Zimbabwe-born artiste Xolani Ndlovu, aka X-Mile, who is making waves in the South African arts industry, says 2020 was a year of highs and lows to an extent of many suffering from depression.
BY SHARON SIBINDI
X-Mile, who is an Afro-pop artiste making a name for himself with a growing number of fans falling head over heels for his music, told Standard Style that 2020 has been a very unusual year for many due to the Covid-19 pandemic that is causing havoc across the world.
“This means that we could not perform anywhere, which also meant that there was no income whatsoever,” X-Mile said.
“It really was a trying time for us. Many fellow artistes including myself went into some sort of depression not knowing what was gonna be the next move to try and make ends meet.
“However as situations strike, we always have to come up with Plan B. Thank God, I had Plan B just to keep myself going financially for the time being.
“When it came to live shows, the only thing we could do was Facebook or Instagram live shows, just to keep the music going and to keep the people entertained at home.”
He said it was not entirely a bad year altogether as there were some positives.
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“During lockdown, I managed to collaborate with some of South Africa’s big artistes that included Soweto’s very own DJ Mikah S on his project that also features Brian Themba. Our music made it to some of that country’s biggest radio stations getting a lot airplay on Metro FM and Mostweding FM,” X-Mile said.
“I also collaborated on a project with Viwe the Don, an established South African DJ/producer on Massive Metro. We recorded a number of songs and to our surprise, before we knew it Mzansi fell in love with the music and we found ourselves on high rotation and getting a lot of interviews on big radio stations including Kasie FM, Ukhozi FM and Massive Metro FM with DJ Sbu. It really has been fruitful and the results are awesome.”
X-Mile was also part of the line-up for the charity concert for Dzulani Children’s Home in Vosloorus on the outskirts of Johannesburg on Heritage Day.
“The experience gave me a chance to give back to the community and to interact with the kids that have no homes or families on a one-on-one basis,” he said.
“It’s one of the biggest and most special highlights of my 2020.”
He said as the lockdown regulations were eased, shows and gigs started to resurface again and things were just getting better for him as an artist.
“One of the biggest shows for me was The AKA Back-to-Back X-Mile gig. It was a two-man show which saw me and AKA sharing the stage to entertain the crowd, it was a special moment for me,” X-Mile said.
He also reflected on some of the worst moments this year.
“The worst moment was when I lost five of my very close friends in the same week, including Cal_Vin and Iyasa’s Sbonisiwe. May their souls rest in peace,” X-Mile said.
The songwriter-cum-producer said he is working on something big, a surprise for his fans.
“I am going to keep it a secret for now because, hey, when it blows, it will blow hard,” said X-Mile.
“However, I want to encourage young artistes not to give up easily, blessings and opportunities come in different seasons. Just keep working on perfecting your craft.”
