creatives and allows them to be as creative as they can.”
