Beloved South African singer and performing artist Zolani Mahola on her new creative chapter, motherhood, and why nature will always ground her

Zolani Mahola is every bit as you’d imagine her to be. Having spent the last two decades in the public eye as one of South Africa’s most beloved performing artists, you won’t be blamed for feeling like you know her, even if you’ve never met her. And when you do meet her, and talk with her, it feels like old friends reconnecting. It’s a rainy day in Cape Town – the weather has finally changed to give way to moody and broody weather. But Zolani seems to carry the spirit of summer with her wherever she goes: warm, bright, but undeniably soothing – she’s a joy to be around. 

In the early 2000s when Zolani formed the musical band Freshlyground with her fellow musicians, she shot to fame. It seemed that the band came at a time when South Africa, and the world, wanted something fresh, something new, and something soul-stirring. Cue six albums, timeless hits like ‘I’d Like’, ‘Doo Be Doo’ and ‘Pot Belly’, and the internationally acclaimed ‘Waka Waka’ collaboration with Shakira, and their star status was cemented.  

So closing the Freshlyground chapter was by no means easy. But for Zolani, after nearly two decades as part of a collaborative creative team, it was time for a new chapter. ‘I have always worked so well in a collaborative space,’ says Zolani. ‘But towards the end of my time with Freshlyground, I started realising that I hadn’t really nurtured my own individual voice. I needed to go on a journey of self-discovery.’ Zolani says that while it was a decision informed by many different layers, she needed to give life to her voice. ‘I wanted to explore what I stand for, and what it is that I speak for. And my first solo album Thetha Mama is a result of that exploration.’ 

Under her new stage name, The One Who Sings, Zolani released the nine-track Thetha Mama album. Having already been established in the music industry, it might be easy to assume that going solo would be a frightening step, but for Zolani it felt natural – organic even. ‘Sometimes with big decisions,’ she explains, ‘you get to a point where there isn’t an option not to take that big next step. That’s not to say that it isn’t without trepidation or challenges,’ she adds, ‘but it just feels like the natural direction, and so you follow it.’ 

Recording an album post-pandemic might be a challenge for any artist today, especially in the case of going  solo. But Zolani says the experience wasn’t as challenging as one might think. ‘During the pandemic I hadn’t spent much time performing, so I had more time on my hands to focus on this project, but more than that,’ she adds, ‘many of the songs on this album have been with me for many years – some since I was a teenager.’ So putting together the album needed the type of time for reflection and recollection that the last two years could offer. 

‘Releasing Thetha Mama was kind of strange in many ways though,’ says Zolani. ‘You know, throughout my whole music
career whenever I released music, there was a physical thing: A CD I could hold in my hands afterwards. So completing this album without something physical was almost jarring.’ Zolani says it felt like giving birth to a baby, but releasing it into the ether without anything to hold afterwards. ‘I think for many musicians who have come out in the last several years, this is completely the norm,’ she explains, ‘but for me, I’ve been making music for 20 years, so it was a completely new, but a really good, experience.’ Zolani says it feels good now, and that she’s already starting to think about what the next project will be. 

Outside of her stellar 20-year career in the music industry, Zolani has another big role: motherhood. ‘Parenting is a fascinating mirror,’ she says, ‘you really get to see yourself as you truly are. For me at least, motherhood has given me the opportunity to really interrogate who I thought I was. But motherhood has also given me an opportunity to relive my own childhood.’ Zolani says it’s allowed her to reconnect with her inner child by connecting with her own children. ‘A saying comes to mind: “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood”. With the gift of parenting, by listening and nurturing these young beings, we can re-parent ourselves. We can help heal and repair the wounded child that resides in all of us.’

In many ways, Zolani also believes that the work she’s done over the last 20 years, and this new journey she’s on now, is a legacy her children can one day look back on and reflect on who their mother was. ‘Because you know, I sometimes wonder about my own mother in that way,’ explains Zolani, ‘and that time of her life wasn’t documented or captured, so this life I’ve lived, and the body of work I’ve created are all things that I can leave behind for my own children one day.’ 

As reflective as she is, Zolani is now looking towards the future. ‘I think that over the last two years, there was a lot of introspection, learning and growing. But I’m really ready for the year and what lies beyond it.’ And whatever comes with all these big changes, she knows how to find herself. ‘Nature, nature, nature,’ she says. ‘That’s what grounds me. And I believe that when we connect with nature, we connect with ourselves.’ Zolani cannot help but light up when she talks about this. ‘That’s where you’ll find me,’ she says, her voice filled with joy and laughter, ‘up in the mountains, or diving beneath the waves.’ 

ZOLANI IN A FLASH

Favourite food? 
It changes all the time but at the moment, I’m loving curry. A nice dahl, or vegetarian curry!

Go-to drink
Sparkling water.

Quiet night in or a big night out?
Definitely a quiet night in. I’m an extroverted introvert.

Podcasts  you love?
Infinite Intelligence by Abraham Hicks. 

The most influential album in your life? 
Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. 

Dream destination?
It’s not a place, it’s a feeling. Anywhere blue. Near the ocean with a beer in the hand. Anywhere in the world where I can connect with that type of feeling. 

Besides family, what’s the one thing you can’t live without?
A guitar, or some form of instrument. 

Go-to voice warming- up exercises?
Resting and relaxing the voice, and the physical parts around it like the jaw. And humming for sure. 

Words by Edwain Steenkamp
Photography: Gareth van Nelson/HMimages.co.za