NTLANEZWE ARTIST RELEASES A NEW ALBUM TITLED ‘UMSEBENZI’

An award winning poet, author and academic, Lucy Mbali has released a 14-track album, titled Umsebenzi. Lucy Impondokazi, as she is affectionately known, is a poet, hailing from the deep rural areas of Ntlanezwe in Bizana and is very passionate about local talent development. This is attested to by the artists she has featured in her album. Esona Mbali, Mj Money Maker, Wothi Mzilikazi, Mthwalo and a young Maskandi artist, Skeyiti Sabantwana are among the artists featured by the writer of popular poetry collection titled Igama.  Lucy describes her album as “the very unique album” that features poetry in 5 different genres of music which are: Maskandi, Gospel, Hip-hop, Afro-pop and iGqom music. The album featured 13 artists from KZN and EC.

“The title of the album was inspired by Genesis 1:26-31 where God created a man and gave him a dominion and authority over everything that is on Earth, Water and the Sky. The poem titled Umsebenzi aim to remind man (humans) about his authority that he seems to have lost” Lucy explains.

It is a known fact that the writer and a performer uses art to preach the Word of God and in this album preaching can be heard, along some teachings and entertainment. Reflecting on her passion of working with upcoming artists and the relationship she has with the Zulu and the Mpondo nations, Lucy Impondokazi, who is also a founder of Ntlanezwe Youth Development Forum, says without these two nations she would not have made it this far.

“The major goal was to feature poetry in different genres of music and to combine 2 languages which is isiZulu and isiXhosa so their impact is very great because without them I wasn’t going to achieve that goal” She says.

She makes it clear that she is more connected to her God, emphasizing that as artists having a close relationship with God as your Source helps you navigate through different things in life, adding that the dedication she put in her work is inspired by the faith she has in God.

Umsebenzi conveys different messages to different people. It encourages faith, persistence, love and humility, it challenges bad behavior, discrimination, lack of parental support, disrespect and it reminds humans about the supremacy and authority they have over everything and how they were uniquely created for a certain purpose. It also conveys the message of how different forms of art complement each other.

 The album is available in all digital music stores and, according to Lucy, USBs can be loaded upon request.