Khuli Chana is one of the most well-renowned artists in the industry, he has bagged various major international awards which have gained him respect but the rapper insists that his pride is not measured by the amount of accolades he has received but by his impact he has had in the industry.
It’s no surprise that he is known as one of the OG’s in the industry as those who are at the top are there because they've always been of service to others. In a recent interview with ZAlebs, the star spoke to us about his career and what he had to learn to get to where he is right now.
“In the beginning of my solo career, I got rejected from literally every record label, I had no choice but to kind of start my own thing, thank god that happened cause I became my own master and I got to own all my masters, music and work” Khuli Chana said
He then went on to share what his prime purpose in the industry is, “I don’t measure my success with the amount of accolades I have, for me it’s about the size of the thinking and if my moves are changing the game, it is about inspiring the next generation. My job is always to inspire...I’ve grown to understand my position in this game and it is to lead”
And it’s not just music that he is fond of, when the rapper was not releasing music, he was working on his music behind the scenes but also tapping into the business side of the industry, building one of the major annual festivals in the local space - Maftown Heights - and collaborating with an international brand.
The eighteenth annual Maftown Heights took place at Mafikeng this year, giving a platform to Mafikeng upcoming rappers.
“My highlight of the night was that the performers were all boys from Mafikeng, they were all North west upcoming artists….I’m looking forward to three years from now, I’ve seen artists transform on that stage, we will continue to showcase new talent and clap for our icons” he said.
This years Maftown heights also brought Notsi, an artist that was said to be feuding with Khuli Chana after not mentioning him in his thank-you speech, Khuli Chana now assures us that their relationship is cordial and that they have started working on new music together.
“We cool, we in a better space, things happen...I’m glad we could pick up the pieces and move on, we’re talking about making new music…”
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Khuli Chana’s collaboration with Absolut Vodka has broadened his career from getting a Khuli Chana signature edition bottle, to even venturing into film.
2018 is set to be an amazing year for the rapper as he says that he is looking forward to bringing more attention to the arts as he is currently working on his album after releasing his new single The heights, which he also performed for the first time at this years Maftown heights.
Here’s what you can expect from Khuli in 2018:
“We’re doing some interesting stuff with a new festival, this time, we’re getting the people involved in the movement, we’re gonna have an art intervention, we want to change how the world sees Africa”
“We’ll be launching a production company very soon, it’s called my Throne and we’re gonna be doing a lot of brand content. We have a record studio, Young Creative Minds...it’s a production house slash incubator, we’re running for like three months but we plan to launch it properly next year”
“On the24th of March, at the One Source Festival, we’re bringing out artist from different parts of Africa, it’s gonna be the first of its kind, nothing like a Maftown Heights, it’s gonna be a smaller lineup but a bigger experience...“
Main image credit: instagram.com/@khulichana01