Vusi Nova: I'm bringing love to the Lyric Theatre

The vocal powerhouse will soon perform at the Gold Reef City Lyric Theatre under the highly acclaimed Bassline Live Series, which affirms his position in the industry. Although he has won several awards in the Afropop category, Nova is adamant that he is not a singer in that genre.

A loud silence emerges before the articulate Vusi Nova responds. Much like his music and sultry sound, his deep voice momentarily draws me into his world for a spontaneous yet memorable journey. He’s also forthcoming in his conversation, not the type that ever holds back, on or off stage.

Music in Africa caught up with the ‘As’phelelanga’ hitmaker in the build-up to his Lyric Theatre performance on 5 October.

MUSIC IN AFRICA: What can fans expect from your performance at the Lyric Theatre?

VUSI NOVA: Songs that they love from my previous albums. And obviously the ones that they love from my current album Manyan-Nyan. I’ve been working on new music as well so I’m going to give them a taste of that. I normally bring a couple of surprises when I perform; this event won’t be any different. Kuzovuth’umlilo [It's going to be on fire].

You’re also performing with 047, the band which you discovered and also mentored. Tell us about that onstage collaboration.

There’s a new song I did with them so we’ll be performing that. And I’m just proud of them, they’ve been received well since entering the music scene about 18 months ago. I know they’ve also been rehearsing hard and I just know they’re going to get on that stage and kill it!

You’ve recorded four albums in six years and the last two went double-platinum. Do you have a formula for all this success?

I wouldn’t really call it a formula but it certainly works for me. I just work from the heart and I’ve noticed that people relate to that. In my first two albums, I was writing songs that I thought people would want to hear but the minute I started singing about the things that were happening to me, people related to the music. And that got them to buy my music.

People don’t buy music anymore, especially physical copies, but my previous album is going on triple platinum and the latest is already on double platinum so that just shows that there’s something I’m doing right.

When I first heard ‘As’phelelanga’ playing on radio I was pissed off. I put in As'phelelanga as the last song on the latest album. You normally don’t do that with a track that you think is a winner. We were actually pushing ‘Usezondibona’ with Zahara as the main single. I really believed that that was the song that would kill. But after I heard ‘As’phelelanga’ I realised at the end of it all that even though we make the music, it's not about us, it's about the people who listen to the music. They chose 'As’phelelanga and I’m grateful because that song has boomed right now.

My bad experiences have also made me a better musician. I sing about love and I went through a proper rollercoaster when it comes to that, especially in 2017. So I think I’ve grown − I understand myself better now. I think I expected a lot from people and that’s where most of the problem stems from. I don’t expect a lot from people anymore. We expect certain people or our partners to act a certain way and when they don’t you end up losing it.

What would you like your fans to learn from you?

Love is beautiful. I really believe that if we all had uthando [love] most of the troubles that we’re having, even now, would go away. There is no way you would go around raping and killing people if you had love inside of you. I know it sounds like a fairy tale [laughs] but it’s true.

What are you currently working on musically and what are your future plans?

I’ve got a lot of music to put out and I feel like the music is there to heal. I’m about six songs into my next album already. So yeah, the music is going to keep on coming.

I’m working on the usual love songs for the people but there is also a new sound I’m trying to create and put together on the new album. I’m doing something different, something fresh, and I hope that everyone will love it.

I also don’t like to be boxed, I don’t want people to say I’m an Afro-soul singer. In fact, there’s a track that’s coming out that I did with DJ Tira – it’s a gqom track! There’s also another one I did with a hip hop artist whose name I can’t mention right now. So I’m not confined to one genre, I’m a musician!

Tickets to the event are available here.