Nhlakanipho Ndlovu C’Funk aka “Mission wabantwana” / 27 / Singer & Production Engineer
‘Time In The City’ EP is out, break it down track by track…
Time in the City is about my time in Johannesburg, I’m from Durban originally. I came to Johannesburg in October 2011 and never looked back. My experience within that time is partly depicted in the EP. Most of my experiences involve women, either than the fact that I love them, my experiences with women have left a lasting impression. If I had to name them all we’d be here all day long.
Track 1: Cobain The thing about this song is it’s the second to last track in terms of the order I wrote these songs. I had just finished speaking to my mother, every time I speak to her she always asks me when I’m coming home and I always have to reassure her that all is well and that I’ll be home soon. I usually end up speaking with my father as well, him and I are always discussing soccer, so I decided to write this intro just to show the current state of things. As you begin this EP, you’ll hear Smash Afrika’s voice, shout out to Smash Afrika, we’re both from out of town so his words really complimented the intro.
Track 2: Dubane This song came about after my homies and I hit the club, I forgot which club it was but it’s in Sandton next to a News Cafe, Taboo I think is the name. We ran into girls we know from Durban and I remember they were rollin’ with OKMalumkoolkat. That experience inspired the song and no, nothing happened between us and them, like I said, they came with people, the song was just my version of events.
Track 3: Chocolate Cinderella Is just and ode to my love for dark-skinned girls. I met thee idea dark-skinned girl at the time and the beat is what lead me into the theme because of the party bounce. The song is about enjoying her presence in any setting, even at a party setting, as you may know some guys don’t like hitting the club with their respective partners, using terms like “how you gonna bring sand to the beach”, and that’s the story of this song.
Track 4: Smoke Sum This song is my, what’s the word, “flex song”. I’m just talking that talk, when I made the beat I was feeling cheeky and carried that sentiment in the words. I can’t explain it to you, you have to hear it to understand.
Track 5: For Sure Is a love song, it’s not inspired by anything in particular. It’s the song I wrote when I decided to start taking singing seriously. I’d like to believe I was in love at this time, but since I can’t remember it. that must not have been the case. The thing I like about it though is that when I hear it now it resonates with my current relationship, which leads me to believe even a regular listener will be able to relate.
Track 6: Comet My current favourite, this song came about in the final stages of the EP. I wrote it on Women’s Day, it was supposed to be an interlude but as I wrote the song, it started to have legs. Soon I had added a clip of me and an old flame in our drunk state, it’s inspired by her, she’s been a huge fan of mine since way back when, that’s why the opening line is “pitching tents for cute honeys I’m a silly mother toucher everything is good cause she likes me to Usher”.
Track 7: Time In The City Well this is the song that wraps up the EP, it puts everything into prospective in terms of where I started to where I am right now in this city. Big shout out to my boy Sandile Radebe, who added that dope verse that complimented what I was trying to say.
Bonus track: Clap For You This song is for the ladies, it features my homie J.Smallz, we just appreciating the ladies…WE GOT A VIDEO COMING SOON!
PS, the interludes that are in between certain songs are there to make a smooth transition for the songs on the EP, they all occurred after I wrote ‘Comet’. The story developed then, I mean yes I do understand that I come off as a “fuck boy”, claiming to be in love with this Dubane/Chocolate Cinderella girl but sharing intimacies with another young lady. I felt like it would make for a more compelling story.
When did you decide to take the music route seriously?
It all happened in 2015, a good friend of mine named Phindile Ziqubu aka ‘The Boss Lady’ encouraged me to do so, her belief made me believe and the rest is history.
As a vocalist, any challenges you faced while putting the EP together?
Hell yeah! When I started all I had was a singing voice and a book full of songs, how to sing was something I didn’t know would be the problem. Singing is not a game, even now I’m still learning. that’s why the EP took almost two years to make. I had a lot of help from friends and even family at some point, that to me was the biggest road block. The rest didn’t affect me enough to be mentioned.
You’ve already released some singles from the EP, how have they been received so far?
Dubane, my first single, was received very well, it was even number one at some point on Khutso Theledi’s R&B Chart on YFM, shout out to Khutso. The second single from how I see not so much but the third one did the damn thing, shout out to J.Smallz for jumping on the song, we even got a video coming soon for that track.
What’s the next step for you since releasing your EP?
Pushing it is my biggest goal, I want people to believe in the local R&B scene and I’m going to be performing every chance I get until I drop the next one I guess. Part of this you must understand is to feed my hunger to sing, when I wasn’t pursuing this I would sing everywhere, after a while people even started encouraging me to try out Idols.
You’re performed at YFM this past Friday on ‘Live n ReYired, how did your fans receive it?
I had a live band, with the ever so talented Delicious Keys aka Josh directing the music. It was dope! I’ll be performing songs off of the EP as well as two new songs just to round it off.
How many hours go into rehearsal?
A lot! I can’t really tell at this point because I’m singing most of the time.
C’Funk as an artist, how much have you grown since your musical journey began?
Immensely vocally, my pen has always been lit so at this point whether it’s to grow or not, it’s hard to tell.
What genre would you describe your music as?
I’d describe it as R&B, that’s my aim, I might shift a bit here and there but at the end of the day, the focus will be R&B.
Follow C’Funk!
Instagram: @funknificent
Twitter: @TheRealCFunk
Facebook: C’funk
–Bridgette Makhela
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