Meet Pilani Bubu. She's got one of the most soulful voices you will ever be blessed to hear, and she's finally breaking into the industry. We chatted with the singer this week and have given you a chance to get to know her, and to see why we believe she is one to watch. 

 

How did you find the courage to leave the corporate world and kick start your career as a musician?

 

It really was a slow progression and build up for me. I had enough fun and by the age of 25 you kind of experience a quarter life crisis and you start asking yourself questions like ‘if I died tomorrow what’s the one legacy I would love to leave the world with?”.  So I toyed with this question for about a year, then one day something just changed at work and it’s like the doors flung open and before I knew it I handed in my resignation later and here I am a year later, but obviously I had to plan everything before I made the drastic decision of leaving the corporate industry.

 

Having travelled for several years, it's fair to say you’re quite the globe-trotter.  Which country/city would you say reflects your music?

 

I think a city/state like New Orleans draws a true reflection of what my music is about.  It’s a place that has deep roots in blues music but it’s also super soulful like old school rhythm and blues before it became R&B Pop.  

 

Speaking about R&B, what’s your opinion on the state of the genre right now?

 

I kind of feel like the true essence of R&B is lost, however an artist like R.Kelly still represents an old-school element of R&B especially in the way he delivers his music.  I also think he’s influenced a lot by blues artists Sam Cooke.  For me he’s definitely someone who truly represents the genre others are more or less leaning on the Pop genre but I will say that female artists like Monica, Brandy (sometimes) Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige are still holding the R&B flag up high and even Chaka Khan!

 

Tell us about the musical relationship you have with R.J Benjamin?

R.J and I hold great respect for each other as musicians, I believe if he didn’t see something in me he wouldn’t have worked with me so there’s definitely a level of respect on both sides and we just bring in a different type of synergy when it comes to creating music.  He’s played a very crucial role in shaping my style of music.

 

We've just listened to your single, “Heaven,” it sounds awesome! What was your state of mind when writing that song?

I’ve realised that a lot of the time people are always complaining about life and waiting for something big to happen, also they have this idea that heaven is this abstract thing but in actuality heaven is here and heaven is now. All we need to do is remain true to ourselves and fulfil whatever destiny we were called upon to fulfil thus making the world a better place. My aim with this song was to not only encourage myself but also encourage other people.

 

‘Where is home’ is produced by Apiwe Bubu is that your sibling or cousin?

Yes! Apiwe is my brother who’s also studying music and absolutely has amazing producing and composition skills.  How this song came about was when we were chilling at my parents’ house, he made me listen to this track he produced and asked if I could lace down some lyrics and literally in like 30seconds I wrote the song because initially he was going to send the beat to another lady in America, so there I was writing this little piece which ultimately became the birth of ‘Where is home’.  We then decided we were going to keep the song for us, keeping it in the family.

 

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