Singer Letoya Makhene gearing up for Valentine's Date Night performance

Actress and singer Letoya Makhene is excited about the opportunity to express herself at the Valentine's Date Night Experience.

The Date Night Experience is set to take place on Saturday at Dandozest Restaurant in Freedom Park Museum in Tshwane. It will feature some of South Africa's top artists including Nomcebo Zikode, Lindough and KingShort, Bongani Sax and the Naked DJ.

TshisaLIVE spoke to Letoya about her musical journey and more:

What was it that initially drew you to music and how did your journey as a singer begin?

I come from a musical family. Music is in my blood. Growing up I naturally gravitated towards music and knew I wanted to sing. My parents seemed to also know where my heart was because according to them, the only way to put me to sleep when I was a baby was to put me close to a speaker with music playing. I could sing before I could talk. I performed and collaborated with my dad Blondie Makhene from the age of nine on a lot of projects. I had the honour of touring with him and got to share stages with local and international musicians.

I was then part of a girl group with my sisters called s’Kool Girlz who, after our mother's death, took a break which lasted us ... forever. I continued to work extensively as a session musician on a lot of local and international projects. Corporate performances also kept me busy. The money was good but something still felt amiss and that was singing my own music. I took the leap of faith and made big sacrifices to be able to start working on my own music. It hasn’t been easy but it has been worth all my sweat and tears. 

How do you balance blending traditional sounds with contemporary elements in your music?

It’s easy when that is naturally who I am. I am a modern and contemporary woman with deep traditional elements that keep me grounded. Having those sounds come through in my music is a representation of who I am and it brings our sound as Africans home. It’s a beautiful gift to give back to my listeners and supporters.

As someone deeply connected to African culture, how do you incorporate your heritage into your music? 

Sounds send vibrations through not only the body but the soul and that’s where my heritage is felt and heard.                 

My messages are always wide because I write and have a team who write from personal experiences and social issues that might have had a big impact on us. I do however tend to gravitate a lot towards matters of the heart.

Is there a specific message you aim to share with your audience through your songs?

While I have recorded music that’s aligned with my spiritual practices I haven’t always found the need to have to blend the two. Letoya is a performer, an all round artist who is gifted spiritually. I don’t think it’s necessary to bring my spiritual practices to the stage unless it’s in line with the theme.

Have your spiritual experiences as a sangoma influenced your songwriting or the themes in your music?

Always. We never stop the creative process.

Do you have any new music in the works?

My career, not only the music side of things, was affected negatively by the smear campaign from last year. Companies don’t want to be associated with negativity surrounding any brand and no-one is interested in hearing the truth because they have themselves to protect. It’s standard business practice and I understand it well. All I did was count my blessings and to have Ntethe Global Effect still sign me as an artist after everything because they believed in my talent and maybe because they saw first-hand what I was being subjected to at the hands of that relationship was comforting for me. It kept me together and gave me more reason to fight for my mental health and overall healing. That and my children.                                         

How has your music career been influenced by the challenges you've faced in the past year including the break-up, and how do you see this reflecting in your future work?

That is exactly what music is for me. It’s what it’s done for me. Healed my mind, body and soul from anything and everything and that’s exactly what I want my music to do for the rest of the world. We need this. The world is deeply injured. Hurting and lost without hope. Sometimes it only takes a song to pull us out of the darkest hole and to make us feel like it’s going to be OK.

Has music been a tool for your healing process, either emotionally or spiritually?

Yes it does. Many of my listeners have told me stories that have made me cry and to know my song was there to help them get through it was all the confirmation I needed to know I’m on the right track.

Do you find your spiritual practices influence how you create or perform music?

My spiritual practices influence every part of my life. Ukuphahla and prayer is at the centre of everything I do. I know my gifts and talents are a gift from the universe and to exclude the universe from any of it is downright arrogant and stupid. I pray before I get into the studio to record, I pray before rehearsals, before I get on stage and before I get onto any set. I pray even when I’m done performing. As much as we ask of the universe, it is also our responsibility to thank the universe. My life is centred on my spirituality and I’m in love with who I am.