Black Villain

Black Villain describes herself as a DJ, producer, vocalist and lover of music. This love of music stems from her love of dance.

“I was a dancer growing up and then I fell in love with theatre. I thought I would go into theatre, before I had considered being a producer or DJ,” she says. “I was one of the dancers at the Confederations Cup and seeing all the amazing artists performing there inspired me to get into music. At home, we all used to listen to the radio and I started thinking about being a radio DJ. In 2015, I started DJing, but then I took a two-year break after having my daughter. In 2018, I went back to music and I haven’t stopped since then. I have learnt so much from it. It’s taken me place I never thought I’d go and helped me meet people I would never have met without it. Those people have played a huge role and taught me so much, which has inspired me to push even harder.”

As a DJ, she plays deep house, funk, disco and soulful house music, with elements from blues and songs from the 70s and 80s. “I feel like I’m an old soul, so maybe that’s why I’m drawn to old music,” she says. “Music is universal, just like God is universal.”

Black Villain says winning the Basadi award would not only change her life, but show other independent artists that it’s possible. “In this industry, we sometimes want to depend on major record labels, but you can create your own opportunities,” she says. “I’d like to inspire other people to do the same. I want to be an amazing producer, an amazing sound engineer. I don’t want to limit myself on genres. Anything that involves sound is me – that’s where I want to be; that’s where I feel alive.”

BUZZI Lee

BUZZI Lee is a creative and a rapper. Her style is trap, hip-hop and hood-inspired music.

She has always loved music and was inspired to pursue a career in in when she discovered she could use her own thoughts and experiences to heal herself and celebrate all the things she has been through, whether good or bad, and that they have made her who she is today. “That can then inspire other people, just through listening to my story and maybe relating to it,” she says. “Music has impacted my life in that it has showed me that I can do anything. I can be myself; I can speak my own language and make it the same room as people who grew up like posh. I grew up in the hood, but I can make it to the same platforms with them.

“Being chosen as a finalist shows me that I’m on the right path as a black woman. Now I just have to keep going to inspire people who are just like me – from the same background, the same language – to show them that they can make it. I think I should win this award because I’m a fierce, confident Maskandi. I can make it in any room that I set my mind to.”

BUZZI Lee says her interest in making her own music was sparked during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when she was stuck at home with nothing to do. “I needed to find something to keep me going and I’d always loved music but never thought I could do it myself. But I started listening to beats on YouTube and just writing down my thoughts about my own life and then that inspired me to keep going and to become who I am today. I hope my music will inspire people like me – whether that’s women, Black people or people from the hood – that anything is possible.”

Gemma Fassie

This talented young singer, songwriter, content creator and occasional model says music has always been part of her life. “My music speaks to who I am and also heals my inner child,” she says.

“Whether I was at church, school, after school, or with my friends, my brother, my mom, my dad, my whole family… there was always music. Music brings people together. I feel like that’s where my love for it started – because of how it brought my family together, brought my community together, and just seeing how receptive people were of music, especially when I would perform, even at the age of six,” she says.

In 2015, while she was still in school, she entered a competition called Raucous for Hectic Nine-9 as part of a three-piece group that did mash-ups of Top 40 songs. Her group won the competition and her school’s support gave her to confidence to pursue a career in music.

She says her music is genre-fluid and she enjoys playing with aspects of different genres, from amapiano to Afro, gospel, R&B, soul or jazz.

“I hope my music will inspire people to be carefree, to be open and vulnerable with their emotions, especially in this fast-paced world we live in,” she says. “It’s easy to try to avoid being vulnerable, but I want people to feel like ‘Gemma gets me; that’s the artist I want to listen to.’ When they wake up, I want them to pick one of my songs to as a feel-good song and to be inspired to be themselves and to be happy.”

She is also inspired by her people chasing their dreams and lives by the motto that where you come from does not dictate where you’re going.

Qaqamba says her single, Zizinja, is for the underdogs that those who have given up on life, and she hopes it will inspire and motivate people about what is possible.

Noluthando Ngema

“My name means ‘with love I stand’, and everything I do is with love, including music,” says Noluthando Ngema, singer and content creator. “I have a sound that is unique, but also resonates quite deeply with the human soul.”

She says she’s always been a creative human being and the one child who was called upon to perform at family events, but it was only later on, when she went through dark times of depression and anxiety, that she found music was a medium through which she could connect with herself and with God.

“It’s really impacted my life because now I have the language and melodies to express what’s going on and a way to bring myself out of situations,” she says. “I have language and melody to connect with God, and to connect with people and I feel that is so special – being able to express oneself in a beautiful way.”

She said she studied something that she didn’t enjoy for a long time, and winning the prize of a music scholarship would be a way of redeeming those years and getting her music out into the world.

“My style of music is native. It is a call to a land that most people might not know of; a call to humanity in its beautiful form,” Noluthando explains. “I get inspiration from everywhere. I am an eclectic mix, from the Maskandi vibe to the Florence and the Machine vibe, as well as the newer generation of musicians, like Msaki or MUZI. I very much draw from all those people and add my unique touch.”

Qaqamba Ntshinka

Qaqamba Ntshinka is an Afro jazz singer and songwriter, as well as a digital marketing specialist.

She says she realised her musical potential, as well as having the value of someone who believes in you when she was offered the opportunity to perform at Selective Live Cape Town by someone she had told about her passion for music while she was still studying digital marketing.

“Having someone believe in me helped to ignite my purpose and helped me to believe in myself,” she says. “I have been singing since childhood, but that was a memorable moment for me in 2022 and after that, my life really changed.”

From a young age, she listened to great Afro jazz legends, including Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Simphiwe Dana. “Something about them drew me closer to the style of music that I do and to my inspiration,” she says.

“I use my music as a tool of awareness. My inspiration comes from whatever is happening elokishini, from mental health to gender-based violence – I raise awareness around these issues to touch people’s lives, one song at a time. So, my message is ‘don’t give up – your dreams are valid’.”