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Nanette pays homage to family and legacy in Abazali

30 jan 2026 - 16:45

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

Nanette’s ‘Abazali’ is a tender and reflective standout from her forthcoming album Painfully Happy. Drawing on the warmth of 1980s Soweto funk and jazz, the song honours family, memory and South Africa’s musical elders. Sung in her home language, it grounds contemporary R&B in lineage and gratitude. The track signals an emotionally generous album rooted in nostalgia, care and cultural continuity.

Nanette/Instagram.

With ‘Abazali’, Nanette delivers one of the most affecting moments yet from her forthcoming album Painfully Happy, which was released globally on 29 August 2025. Following the sharp, cinematic defiance of ‘I’m Not Psycho’, this second release slows the tempo and opens an intimate emotional space rooted in family, memory and cultural inheritance.

Where the previous single leans into emotional volatility, ‘Abazali’ feels warm and reflective. Built on nostalgic Afropop foundations, the song draws heavily from the Soweto funk and jazz textures of the 1980s, evoking a soundscape that feels both familiar and carefully considered. It is a song that honours the past without sounding dated, allowing Nanette to bridge generations with ease.

Sung in her home language, ‘Abazali’ functions as a love letter to her parents and, more broadly, to South Africa’s elders. The decision to centre the song linguistically and sonically within local tradition gives it emotional weight. Rather than nostalgia for its own sake, the track feels purposeful, grounding Nanette’s contemporary R&B sensibilities in lineage and gratitude.

Nanette, who launches her career in 2020 while studying law, has steadily built a reputation for genre fluid storytelling. Her debut project Bad Weather earns a SAMA nomination for Best R&B Album, while The Waiting Room sees her confidently blending R&B, hip hop and amapiano alongside collaborators such as Nasty C, Blxckie and Tellaman. Her work with Kelvin Momo on Amukelani, particularly ‘Imfula’ and ‘Fool Me’, further cements her ability to move seamlessly across sonic spaces.

‘Abazali’ suggests that Painfully Happy will be Nanette’s most grounded and emotionally generous body of work to date. It is not a song that demands attention loudly, but one that lingers, carried by sincerity, restraint and a deep respect for where she comes from. In celebrating her parents, Nanette also invites listeners to reflect on their own histories, making ‘Abazali’ one of her most resonant releases yet.