Samthing Soweto

Samkelo Lelethu Mdolomba (born 21 January 1988), known professionally as Samthing Soweto, is a South African singer and songwriter.^[1][2] Samthing is best known for his vocals Sun-El Musician's song "Akanamali" and his number 1 single on spotify "Akulaleki".

Following his departure of the group The Soil, Mdolomba released his debut album, This N That Without Tempo (2010), which fuses a capella and soul. He then departed from his debut album's sound as he introduced fusions of Afro pop, amapiano and R&B for his second album, Isphithiphithi (2019), which became certified platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa RiSA.^[3]

Life and career[]

Early life[]

Samkelo Lelethu Mdolomba was born and raised in Protea North, Soweto, a township of Johannesburg, South Africa.^[1] He is the third of four children, who were all raised by his single mother.^[1] Mdolomba was moved to his grandmother in Eastern Cape, but was later moved back to Protea North caused by substandard issues.^[1] In an interview with The Best T in The City, he said, "She [his mother] thought maybe an upbringing in the EC would benefit me but it didn’t. I lost weight, not that my granny wasn’t looking after me, I cried every day…it was too much for me so she came back after a year".^[1]

Mdolomba left school in eighth grade as he had problems of dyslexia . In an interview on Metro FM, he stated, "School was really tough for me.^[4] It was a nightmare but I went back nonetheless." At the age of 15, Mdolomba started using Mandrax, and was also involved in crime-related actions in order to escape difficulties he faced at home.^[4] He was sent to a youth detention centre for armed robbery where he started making music full-time. This eventually helped him break out of the life of crime and drug addiction.^[4]

The Soil[]

After being released from the youth detention centre and eventually returning back to school, Samthing Soweto began taking interest to a school choir.^[5] The choir was led by Buhlebendalo Mda, who was later one of the vocalists of the a capella group The Soil.^[5] While attending the choir's performance, Mdolomba wanted to start a group [The Soil], describing it as: "A group that sings songs, songs that we can afford to sing. And I say afford, because everything out there was programmed or played with instruments and we couldn't afford that, so I was like let's use our voices".^[5]

After the formation of The Soil, the group met the head of the entertainment company, Native Rhythms, Sipho Sithole who was keen on signing them to his label.^[5] After signing and beginning their first project, Mdolomba began learning how to produce music and released his debut solo studio album, This N That Without Tempo, and also started making music with another band, The Fridge which is a nu jazz group.^[5] Mdolomba left both parties due to contractual disputes and creative differences.^[5]

Influence[]

Prior to meeting members of The Soil, Mdolomba was arrested for public robbery in Avalon cemetery at Klipriviersoog, Soweto.^[6] His sentence was suspended and he was sent to a youth detention center in Krugersdorp, West Rand.^[5] Mdolomba was encouraged to sing by his fellow inmates, who sang using a prison style of chanting called Gumba Fire, which includes singing Kwaito songs in a cappella format.^[5] This became a major influence in him establishing the group The Soil, in terms of both working in a group, and using bare vocals as a musical instrument.^[5] He also stated that the male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo had an influence on him in venturing to acapella.^[7]

The Fridge[]

After leaving The Soil, Mdolomba continued with the nu jazz group, The Fridge. The band which consisted of a drummer, Ade Omotade, bassist Muthusi and Mdolomba as the vocalist, gained success in playing on local shows and festivals, including The Loft at Melville, Gauteng.^[8] The group released their debut extended play, Bass Drum & Sam in 2011 through digital media.^[9] The Fridge disbanded in 2015 due to two members of the trio relocating; Thusi and Ade.^[9]

2010–present: Solo projects and Isphithiphiti[]

In 2013, Mdolomba appeared on poet Makhafula Vilakazi's South African poetry album, I Am Not Going Back To The Township, credited both as a guest vocalist and producer.^[10] Following his debut studio album, This N That Without Tempo, which was independently released on 6 August 2010, Mdolomba released his debut EP Eb'suku, released on 4 January 2014.^[11] In support of Eb'suku, Mdolomba headlined the annual internationally acclaimed Joy of Jazz Festival 2014, representing "Sounds Of Democracy".^[12] He also performed at the Rocking The Daisies Festival held on 2–5 October 2014 at Cape Town, Western Cape.^[13] That same year, he composed and performed the title sequence of the drama series Rhythm City, and also appeared on the soundtrack of the drama film Otelo Burning.^[14][15]

In 2015, Mdolomba appeared on the Coca-Cola-sponsored live-music television series Coke Studio Africa, alongside artist Spoek Mathambo and bassist Shane Cooper.^[16] In May 2017, Mdolomba made his superior breakthrough with his feature on Sun-El Musician song titled "Akanamali".^[17] The song received South African Music Awards for Best Collaboration, SAMPRA highest airplay, and SAMRO highest airplay at the 24th South African Music Awards.^[18]

On 20 September 2019, his second studio album Isphitiphithi, was released.^[19] The album broke the record of the highest number of users "pre-adding" the album on the streaming service, Apple Music South Africa, before the release of the album. The record was previously held by singer Billie Eilish.^[20][21]

He released four singles for the album, including "Akulaleki" featuring Sha Sha which peaked number-one on the local Apple Music chart.^[23]The song "Akulaleki" was certified gold.^[24]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

Awards and nominations[]

References[]